Hi,

I looked around for a while and haven't found a similar problem. As I d
rove to work this morning, there'* no pressure in my brake pedal. When I push my brake, it feels as if the car speeds up slightly. The only way I can think to describe it is to say that it feels like when you first turn on cruise control. The car still stops, but I have to push the brake pedal all the way down.

Now, I don't really know anything about cars, so this really has be rattled. I'm going to go to a mechanic tomorrow, but if any of you have any ideas so that I may know a little bit of what I'm dealing with, I'd appreciate your input.

Thanks alot.

Does the pedal go straight to the floor with no back pressue? This is usually a master cylinder starting to fail. Pumping up the brakes before a stop will usually keep it working safely in order to get it to the mechanic.

That slight increase you notice if over 45mph could be the torque converter clutch disengaging. Usually not felt, but if you are having brake problems and are hypersensitive at the moment it might be noticed.

Yeah, it just goes straight down. Thanks for the reply. If that is the problem, what would replacement of something like that generally cost?

Not sure, never done one.

I do know if you do it yourself, ensure you bench bleed the master before installing.

$40-50 for a rebuilt master cylinder, $100 for new, $120 for OEM

Figure about $100 to have it installed. More than that would be kinda greedy.

So, do it yourself and save $150.

Ummm....Check the level of fluid in the master cylinder reservoir. If it is still up, a new master cylinder is indicated. If it is empty or very low...you have a leak in the system somewhere and should not drive the car.

x2. Your master cylinder is the key to troubleshooting this issue. You either have a brake leak or a failing master cylinder. If you had a leak it generally sets off your brake idiot light, so I'd be leaning towards master cylinder. In several cars I've owned where the master cylinder eventually failed, the symptom was the pedal going to the floor. Sometimes it would be intermittant at first, but would always get worse.

If you have a master cylinder failure, you need to have a rebuilt master cylinder installed, and the system completely bled of air. If you do this yourself, expect costs of around $50 to $150. If you have a shop do it, add in more for labor.

Shop shouldn't charge more than $60 to install. If it take them an hour they don't know what they are doing and you shouldn't go there anyway