You expect the same resistance from your brake pedal every time you press down on it, and this is a reasonable expectation. If you have your brakes inspected every 12,000 miles, you should be able to rely on the system continuously. There may come a point where the brake pedal gets stiff and is hard to press down. This is caused by one or more of the following problems, all of which we can fix.
Faulty Brake Booster
If you have vacuum-assist power brakes, you have a brake booster. If the brake pedal is too stiff, the brake booster may have gone bad. When this happens, it is unable to maintain the vacuum pressure needed in the booster to assist the power brakes. In order to take in the air needed for the vacuum pressure, the brake booster is installed to the intake manifold. Leaks can affect the booster.
Faulty Vacuum Pump
Your vehicle may also have a brake booster that is independent of the intake manifold. In this case, there is a vacuum pump that is either electrical or mechanical. If the vacuum pump goes bad, you will not have the vacuum pressure needed to assist in slowing down and stopping your vehicle. This will also make pressing down on the brake pedal a difficult chore because the pedal will resist your pressure.
Leaking Vacuum Hose
Brake boosters use vacuum hoses to connect them to intake manifolds or vacuum pumps. It is not unusual for a vacuum hose to start leaking if your automobile is an older one. If the leaking vacuum hose is the one attached to the brake booster, your brake pedal will get stiff. In addition, you may end up with poor engine performance and sporadic RPMs that eat away at your vehicle’s fuel economy.
Seized Brake Caliper
The brake calipers press against the brake pads to push them against the rotors. If one or more of the calipers in your vehicle’s brake system gets stuck, you may find pressing the brake pedal to be an exercise in futility. In addition to the calipers getting stuck, their connecting screws can also get stuck. We can inspect your calipers and their connecting screws and replace anything that is stuck.
Dirty Brake Lines
Finally, it is important to have the brake fluid changed every 30,000 miles and the brake lines bled. This removes air and sludge from the brake lines. If there is sludge in the brake lines, it can make pressing down on the brake pedal difficult. The sludge gets into the lines via water contamination. Unfortunately, this sludge inhibits the movement of brake fluid and causes a stiff brake pedal.
