Hi all,
Basically I am on here to get an idea of what may be wrong with my wife's 05 TL. For the past few days of driving it, I've noticed odd things with the brake pedal. While applying full pressure, the pedal becomes harder and softer and there was a whooshing sound. Tonight while driving home, that problem became much, much worse.
I was coming to a stop at a light and the pedal was pulsating (not like ABS pulsating) and brake pedal was jerking back and forth, when it jerked back towards me the brakes had almost no pressure whatsoever, when they'd pulsate back towards the engine I got a little brake pressure. When pressing the pedal I'd here a whooshing sound almost like air escaping. That drive home was really nerve racking (it also was for the saps stuck behind me as I was driving 30MPH on a 50MPH road). My initial thought was the Master Cylinder. I checked the brake fluid and it is full (I was also thinking that a brake line might have burst or been cut).

Why am I asking what the problem may be? Well, my wife has a 7 year/10000 mile extended warranty from Acura. I want to get some ideas on what the problem may be. If it is possible that the problem is a "wear and tear" problem (which I highly doubt), I'd rather take it to my mechanic since he'd charge me much less than the dealer. Otherwise, I call the dealer on Monday and have them tow it.

Thanks,
Dino

 

How many miles are on the car? A 5yr old car could go through the brakes in that time depending on the driving conditions and the driver habits.

I used to eat through pads and rotors every 30K mi on my GM cars. My Honda pilot has 78K mi on the original pads and rotors still going strong.

I've got brembos with only 23K on an 06 TL and have lots of pad left.

I gave up on factory warranties. I hate having to always defend my position when you have a problem and rather fix it myself or take it to a reputable mechanic.

 

43000. I am almost positive this is not pads or rotors. I'd expect to hear the warning squeal or metal on metal grinding. I am all too familiar with that situation. What I am getting is almost no pressure in the pedal with a hissing sound when it is being pushed. Even with the car stopped (which is difficult to do in the state that the car is currently in) and with the brake pedal depressed, the pedal jerks back and forth violently. When the pedal jerks forward towards me (and with me pressing really hard) the car starts to roll forward. It doesn't even have enough pressure to hold the car from moving forward from a complete stop. When it jerks back towards the front of the car, I get a little more pressure.

Dino

 

I want to clarify when I say almost no pressure in the pedal, I think I explained that incorrectly. The pedal itself is very stiff. The travel is almost nothing. Basically you press it and the pedal might travel an inch and then it stops. What I meant is that the calipers seem to have no pressure on the rotors. When the pedal "lets up" and it can travel a little more, I get slightly more pressure on the rotors.
Sorry for the confusion, the brake pedal itself has a lot of pressure. And hissing form somewhere when you hit the brakes.

Thanks,
Dino

 

It might be improper bleeding of the brakes (if any recent brake work was done on the car), or a bad ABS modulator rather than a bad master cylinder.

G/L.

 

Thanks Will. No brake work done on the car. Still has original brakes. I am feeling comfortable enough to say that it isn't anything wear and tear related. I will take up Acura on their total care warranty.

 

If it's an air wooshing sound right behind where the tachometer is (high left firewall) then my vote is a bad vacuum booster or a hose that got knocked off/failed. It's the part that uses engine vacuum to multiply the force you put on the brake pedal. In other words, it's what makes power brakes "power".

With good luck it will be covered under the extended you got.

 

take it in for warranty inspection. maybe you have air in your brake lines? maybe a brake flush and bleed are in order?

 

If that is the problem, (sounds like a good candidate since it is a whooshing sound coming from up underneath the dash) hopefully they just cover it. If for some reason they don't cover it, I am guessing that it would be all of 1-2 hours labor. I can eat that. (Since I am guessing that it would be about what the deductible is anyways)

Dino

 

I was thinking the same thing. From your description, it doesn't sound like normal wear and tear. Good Luck!!

 

i have the same exact problem. As soon as you put pressure on the brake pedal, you hear a whoosing sound like its coasting/coming to a stop. I took it in and they could find no problem what so ever. They bleeded the brakes and it got better. I still hear the whooooooooooooshhhhhhhhhh noise when slowing down. That noise came into play when I had the front 2 rotors replaced. Have you gotten your rotors/pad replaced?

 

I should rephrase, when you're coasing and are coming to a stop, you hear a whoooshing noise, not when you press the brake pedal. Is this what you're experiencing?

 

Folks, just hopping back in to put the solution for archival purposes. It was the brake booster. Covered under the Acura Care Warranty.
The car sounded completely normal when I wasn't stepping on the brake. The hissing/wooshing sound only happened when pressing the brake as well as the pedal jerking back and forth. (Much slower and with far more force than when ABS is engaged)

Thanks for the help.

 

BINGO!!!

If you have a warranty, get to the dealer. This is not wear & tear...

PS: It's definitely NOT air in the lines. That makes the pedal mushy and unresponsive. It also does not make any audible sound in the cabin (beside the cursing from the driver)...