Guy plows through traffic on Grosebeck

[wolverine]

I had the brakes go out when driving one of those carsharing vehicles. Yes, here's a carsharing nightmare!

I had just picked up a friend from the airport and was heading back on the freeway going the speed limit [[55 mph). Ahead of me the freeway slopes downward and I see brakelights of completely stopped cars in the distance.

Gently press the brakes, the pedal goes to the floor.
I try to restore pressure by pumping them...fails.
I drop to a lower gear.
I applied the parking brake.

We were slowing down, but not fast enough because of the downward slope. I said to my friend "Ready for this, hold on." I veered the car into the concrete divider sideswiping it as much as possible. I finally stopped when I rammed into a pile of construction materials [[though we weren't in a construction zone).

I called the police and rental company. They came and picked it up.

Because I did not hit any other cars, just damage to stuff on the freeway, I was not issued any tickets, or responsible for damages. The rental company received no fines either, at least that I'm aware of.

Point is when brakes fail, don't hit other people, crash into things like sign posts, fencing whatever if you can't stop.

[Detroitej72]

I never understand why people don't shut off the engine in a situation like this.

[animatedmartian]

Point is when brakes fail, don't hit other people, crash into things like sign posts, fencing whatever if you can't stop.

That's what I was thinking. It's cheaper to take out a fence than bump into several cars. It's really an eye opener to see what to do and what not to do in these situations.

[wolverine]

Obviously, you also don't want to injure someone, or if you strike another vehicle, you could be sued. Inanimate objects like signs and fences can't sue, and they can easily be replaced by whoever the car is insured under.

[stromberg2]

By the way, how do you tell which wheel it is or do you replace both wheels? I'm great at driving, not so much with repairs!

Stromberg2

[Magnatomicflux]

By the way, how do you tell which wheel it is or do you replace both wheels? I'm great at driving, not so much with repairs!

Stromberg2

I don't think that's where you'll find your problem, strom. If you ever look under your hood, you'll see....basically in line with the steering wheel, against the firewall, a large, circular or drum shaped vessel of sorts, with a small reservior sticking out the front where you put your brake fluid. That's the booster. It uses vacuum to help assist you with braking power [[power brakes).
What you have is a leak that is either a diaphram within the booster, in which case it needs to be replaced [[the whole booster...I don't know if you can fix the diaphram alone. Probably cheaper to do the whole thing if you're no good with repairs). OR it could be a simple vacuum line. From that booster, you'll see a black tube coming from it to the intake manifold on top of, or near the top of your engine. The manifold is generally made of aluminum and coloured as such. See if the vacuum line has cracks or anything, listen with the engine running and see if you hear sucking. Keep your fingers and stuff out of the engine bay! [[I'm sure you know this, but hey) If it is that one vacuum tube, you could for sure do this yourself, just get the part at AutoZone or something. If not....to the shop you go. Here's some visuals for you:

the circular/drum shaped vessel of sorts


Arrow is pointing to the brake booster vacuum line to the intake manifold


How it works



Anyways, if you're taking it to the shop anyways, I would have them check all the vacuum lines FIRST...as they would be the cheapest repair.


Geez....I hope that information is right! LOL!

Good luck!