Braking problem - pulse/click coming through pedal.

Mr. Larson

I've noticed something really disconcerting happening with the brakes on my car lately - it's a Volvo C70 Coupé. When depressing the brake slightly, I can sometimes feel a pulse or vibration coming through the brake pedal and the brakes don't seem to be working as effectively as they should. It's a fairly rare occurence but I'm afraid there might be something about to give, I really haven't a clue what's causing it, I usually just take my foot off and press again. I've noticed that sometimes I really need to heavily press the brake when stopping suddenly. THe car is only recently serviced by a Volvo Dealer (about 2 months/ 2,000 miles ago) and only has 38k on the clock, so there shouldn't be anything majorly wrong with it...

Anyone else come across this or have any ideas about what it could be?

cord

Hi
Sounds like warped brake disks, but when dealing with brakes better let the pro's have a look. Bring it back to the people who serviced the car. That's my pennies worth.

crosstownk

Sounds like your ABS may be kicking in. It could also be a warped brake disc. Get it looked at, it's not worth taking a chance where brakes are concerned.

Mr. Larson

Thanks lads - am I correct in expecting a 12 month warranty from the dealer should cover this? (I'll read the small print to double check when I get home)

crosstownk

Jabberwocky wrote:

am I correct in expecting a 12 month warranty from the dealer should cover this? (I'll read the small print to double check when I get home)

Do you mean for the service? Did you have this fault before the service or has it developed since?

Mr. Larson

It's developed since the last service - so not expecting any comeback there... but I have a 12 month warranty from the dealer I purchased the car from, second hand - so just wondering if this type of problem would be covered by that warranty?

Fr Dougal

crosstownk wrote:

Sounds like your ABS may be kicking in. It could also be a warped brake disc. Get it looked at, it's not worth taking a chance where brakes are concerned.

I'm with Crosstownk on this. Sounds like ABS problem, leave it to the experts.

If it's an ABS problem I'd expect this to be covered by the warrenty. However, if ir's a problem with the pads I doubt they would cover this as they are a "consumables". Also, not sure, if it's a warped disc they may also try to argue that these are consumables but I'd argure the case with them if that's the case.

Best of luck and drive slowly til you get it fixed.

crosstownk

Jabberwocky wrote:

but I have a 12 month warranty from the dealer I purchased the car from, second hand - so just wondering if this type of problem would be covered by that warranty?

Ah - I see.

I'd imagine it sould be - doesn't sound like a wear and tear fault to me.

Mr. Larson

Hoping so - okay - thanks for the helpful replies all - much appreciated.

Idleater

Jabberwocky wrote:

Hoping so - okay - thanks for the helpful replies all - much appreciated.

One quick thing to check:

Are all the wheel nuts tight? I had a very similar experience, and when I checked, one or two were loose (hand tight) and when I tightened them correctly, the pulsing went too.

Might save a trip to the garage.

L.

mike65

Did the service involve removing or replacing brake parts? The symptoms sound like faulty ABS speed sensor, it might be dirt on the buisness end of the sensor. Or it might not be pushed 'home' fully

Mike.