So today is the first time i experienced this...

from doing about 80mph on the highway braking down fast for an exit.. the pedal was a sponge and it felt like the car grabbed in only one spot and kinda bucked a little like a sea saw side to side.. scary as ****!! thank god for the 6speed cause i just double clutched and jammed it fast into 3rd and engine braked ..

and then it happened again braking from prob 50 to stop.. same side to side buck..same pedal feel...

the weird thing is.. if i Immediatly release the pedal and then activate it.. the pedal is back and it stops normally...


so help..

does this sound like brake fade?

water in the lines?

bad fluid? (already check the level)

bad equipment?

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I guess my plan of action is new quality pads all around (maybe hawk?) and drain,fill, bleed

 

I've had to apply the brake, release, the reapply for stiffer breaking for years now if I'm going highway speed. Doesn't matter if the pads and rotors are good or not. If I want it stiff all the time, I would have to replace my master cylinder most likely.

 

bbk fixes that problem

 

check that all of your calipers work properly...maybe do the 6th gen upgrade plus the hawks.

 

What you are describing doesn't really sound like brake fade. It sounds a lot more like a mechanical failure.

When its brake fade your brakes will start out feeling normal and stopping like normal. As the pads build up heat and/or the fluid starts to boil then the pedal will start to feel spongy and the car will wont slow as quickly. After everything has cooled to a 'normal' temp everything will work like normal again.

A single hard stop from 80mph would not cause massive brake fade without there being a contributing mechanical failure (such as a hole in a line) or LOTS of water in the system. Lots of water in the system wouldnt present it self suddenly like that though.

 

well.. FWIW I was driving kinda hard and the brakes were prob heated up.. idk about boiling but .. it was nerve racking..


I'd love to but i have 16" winter steelies that need to fit in the winter..


any more advice?.. anyone ever have anything like this happen to them?

 

All of my experiences with brake fade (while in another car) were exactly as described in my other post. The car does nothing weird other then failing to slow as fast as you want it to...scary as all hell but no bucking as you described.

 

What pads do you have? These brakes don't give up early from my experience.

 

that doesn't sound like a fade situation....sounds like you have a bad master cylinder (mine went bad at about 110k miles, btw) or a caliper that isn't sliding correctly.

1. check your pad depth
2. check your lines
3. check the caliper slide pins for seizing
4. replace your brake fluid and have everythign bled correctly while you're at it. This should be done once a year anyhow.

 

thanks for the advice josh,. glad to see you still observe these forms

is the bleeding pattern in the maxima different that of any other car.. in terms of placement to the master cylinder ... i remember reading that the maxima is different but it wasnt a credible source..

FWIW- the car only has 45,000 miles..and the brakes are prob orig...

 

it was more like.. the brakes felt faded.. the pedal was super soft and squishy..like i kept reaching for them and reaching for them...and it was super soft and then they felt like they tried to grab a little , but quickly.. idk..I usually double clutch rev match all the time.. and due to that im not heavy on the brakes at all...so this scarred me...

time to get some money together for pads and fluid.... seems the be the cheapest fix for now..i guess it would make sense to get good rotors and hope its not my mater cylinder or a messed up caliper

 

I drop in here and there when I get tired of feeling like a n00b with my 240whp WRX on the subaru forums full of 500whp monsters....

Bleed patterns for most any car is furthest from the MC to closest. I do recall that there may be a funky suggested pattern for the Maxima - I'm sure a quick search would turn it up here, I know it's been posted many times. I totally forget, honestly. I don't think I really abided by it anyhow all the times I did my brake changes....

 

Wow, only 45,000 miles? I assume you haven't bleed your maxima before. But definitely a sign to change the 8 years old brake fluid. I hope bleeding the system+change pads will fix the problem and hopefully you don't have to replace the MC with such low mileage.

 

Not disagreeing with anyone, some good advice so far. Not mentioned was a warped rotor. A warped rotor could potentially push pads apart, sending a piston back enough to get excess clearance at one wheel, requiring a double pump; and perhaps odd pulling as one side grips earlier then the other.

Just another perspective.

 

thanks for the advice from another perspective it is appreciated..

but i dont think its warped.. I have no shutter in the pedal/wheel/floor/ anywhere..at any times, and from my experience with warped rotots/material transfer to the rotor.. that usually comes with the warping..


so.. next ?-- any advice on brake fluid?.. do i have to go oem nissan fluids?.. or are there any popular brands out there.. or anything i should look out for... thanks...

 

well then.. its time for a

1.bigger snail
2. FMIC
3. CObb access port
4. Perrin up/down
. . . to name a few