Buick brakes repair questions and answers
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182 Questions
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Brake light on suddenly. no prior warning of any brake problems (pads and rotors 8/2012). pedal goes to floor.susie48413 - 1997 Buick LeSabre - Brakes - 5/12/2013i don't think this could be pads or rotor since both replaced not long ago. no grinding, just pulls to left and barely stops. was fine one minute and barely stopping the next. wondering what else this could be. checked fluid, seems to be ok.-
5/12/2013 CVOA bad brake master cylinder. The master cylinder is where brake fluid gets compressed. Pressure on the brake fluid cases the brakes to be applied to the wheels. If your master cylinder doesn't work properly, or only works sometimes, you're going to lose braking power, and occasionally your brake pedal will go all the way to the floor.
A bad brake booster. The booster is a mechanism that uses vacuum pressure to take the force being applied to the brake pedal and amplify it. If the booster is bad, then the full amount of force needed to activate the master cylinder and pressurize the brake fluid isn't going to be there. The pedal will go all the way to the floor and the car will be harder to stop.
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How to Bleed Brakes with a ToolAutoMD Member - 2004 Buick Park Avenue - Brakes - 5/11/2013How to Bleed Brakes with a Tool for Buick Park?
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I have a squeak when I'm driving but quits when I hit the brakesjohnnyi - 1999 Buick LeSabre - Brakes - 5/10/2013Wheel noise squeaking sound when I drive but quits when I hit the brakes it's a 2012 Taurus pads look good-
5/10/2013 HouseCallAutoNo mystery, you need new brake pads. Look at the pads again. There s nothing else that would cause that symptom.
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The ac blows hot on driver side and cold on passenger sidejmatsufuji - 2004 Buick Park Avenue - Brakes - 5/8/2013
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5/8/2013 serhatbuyrukone of the tunnels from your side or passenger side would be engorged and it prevents the air passing.. that gives the air blowing from this side to another exits .right now that you can do just check it if is okey (you can poke with a cable or wire. the problems come out cause of the ac's distiribitor.make a visit an expert. there is nothing doing from you.. have a nice day..
5/8/2013 CVOCool on the driver side and hot on the pass side is almost always caused by a faulty pass side blend door actuator. If it were the reverse (cool on pass side and hot on driver side the cause is always that the system is low on refrigerant.). Hope this helps.
5/8/2013 HouseCallAutoIt is the reverse -
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Why does my brak pedal go to the floor after replacing front pads?MichaelBrickwood714 - 1999 Buick Regal - Brakes - 4/28/2013I thought it might be the master cylinder so i replaced it also and bench bled it and then the lines and still no pedal and barely any brakes
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4/28/2013 JimmCheck the brake bleeding procedure; start with the wheel furthest from the master cylinder - usually the left rear, then right rear - and so on. Be sure to use clean, fresh brake fluid.
From your description, the lack of pedal pressure would indicate there is still residual air in the brake system at some point.
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Why does my brake pedal go to the floor?MichaelBrickwood714 - 1999 Buick Regal - Brakes - 4/28/2013I replaced the pads then the pedal went to the floor so I replaced the master cylinder and bench bled it and then the lines and still no pedal and barely any brakes
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4/28/2013 JimmCheck the brake bleeding procedure; start with the wheel furthest from the master cylinder - usually the left rear, then right rear - and so on. Be sure to use clean, fresh brake fluid.
From your description, the lack of pedal pressure would indicate there is still residual air in the brake system at some point.
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Why does my brak pedal go to the floor after replacing front pads?MichaelBrickwood714 - 1999 Buick Regal - Brakes - 4/28/2013I thought it might be the master cylinder so i replaced it also and bench bled it and then the lines and still no pedal and barely any brakes
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4/28/2013 JimmCheck the brake bleeding procedure; start with the wheel furthest from the master cylinder - usually the left rear, then right rear - and so on. Be sure to use clean, fresh brake fluid.
From your description, the lack of pedal pressure would indicate there is still residual air in the brake system at some point.
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I put rotors and brake pads on this vehicle, now the brake pedal goes to the floor. I bled them and their is no air in tblacksheepof4 - 2002 Buick Rendezvous - Brakes - 4/8/2013-
4/8/2013 HouseCallAutoAfter collapsing the pistons with a c-clamp and installing new pads and re-installing the calipers, and all of this is done WITHOUT opening up the hydraulic system, the first one or two applications of the pedal should go to the floor and then the pedal should become normal. If the pedal was normal before the brake job I am not sure I could guess what has happened here except that what I have seen happen in a rare occurrence is that after the new brakes are installed and you are all done and you step down on the pedal a few times (to pump up the pedal of course), I have personally formed a habit to avoid what happened to me once on a clients car, and this might be YOUR cause as well. When the brake pedal is normal and the pedal travel does not go beyond say two inches, it is a little risky to then allow the pedal to go the floor even once or twice because the piston and seals inside the master cylinder bore come into contact with the dirty / pitted / unsmooth portion of the master cylinder bore and this can cause a seal failure. The way to avoid this (too late now though) is to step down many short partial brake applications (don't exceed normal pedal travel) instead of two full to the floor pedal applications. In short, of you bled out the air and the pads are installed and everything looks as it should, then the master cylinder failed during the pump up for the reason I detailed.
