anyone else experiencing softer, mushier than normal brakes ? I was about to buy a used maxima but the brakes felt very unsafe, I had to press into the pedal really deeply and felt like it was almost at the end of pedal travel.

I also test drover other similar maxima's and it didn't feel as mushy.

anyone know what the problem could be ? last thing I need to to get into payments and have to spring/spend money for brake repair jobs.

 

Brake booster possibly.

 

Could be. Pump the brakes a few times with the car off. After it stiffens up (no homo) keep your foot on it and start the car. If it goes down a bit then its fine.

Or maybe it just needs a top off and bleed.

 

Oh the joys of looking for the perfect used car, how many miles did the Max have, by the way Im reading your post it sounds as if during your drive you noticed not normal breaking patterns, I would avoid that, unless you can pin point the problem, probably not worth getting involved

 

it's a 09 with about 40k miles, it's a CPO but the braking system is not covered by the CPO warranty so I'm stucking holding the bag of bad brakes once I sign the papers.

car is not in bad shape but I can't drive it with the brakes like that.

 

40k brake fluid is hydroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture from the air and with moisture in the fluid brakes get spongy, but 40k is probably the point at which the pads are half to 1/3 worn, so the brake will feel different and drop further, go back and pop the hood, see where the brake fluid is, a CPO is suppose to be like new

 

What everyone said above is definitely accurate. I have also heard a few stories about these cars having bad brake boosters that go sour early in the cars lifespan.

If the front pads haven't been changed in 40K, they are mostly likely 80-85% worn out depending on the previous owners driving habits.

 

My problem is somewhat different. I have approx. 39K on my 09 Max, and recently, I have noticed some squeeling when I lightly touch the brakes. The pads appear to have plenty of material left, so I was wondering if there is anything I could do to stop this noise? Any suggestions?

 

I have a 2011 maxima and they felt stiff when I first purchased the car but now after a week they feel soft/mushy/spongy...

 

If the pads (both front AND rear) have plenty of material left, then the squeal may be caused by a glaze forming on the surface of the pads. The first thing I would try would be scraping or sanding the glaze off the surfaces of the pads.

Back in the 1990s, brakes were set up in a way that, as the pads got thin, pressing the brakes would result in a piece of metal screeching against other metal, alerting the driver the brakes needed attention. I don't know if the 7th gen Maximas are set up that way.

 

I would try some of the things others mentioned earlier in this thread. Then I would absolutely be sure brake fluid was at the 'full' mark in the brake fluid reservoir. It is is not full, have it filled exactly to the 'full' line. If it then does not stay at the full mark for at least a month or more, you probably have a brake fluid leak somewhere.

 

i have the same problem with my 2010 max that has &k miles. i brought it back to the deal twice. The first time they bleed the brakes and the pedal was stiffer but over time it went back to usual. The second time they looked over the whole system and checked all the line pressures and it was all fine but my pedal is still mushy. I dont like it much

 

The brakes on my 2011 Maxima are the same as you describe. When the car was new (bought it 2 weeks ago) the brakes were fine. Now that the car has 800 miles on it there is a lot of pedal travel required until the brakes actually do something. If traffic stops quick in front of you it can be nasty.

For comparison, the dealer let me borrow their loaner car, a 2011 Altima with 3700 miles on the odo while my spoiler was being installed. The Altima brakes worked as expected, no excess pedal travel. I had the dealer check the brakes on the Max and they reported no problem found. Will have to pester them again about this. I am also going try adjusting the driver's seat forward.

highpwr