Last night, I was getting off a freeway offramp (thankfully in an area without much traffic) and my brakes completely failed. The pedal went to the floor with no response. I put on the emergency brake and was able to slow down to a stop. I began driving slowly to a gas station around the corner, using my emergency brake as needed.

The Accord had been braking normally 20 to 30 minutes earlier before I'd driven on the freeway. The gas station attendant checked my brake fluid and radiator. Both were about halfway full. He looked under the car and didn't see any leaking fluid.

I called my brother and he asked if any lights had appeared on the dashboard before it happened. There weren't any. He asked me to turn on the engine, make sure the emergency brake was on, and press down on the brake pedal. The pedal went to the floor and there was a sound of escaping air. He had me push the brake pedal down with the engine off but I could not get it to push to the floor. There was a very faint sound—kind of like a buzz—not the escaping air sound. My brother is puzzled and guesses it might be a master cylinder failure.

Does anyone have any idea what this might be?

 

probably the master cylinder, but you should have the ENTIRE brake hydraulic system checked out.

 

Forgive my lack of mechanical knowledge, but would the hydraulic system need to be checked on a lift at a garage or could it be evaluated by a do-it-yourselfer? My brother is planning on coming over later to see if he can help.

 

gotta pull the wheels, if he has a jack and a lug wrench you're golden also, look for some leaking brake fluid inside the car under the dash at the brake pedal rod, a "for sure" tell tale sign.

 

Thanks, Jeff.

I will pass on your suggestions and let you know what he finds out.

 

you got it sweetheart, let us know

 

Problem still unsolved...

My brother came over to check out the brake problem but the brakes were working today. He was concerned there was a clunking sound when pushing the brake pedal. He brought over a new master cylinder but decided to hold off on installing it until he could be sure what had caused the problem. We did about a 5 mile test drive with lots of quick stops and all went well. The night the brakes failed, I had been traveling for about 30 minutes on the freeway without any stopping. I wonder if that could be a clue? Problems don't correct themselves, especially in the world of cars, so I'll drive (carefully) over to his place tomorrow where he can take off the wheels and spend more time taking a look.

Jeff, I've passed on your suggestions to my brother. If you have any other possible scenarios or advice, feel free to post them.

 

With the car running, push and hold the brake pedal down.....does it start to sink to the floor while holding pressure on the pedal?

 

A few days ago, it sank to the floor. Yesterday, it went down further than it should, but not to the floor. I drove the car to run some errands this morning without an issue. It's strange that it's stopping normally now (I'm not complaining) but being that it happened once, my fear is that it will happen again.

Although my brother isn't sure the master cylinder is what caused the problem, he will replace it today. I'll be driving to his place and avoiding the freeway. Wish me luck. It's raining here in southern California and my brother lives up a hill! He said he'll meet me at the bottom and drive up with me.

He suggested another way to slow down the car in an emergency is to shift to the lower gear. It's an automatic so I didn't know I could do that. I feel better knowing there's more than one option.

 

If you hold pressure on the pedal and it starts to "sink" towards the floor then the master cyl is on its way out.

I know this sounds like a ton of info....but using the e-brake, pump the brake pedal and down shifting (don't over do it so that too much is put on the trans) are all good things to do if you have brake issues.

Please keep us updated and be careful...plan your stops, start slowing down early so you know what you are going to get.