My brake pedal has been squishy for a long time now, and I just deal with it thinking that's the way it is. I've bled it with Valvoline Synpower a few months back, it helped a bit for a while, and now back to extremely soft. My gf's new Civic, friend's Accord, even the rental van during spring break has a stiff pedal. So what car has a similar pedal feel compared to ours? (so maybe I can compare to see if mine really is soft)

 

i have the same issue. if you look at the pedals, the clutch pedal sits very high then it seems like the brake pedal is lower than the accel pedal. its fairly soft i think. maybe that is an indication of the brakes wearing down?

 

my brakes felt spongy, then I had my brakes serviced...new pads, rotors, brake fluid etc. and they seem to feel better now...not hard but normal. I had an MX-6 (nightmare car) and the brakes felt similar.

 

Mine is like that as well as a friends.. 2k2 and 2k3. But I got in a 4th gen the other day and almost sent everyone through the windshield, its like a pedal is supposed to be. Theres got to be something to it to cause them to be like that. I personally don't like it.

 

I've wondered this as well... My awesome OEM pads seem to fade as they warm up. Are any of you using aftermarket pads, like Hawk, Akebono, etc., and still have a spongy brake feel?

 

Mine is very linear. You apply the brake pedal very little, and the result is the same. Some cars I've driven have very touchy brake pedals, and it does make it seem as though they are more stiff but, in fact, it's just that they bite much harder with the slightest touch of the pedal making it seem as if they were more responsive. I'll keep mine the way it is because I like being able to receive what I input...If I want to brake hard, I'll do it.

 

I drove an 02 Altima couple weeks ago, and its pedal was pretty stiff and linear. Given that the two cars are similar, I figured that mine really is soft.

 

My last car was a 1999 pontiac grand prix gt. My current 01 max brake pedal feels stiffer, and the brakes definetly operate faster and bite harder.

 

I also wondered about the spongy pedal so this is typical for our cars? As the pads and rotors start to wear my pedal seems to get more spongy is this also typical or is it time to try bleading? What about SS lines would this help to firm up the pedal or is there nothing that can be done?

 

it's kinda soft, softer than my friend's volvo s40 I've tried.

 

I have the same issue and was wondering if the brake booster was going bad because thats what it feels like. It feels like if you stop and sit for a minute the pedal almost keeps sinking in my car. It never goes all the way to the floor and the car never starts moving but feels very spongy. I had a 02 pathfinder and it was not like this you could just tap the brakes and it would smash your face to the glass I hated it but this feeling is not much better. I like stiff brakes but not grabby these are neither one. It almost feels unsafe or scary. My brakes are all stock and Im in major need of pads and rotors but I dont think this is the issue. It might help some but not fix the issue.

 

the pedal does sink one mine when the car is about to stop, donno why.

 

What's fun to try, at a stop light put the gear select into N with your foot on the brake. You'll feel the pedal sink a bit lower.

That sounds to me like its a vac issue.