Hi, for anyone who may have knowledge of brake problems (sorry for the long post);
I live in Scotland but am currently in East Yorkshire for work reasons. At the beginning of May my Mini Cooper developed a brake problem, when I put my foot on the brake pedal it felt very soft, I also got a slight noise of air when the pedal was pressed down. Braking capacity was drastically reduced, I only had basic brakes. If I pumped the brake pedal a couple of times it firmed up but then went soft again the next time I pressed my foot on the pedal. I checked the brake fluid and it was at normal levels. Apart from these symptoms there were no other symptoms or noises from the car, no vibration, no warning lights and no steering problems.
I phoned a local garage they collected the car then called to say my master brake cylinder was the problem. Almost £300 and 6 days later I got my car back. The brakes seemed to be working ok and I continued to use the car even driving to Scotland and back for leave. At the end of May in East Yorkshire the exact same problem occurred again, same symptoms and no other symptoms different from before. I phoned the same garage, they collected my car but this time they say it's my ABS, potentially this will cost me over £800 to repair. I queried why the exact same symptoms now has a new cause. The garages vague response is that these things happen and the amount of milage I have done in the space of 4 weeks could contribute to a new fault occurring. I have major doubts about them diagnosing the fault but my car is currently sitting in their garage in bits waiting for my ABS unit to be posted to and tested by a company in London (at a cost to me) who can supply a reconditioned unit if it is faulty and can't be repaired. I seperately spoke to two mechanics in Scotland I know and after me describing the symptoms they both said 'servo problem' which is not something the local garage here have mentioned. Does anyone have any brake experience/knowledge they can impart please:frown:?
I live in Scotland but am currently in East Yorkshire for work reasons. At the beginning of May my Mini Cooper developed a brake problem, when I put my foot on the brake pedal it felt very soft, I also got a slight noise of air when the pedal was pressed down. Braking capacity was drastically reduced, I only had basic brakes. If I pumped the brake pedal a couple of times it firmed up but then went soft again the next time I pressed my foot on the pedal. I checked the brake fluid and it was at normal levels. Apart from these symptoms there were no other symptoms or noises from the car, no vibration, no warning lights and no steering problems.
I phoned a local garage they collected the car then called to say my master brake cylinder was the problem. Almost £300 and 6 days later I got my car back. The brakes seemed to be working ok and I continued to use the car even driving to Scotland and back for leave. At the end of May in East Yorkshire the exact same problem occurred again, same symptoms and no other symptoms different from before. I phoned the same garage, they collected my car but this time they say it's my ABS, potentially this will cost me over £800 to repair. I queried why the exact same symptoms now has a new cause. The garages vague response is that these things happen and the amount of milage I have done in the space of 4 weeks could contribute to a new fault occurring. I have major doubts about them diagnosing the fault but my car is currently sitting in their garage in bits waiting for my ABS unit to be posted to and tested by a company in London (at a cost to me) who can supply a reconditioned unit if it is faulty and can't be repaired. I seperately spoke to two mechanics in Scotland I know and after me describing the symptoms they both said 'servo problem' which is not something the local garage here have mentioned. Does anyone have any brake experience/knowledge they can impart please:frown:?