[Bluer101]

Today my wife picked me up at work and she said the brake light on the dash lit up twice and ding on the way to get me. I first checked the ebrake but that was not down. Then opened the hood and checked the fluid, it was at the MIN mark. Now keep in mind out car is brand new 3 months ago with 3300 miles just had first oil change this past weekend. I got on the floor and check for any leaks, on the rims, calipers, ABS module, master cylinder, and on the garage floor when we got home and nothing to be found. I topped it off to the MAX line before I left work. Do you thing that it might have not been full from factory prep and caused it?

 

[Rambit]

That doesn't sound right at all. I've never heard of anyone having that problem here either, but I guess anything's possible. For something as critical as brakes I'd take it in to have it thoroughly inspected for leaks, especially on such a new car.

Bernie

 

[MAGCAWD]

One other thing you might check is to be sure the parking brake is fully released. Pull the release lever and use your foot to pull up from under the pedal to bring it fully back to its "off" position. If the pedal did not fully return when released, it could cause intermittent flashes in the sensor which sounds like what your are experiencing. It could also be that the switch is not being shut off or defective. If making sure the pedal is fully off doesn't cure it, take it in. :fing02:

 

[cpesloco]

One other thing you might check is to be sure the parking brake is fully released. Pull the release lever and use your foot to pull up from under the pedal to bring it fully back to its "off" position. If the pedal did not fully return when released, it could cause intermittent flashes in the sensor which sounds like what your are experiencing. It could also be that the switch is not being shut off or defective. If making sure the pedal is fully off doesn't cure it, take it in. :fing02:

i had the same issue and pulling the release and foot petal to max position fixed it.

 

[Bluer101]

One other thing you might check is to be sure the parking brake is fully released. Pull the release lever and use your foot to pull up from under the pedal to bring it fully back to its "off" position. If the pedal did not fully return when released, it could cause intermittent flashes in the sensor which sounds like what your are experiencing. It could also be that the switch is not being shut off or defective. If making sure the pedal is fully off doesn't cure it, take it in. :fing02:

That was the first thing I tried and my wife said yea thats the light. Then saw the fluid was just above MIN level so I filled it to just below the MAX level and going to keep and eye on it. I spent about an hour last night in the garage on the ground looking all over the car and found nothing wrong. Maybe wasn't topped off during factory fill.

 

[dhoolwerf]

Either the brake fluid reservoir was not full to begin with, or your brakes pads are worn down to the point where they will need to be replaced very soon. As the pads wear down, the pistons in the calipers have to travel further to push the pads into contact with the rotors, thus more of the brake fluid is in the brake lines and calipers. This is why the fluid level in the brake reservoir always goes down over time (assuming there are no leaks).

Low brake fluid is your early warning system for worn out brake pads, which is why the reservoir should never be refilled between pad changes. The second stage warning of worn out brake linings is the squealing/grinding you hear when the metal tab comes in contact with the brake rotor. At that point, you are doing damage to the rotors. Even a few miles of driving like this will wear grooves into your rotors to the point where they cannot be resurfaced, and you will require new rotors at great expense.

So I suggest you check your brake pads immediately. If there is still a lot of meat on them (which there should be, considering you only have 3300 miles on your car), then top off the reservoir with clean brake fluid from a sealed container, and assume that the reservoir was simply underfilled at the factory.

 

[Bluer101]

So I suggest you check your brake pads immediately. If there is still a lot of meat on them (which there should be, considering you only have 3300 miles on your car), then top off the reservoir with clean brake fluid from a sealed container, and assume that the reservoir was simply underfilled at the factory.

Yep, plenty of meat on them, so just the top off and see how that goes. Sometimes they might have not filled it up all the way. I could see the brake fluid level being alittle down with 3300 but not that far. So if it started just abouve the MIN then after a few thousand miles bing goes the light.:smashfrea

 

[Bluer101]

Well this morning checked the level and its down 1/2 inch from 3 days ago. So I made an appointment for in the AM to drop it at the dealer. I jacked thacar up last night and looked everywhere and saw nothing again, spent about 1 hour looking. Hope they find something.:fing02:

 

[dhoolwerf]

That's not good! Have you checked the area behind/underneath the master cylinder? Perhaps the reservoir itself is leaking? Brake fluid is nasty stuff - eats through paint in no time - hopefully it's not leaking onto a painted surface in the engine bay.

Let us know what the dealership finds.

 

[Bluer101]

That's not good! Have you checked the area behind/underneath the master cylinder? Perhaps the reservoir itself is leaking? Brake fluid is nasty stuff - eats through paint in no time - hopefully it's not leaking onto a painted surface in the engine bay.

Let us know what the dealership finds.

Yes I checked all that area around the master cylinder, resivior, and inside under the dash by the brake pedal.

 

[Bluer101]

Dropped the car off this morning and picked up about 5 hours later. Nothing found, inspected ABS, brake lines, calipers, etc. on the work order. Then said topped off no leak found. They said if it keeps going down do not fill and bring back asap. So I will check it everyday and wait, thats the best I can do.

 

[Bluer101]

Cars going in Monday AM, down about 3/4 inch after 2 weeks and now the pedal is making a creaking door sound when pressed, whether you are moving or standing still. I think the master cylinder is the problem.

 

[Bluer101]

Dropped the car off this morning then got a call. Told the master cylinder is internally leaking into the booster. New cylinder and booster will be coming in tomarrow and installed.

 

[Bluer101]

Picked up car this afternoon. When I got the car the tail brake lights were all lite up with the car off, come to find out they did not push the brake light switch under the dash all the way back in. Got home and found the wiper motor harness still unplugged and a broken plastic cowl clip. But other than that all things seem ok now. I will just replace the stupid clip myself and already plugged the harness back in. Why can't dealers do something without some hangups?