It seems that I need to push the brake pedal down alot for the brakes to actually start slowing down the car, about half way until it actually starts slowing down.
I wasn't really aware of this problem until the other day when I got a new Pulsar as a loan car while my Maxima had a service. Just lightly pressing the brake pedal on that car was enough to slow it down. Understandably, the Pulsar is a lighter car then a Maxima and doesn't require as much force to slow it down, but still, is having to push the brake pedal half way down to begin slowing the car down considered normal? If it's not, what is likely wrong and how do I go about fixing it? I checked the brake fluid, it's at the correct level. Thanks for any help

 

bleed all your brake lines again. you probably have a lot of air between the lines.

 

Ya, change all of your brake fluid. It is prob the orginal anyways. That will take away your mushy pedal.

 

oopZ...i forgot something:

don't forget use DOT3 approved only brake fluids

 

So how easy (or hard) is it to bleed the brakes? Any guides on how to do it or is it best to let a professional do it?

 

about 30 mins ago i had my rotors changed and asked the guys if they can bleed my breaks...they said i dont need to bleed them, another mechanic at a different place said the same.

 

You don't NEED to bleed brakes when you change rotors but when you see that your brake fluid is begining to turn dark, it's because there is a lot of humidity and the liquid have been heated often.

Theses are some good sings plus the mushy brake pedal that you NEED to change the fluid.

 

here's how you bleed your brakes >> http://www.greghome.com/Greg's%20Gar...edBleeders.htm

 

ok, I got the brake fluid changed today at the Nissan dealer, but I still need to push the ledal down half way for it to start slowing down, and then I need to push it down really hard to make it stop. So, if it's not the brake fluid, what else could the problem be? The rotors were plained back in November, and I'm pretty sure the pads were also replaced at the same time, is it possible the rotor is plained too much and there's a larger then normal gap between the pad and the rotor?

 

did the stealership just fill up the brake fluid to the max or they actually bleed all four brake lines?

 

Says on the work sheet that they changed the fluid, so I persume they did.

 

Nope, disc brakes are self-adjusting by default. My brakes seem kinda weak too but a time or two I have induced the anti-lock so I know they are working reasonably well. If you have ABS, stomp on your brakes on a very empty street and see if your ABS is actuated, if you don't have it you should be able to lock up your brakes. If you can't do either one of these things you've got a problem. I know it seems like kind of a crude diagnostic method but it is effective.

 

Check your vaccuum lines to your power brake booster (what your master cylinder is attached to), If they are cracked or mushy, you'll lose vaccuum. Mushy hoses will cause themselves to collapse when vaccuum is applied.

 

Ok, I'll give it a go and see what happens, it does have ABS so hopefully it'll kick in. It's only something thats started happening in the last year, it used to respond well to the brake pedal. It does seem though that ever since the rotors were done in November it's been like this. I had driven for a good month or two with the warped rotors before they were plained, so maybe that did some damage?

Edit: Sorry 98se5spd, we must have posted at the same time. Where abouts can I find the vacuum hoses to check? Would it be the hoses that are behind the brake assembly on each wheel?