My very first impression of our Jetta: The brake pedal is mushy! Aside from the serious diesel-induced vibration (especially when idling), theres quite a bit of travel in the pedal when pressure is initially applied, accompanied by a whooshing sound. When the brakes finally do bite, they have a tendency to buck you rather unexpectedly forward, then knock you back into your seat.
Im not really sure its the Jettas fault; it just feels like the fluid needs to be flushed...
But when I relayed this information to some
of my colleagues, I just got blank stares. Maybe it’s just me.
James says his Jetta’s brake pedal (back when he had a Jetta) had some “nuance” to it as well, and that our Jetta’s behavior is in line with his experience. But I still think a good fluid change is in order. I’d do it myself, if I could only find someone to help pump the pedal.
Laura Burstein, Automotive Editor, Edmunds.com @ 55,298 miles
James says his Jetta’s brake pedal (back when he had a Jetta) had some “nuance” to it as well, and that our Jetta’s behavior is in line with his experience. But I still think a good fluid change is in order. I’d do it myself, if I could only find someone to help pump the pedal.
Laura Burstein, Automotive Editor, Edmunds.com @ 55,298 miles
joefrompa says:
11:32 AM, 04/25/08
Laura, something is seriously wrong if:"When the brakes finally do
bite, they have a tendency to knock you back in your seat. "
If your brakes don't throw you forward in your seat when they do bite, perhaps you have the pedals mixed up? :)
All that torque might knock you back in your seat :)
I'd love to hear how a fluid change goes....might be on it's original pads as well. Probably needs front pads and a fluid flush.
Joe
dougtheeng says:
11:48 AM, 04/25/08
I find that my 2004 VW Golf TDi breaks are also sqiushy. Maybe its just because I'm now used to the Mini, where you even think about touching the brake pedal and the car screeches to a halt.
santiagofdz says:
12:24 PM, 04/25/08
I own a 2000 New Beetle 2.0L (bout 60K miles on it). I've also found the brake pad squishy, but it's been that way since I can remember. Smooth brake input (say for trailbraking or a heel-toe) is quite a challange in these cars.
Do tell if the bleeding works. Maybe the soft pedal has gotten worse and I can't remember how firm the pedal felt when I first got it.
opfreak says:
12:33 PM, 04/25/08
you come help me bleed my sunfire (just changed the rotors and pads, due to a rotor defect) and went all the way and changed the caliper as well (how can you hate on an american car, where a refurb caliper costs you 16 bucks?) I bleed the brakes some myself, but theres still a little air in their.
On the calipers probably didn't need changed, but with the brakes and wheels off, its easy prevenative manitance in my book.
SubyTrojan says:
01:55 PM, 04/25/08
Laura's just too used to high performance cars with awesome brakes. :o)
Perhaps one of the Mikes can look at the Jetta's old maintenance records (provided they were kept by its original owner) and see when the last time it had a brake fluid flush was.
If a brake fluid flush doesn't do the trick, perhaps an upgrade to stainless steel brake lines would help. I honestly think this is something most "enthusiasts" should consider installing on their "fun" vehicles. :o)
http://www.stillen.com/product.asp?id=GDRLINES01&c=BR&m=all
And for all the engineers/nerds out there, ya'll might enjoy this:
rubber vs. stainless steel brake lines (Adobe Reader or Acrobat required, HTML used due to link length)
opfreak says:
02:07 PM, 04/25/08
suby thanks for that pdf good info.
sadbuttrue says:
05:32 PM, 04/25/08
santiagofdz,
Do you actually trail-brake in your non-turbo New Beetle, or are you just talking about VW brakes in general?
Josh
santiagofdz says:
09:57 AM, 04/26/08
"Do you actually trail-brake in your non-turbo New Beetle, or are you just talking about VW brakes in general? "
I do trailbrake it, makes me a lot more confident that I won't understeer off the road. It responds quite well for a dressed up econobox. Mind you I'm doing this when I'm having fun, and not in a competiton; there this car would just be frustrating.
santiagofdz says:
10:01 AM, 04/26/08
...but, like I mentioned before, the soft pedal makes it kinda hard not to brake more than you should. Still it's nice when you get it just right.
firstwagon says:
03:33 PM, 04/26/08
Have you bled them yet? Curious to hear if it makes a difference.
(Please don't leave it for months and keep writing posts about the problem. It's not hard, I did mine last month in about 30 minutes with only a 5 year old to assist me.)
opfreak says:
05:12 AM, 04/28/08
while i'm sure no one cares.
I'll do my sunfire update:
brakes bleed. Brake feel back to normal.
boxermike says:
03:49 PM, 04/28/08
Given that most editors think our Jetta’s brakes feel consistent with other Jettas they’ve driven and the fact the car stopped in a tidy 124 ft from 60 mph during instrument testing, we’re not going to make bleeding the brakes a priority. However, with the TDI being a part of an upcoming 4-car fuel economy comparison, several editors will get a chance to see if something is amiss. And we promise not to complain for months about it. Although if there’s nothing wrong, it becomes an issue of taste regarding brake feel, which seems OK to complain about.
-mike