New to the forum, was searching here and over the interwebs for the issue I had and couldn't find what I found, was the "fix". This post would be for anyone experiencing this issue. I purchased a 2022 Terrain used with 2,6xx on the odometer, with a push-to-start key. Not to familiar with the push-to-start procedure, but found out the hard way that if the brake pedal built up to much pressure where the pedal is to stiff to push for the vehicle and may not start due to not pressing hard enough to activate the brake switch. Basically I was tap dancing on the brake pedal for some reason and the vehicle built up pressure and was to stiff even though I though I was pressing the pedal down enough for the push-to-start to crank the starter. I would have never thought one would need to depress the brake pedal so much for the vehicle to crank over. So anyone thinking something is wrong, just try to use your inner Hulk to depress the pedal and press the start button. Interwebs diagnostic was telling me the battery was bad and needed replacement. After sitting for about 45 mins. while grabbing basic tools to test and/or disconnect the battery, the vehicle started the first try since the brake pedal felt "normal" again. Our salesman met us up were it was parked and informed us his spouse had a similar interaction with a PTS vehicle. I hope my experience will help someone else.

Thanks for the information!

Based on your description, here'* what happened: When you were "tap dancing" on the brake pedal with the engine off, you were consuming accumulated vacuum from the vacuum brake booster. That accumulated vacuum is there to give you a few presses of the brake pedal in the event that the engine stops running (therefore generating no more vacuum) while the vehicle is moving. Once all of the accumulated vacuum in the booster was depleted, the brake booster no longer was able to assist. At this point, your foot was faced with pushing the brake pedal without any vacuum assist.

Under normal use and with a properly-operating brake booster, this would never happen unless the car sits for many months and accumulated vacuum is lost in the booster.

While we're here, on most hydraulically-boosted braking systems, the same concept holds true for properly-operating hydraulic boost units. The difference is that pressure is accumulated in a small accumulator instead of vacuum in a vacuum booster. This gives you a couple of presses of the brake pedal if the engine stops while the vehicle is in motion.

On both systems, it is important to use that boost opportunity to come to a stop. If you're going downhill and the engine stops, don't continue to coast miles to the next exit thinking you can use the brakes to regulate vehicle speed and then come to a safe stop wherever you want. A few presses, even for light braking, will deplete the vacuum reservoir or hydraulic accumulator and then you will have to "use your inner Hulk", probably with both feet, to get a significant amount of braking action. If you are in hulk mode, standing on that pedal with all your might, be aware that sometimes reclining seats give out under the forces you'll have to exert. Most don't, but some do, especially if the recline mechanism is damaged or worn out.

Thanks for bringing this up! I'm sure it will help folks in the future as PTS cars become more commonplace and older than they already are.