01 cls. Very stiff pedal. Anyone else have this? New to car so not sure if it's a characteristicsof the car or not ? Brakes work fine. Just curious. Thanks in advance. Joe

 

Define stiff... Is it stiff right off the bat? Are u applying more pressure than u think is necessary when u apply the brakes. Explaining a lil more in depth may help.

Secondly is it consistent all the time?

Cause usually when u drive for a bit and brake a few times over a min or so the brakes heat up and grab More. So it actually becomes easier to brake Per se

 

It is all the time. No matter how many times you brake. Seems like I have to press harder per say on this car than other vehicles in have driven.

 

Check pads rotors caliper pistons and sliders. Also you may wanna get your brake fluid flushed as it becomes corrosive over time and is hydroscopic which means it collects water. If your fluid is water logged it would make braking way less efficient and therefore could be the root cause of your troubles.

I get my fluid flushed every 3 years or so.

 

I just bled my brakes and the pedal is nice and firm again. Excessively stiff is not good as it could be several things. Do what CL-S Prgression says but when you pull your pins, sand them down with some fine emry cloth to get the scale off of them. also replace any missng/damaged rupper sleeves that protect the pins. If you have to replace the sleeve, I believe the only way you can get it is by buying the correspoding PIN. (#18)




(above #14 in the pic)

When you bleed your brakes, get a friend to help you as you do NOT want the fluid to get low in the MC as that will be a giant PITB to correct. pump each line until the fluid that comes out is CLEAR and bubble free. typically I go RF, LR, LF, RR.

If you need to replace a caliper do your self a favor and replace both of them on that "axle" Legend calipers are a nice upgrade for the front

 

Yes definitely bleed the brakes if ur not going to do a flush which u do at the dlr cause they got the tool and charge u very little for the fluid. It's one of the only services I have done at the dlr.

Oh yea forgot to mention sometimes when u get pads they actually don't fit properly and u need to grind them down half a mm so they glide on the shims. I don't even lubricate anything but the sliders when I do my brakes and have never had a noise or problem.

I did stop tech pads and powerslot rotors 2 weeks ago And had to grind the front pads down roughly half a millimetre so they would not bind when u push the pad in their. Weird? I think so. I have done this 4-5 times now on 3 diff cars

 

My problem is I don't know these cars. If someone local that has one could possibly check my pedal to see if it's "normal" that would be great.
I do know when you bleed the brakes you do rr/lr/rf/lf. Start from further most point and work your way in. At least that's what I was thought in mechanics school.
I know each car has its own personality. Still learning this carssince iit's new to me.
Thanks for the info. Very helpful.
Joe

 

^ cars are a split system so you have to do the front brake and then the rear brake on the OPPOSITE SIDE of the car. I start in the front because it's easier to get to the fluid tank