Lately I have been noticing that it takes longer and more of an effort to come to a stop.The brakes don’t make any noise though unless they are wet. Would this just be brake pads?

 

have you actually checked the condition of any of the components of your braking system? pad thickness? rotor thickness? fluid level and color?

how about your struts? are they any good

there's eleventy billion things to make brakes suck... just saying the car takes longer to stop isn't much for us to go on.

 

Have you done anything to your brake system recently? It could be air in your brake lines. That made my car not slow very well and it required a lot more pushing on the brake pedal. After giving it a good bleeding (air got in when I rebuilt a caliper), they're nice a crisp.

 

Possibly, but check your fluid level first. also check your brake hoses for being soft,.

 

visually check the pads and rotors first then bleed the brakes for any air in the line then go ahead do anything bigger....remember heat is the biggest enemy of ur braking system..

 

I'd just keep sails up on to the sunshine. The fun will stop some day ...

 

check the pad thickness. they tend to do that stuff when they're nearing the end of their life.

If in doubt on anything brakes, pull the wheels off and look. If you don't know what you're looking at, hire an expert. brakes aren't something you can just ignore.

 

If it's a GXE, maybe the rear drums need to be readjusted?

In any case, check your pads/shoes to see if they are worn/low on life. If they are, replace em and get your rotors/drums resurfaced too while you're at it.

 

WTF?

I mean really Is it just a translation thing or is he trying to be philosophical?

 

How "Maintenance" is translated? Roads are full of sailing killer vehicles b/c owners couldnt care less...

Translation:
"...brakes aren't something you can just ignore."

 

i don't think he was going to ignore it, thus he posted loking for help.

As far as air getting in the lines the only way that happens suddenly is if the system was opened or the fluid got so hot it boiled. I don;t think air is an issue here. I didn't see any mention of a mushy pedal. Pads can make a night and day difference. I had some Bendix on my 4Runner they had hardly any bite. After 10K miles, they really sucked. Jamming on them as hard as I could would not even get ABS to kick in. They just didn't grab. I put some Wagner Ceramics and just a light tap will make it want to stand on it's nose. You may have glazed pads or rotors. Might be time for turned rotors (or new) and some new pads. If you go with new pads don't forget to break them in properly. Make a few 40-5 mph slow downs. (4-5) But slow down really slow, don't jam on them. You need them to heat cycle and seat to the rotor.

 

Not my words or thinking, no translation, but quotation. Pls reread.

Neglected brake maintenance, not your translation, is behind the issue in this thread - can u focus?. One may learn that after few million miles, some never do. Flabby attitude towards preventive maintenance kills...

 

thanks everyone...Ill have to take off the wheels and take a look this weekend, tho i realy dont know what im looking at.. so ill most likely have to take it to get looked at by some one who does.

 

after the wheels are off, turn the steering wheel left and go to the left wheel hub.. undo the lower of the two caliper mount bolts (12mm head... bolts into a pin with a rubber bellows around it) and flip the whole caliper up. then take a pic of the pad-rotor-pad so we can see how thick everything is. or just whip out a tape measure, and measure how much pad material you have left (EXCLUDING the backplate which is about 1/4" thick or so), and also measure the overall thickness of your rotors. If the rotors in front are under 20mm thick then they need replacement. Dunno what the spec is for pad material thickness. It's in the FSM tho.

oh, and repeat that on the right side as well after reassembling the left side and turning the steering wheel to the right. well, you don't have to turn the wheel, just makes it easier to look at it/take pics if without lodging your head between the brakes and the fender.

 

You don't have to do all that.
There's "windows" in the top of the caliper. Not sure if they were designed as pad inspection holes, but they work perfectly for it. pull the wheel off and stick your head in there and look.

BUT... If you're not sure what you're looking at, simply take it to a competent shop. Around here, Sears will do a free repair estimate. lots of other places will as well. just make sure you don't get skrood. If their price sounds too crazy for a brake job, then it is. check with another shop and see.

most likely you just need a set of brake pads, which should run you about $100 for good pads and labor. You can do it yourself for about $40 in parts if you are handy with a wrench. not incredibly difficult, but again it's a safety issue. you don't want to screw up on your brakes!

 

well if he wants to measure with a ruler he'd have to swing it out of the way. but yea the hole is designed for pad checking. i only suggested flipping the caliper up if he wanted to just take a pic and let us see, since often times what the eye sees isn't always what the camera sees.... human eye seems to have a much wider angle, not to mention you have depth perception, where a camera does not. but for those who know what they're looking at, no, you don't have to remove anything but the wheels.

 

...99% of sam ones havent heard of lube. My measured boost with rail/piston lube was up to 10%. The piston lube will also extend caliper lifetime 'forever'. Note: special brake lube only, see http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/18

Dont forget to bleed the system.