Why Is My Brake Pedal Hard?

If you’re experiencing difficulty pressing your brake pedal, it may be time to get the brakes checked.

There are a number of reasons why this might happen, and knowing what they are can help you decide if you need to take your car in for repair or not.

Brakes that feel hard often means there is air in the system; when pumping doesn’t release enough pressure to make the pedal soft again If your brakes don’t work at all when pressed, or if there’s no response from them, then something must be wrong with the fluid levels in the brake lines. It could also mean that one of them has failed altogether.

With so many possibilities for what could cause problems with your brakes, it can be hard to know what to do.

The following are some common reasons why you might have trouble pressing the pedal.

Loose or broken clips

There are usually clips that hold the brake pads to the caliper. These can either break or become loose, which can cause your brakes to not work properly.

If this happens, you probably won’t be able to press the pedal all the way down. You may also notice that while pressing on one side of the pedal, less pressure is applied than on another side.

This could also mean that one of your brake lines has failed altogether; if your brakes don’t feel right when you apply them, it’s best to get them looked at by a mechanic.

Low fluid level

If there isn’t enough fluid in your lines, then obviously your brakes aren’t going to work, but the problem will be with the fluid level, not with anything related to your clips.

The first thing you should do if you feel that you have low fluid levels is to check the brake fluid reservoir. If there’s fewer than two liters in there, then it’s time for a refill.

It sounds simple enough – put new brake fluid in and bleed out the air bubbles – but actually doing it isn’t always as easy as it seems.

Leaking hydraulic line

If you’ve managed to identify that one of your lines has failed, then all is most likely not lost.

There’s a chance that you could be able to recover some of your brake fluid and save yourself the cost of having it replaced.

Broken Caliper

If your brakes fail to work in any way when you attempt to use them, there’s a good chance that the problem is with the calipers.

If this is the case, your mechanic will most likely need to replace the entire caliper assembly.

Conclusion

However, whatever the problem is with your brakes, you can always count on one thing: they won’t work if there isn’t enough fluid in the lines.

Keeping an eye on this will ensure that there are no problems later on down the road.

It’s also important to remember that until you discover what’s causing the problem with your brakes, you should always drive safely and slowly.

Steven Hatman
Steven Hatman

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