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Why won't my brakes work?blacksheepof4 - 2002 Buick Rendezvous - Brakes - 4/8/2013I had new rotors and brake shoes put on my vehicle now the brake pedal goes down to the floor. there is no fluid leak and no air in the lines. is there a reset button or magic trick?
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4/8/2013 MikeHow do you know there is no air in the lines? If you replaced front pads and rotors only, the pedal should not change.
4/8/2013 blacksheepof4we bled the brakes, no air came out.
4/8/2013 MikeIf there is no leak or air, the master cylinder is faulty. Did you open the lines while replacing the pads and rotors? Did you have a firm pedal before?
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Why won't brake fluid reach my rear brakesjr_mitchell1964 - 2006 Buick Rainier - Brakes - 3/25/2013I changed the left rear brake caliper due to uneven pad wear, when i started to bleed the system i could not any fluid to the rear brakes just a drip or two. the brakes were working fine before this.
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3/25/2013 ella1234Replace the master cylinder the rear has failed due to lack of fluid. http://www.spobd2.com/ has video teach you.
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Why won't brake fluid reach my back brakesjr_mitchell1964 - 2006 Buick Rainier - Brakes - 3/24/2013I changed the left rear brake caliper due to uneven wear of the pads once i started to bleed the system i could not get fluid to the rear brakes just a drip. the front breaks had plenty of pressure when i tried them
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What replacement abs modules can i use on my vehicle.mmccleery2006 - 1999 Buick Park Avenue - Brakes - 3/23/2013The one that was on there was to large and kept blowing brand new brake lines. my mechanic said that it was too large and looked like it came from a van or larger vehicle. I was wondering cause i was told most gm parts are the same for all vehicles what abs modules ...
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3/23/2013 JimmTypically, the ABS control module will be specific to the vehicle - based on the design, weight, options and vehicle charateristics.
Here are several possible on-line auto parts sources; www.autopartswarehouse.com, www.1aauto.com, www.rockauto.com - to check the various part numbers and applications. For example, they (RockAuto) list the ABS brake module from around $135.00 for your vehicle - depending on whether there is the traction control option.
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What replacement abs modules can i use in my vehicle?mmccleery2006 - 1999 Buick Park Avenue - Brakes - 3/23/2013I have been having trouble with my abs module and was told that most gm vehicle parts are similar. i was wondering what other modules i could use to replace mine.
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3/23/2013 JimmTypically, the ABS control module will be specific to the vehicle - based on the design, weight, options and vehicle charateristics.
Here are several possible on-line auto parts sources; www.autopartswarehouse.com, www.1aauto.com, www.rockauto.com - to check the various part numbers and applications. For example, they (RockAuto) list the ABS brake module from around $135.00 for your vehicle - depending on whether there is the traction control option.
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How do I reset the ABS, Traction control, and "brake" light?McCartneyChuck - 2003 Buick LeSabre - Brakes - 3/22/2013I turned the car off, and restarted it. I unplugged the battery, I took all 4 wheels off and checked the wires going to the ABS sensor, and all are ok???
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3/22/2013 zak-pakFirst of all is the ABS light amber or red? If it's red driving could be dangerous as there is a serious fault. If it's amber you should be OK to drive you just won't have any ABS (but I don't guarantee that statement).The ABS light requires a special tool to reset it not unlike an OBDII code reader. I had the same problem on my 99 Lesabre a few years ago and it turned out to be one of the wheel sensors (located in the Hub assy). The wiring can look OK but the back of the Hub (Grease retainer) can rust out and cause water and dirt to get inside and cause the sensor to fail or the sensor can just give out. If your handy you could get a shop to diagnose it for you and then fix it ourself, or you can pick up a hub gain access to one hub at a time and plug the new one in and turn your car on to see which one is faulty then replace that one. Trouble is that the hubs are not the same for front and rear so if you get a front one and it turns out to be a rear then you have to take it back and exchange it for a rear (sensors are the same) (I was lucky, I got a front one and it turned out to be the right one). My traction light was only intermittent when this was happening and I only would have the ABS light and traction light, but again mine is a 99 Lesabre. The ABS scanner can be bought at just about any auto parts store. Price the scanner and a local garage to diagnose the trouble (They'll have the scanner and tell them that's all you want) go with what's cheaper or in your best interest. Hope this helps.
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If it is a bad brake booster, then there is no air escaped through the air intake vacuum hose when the brake pedal is applied ( the air intake vacuum hose to the brake booster has to remove prior to do the test)