Delayed Brakes ?

jrt750 said:

Yes I think its the ABS . I went to the dealer and asked why does the brake pedal go down so far before I feel the vehicle starting to slow down .

Service guy and mechanic stated that's normal. Salesmen I dealt with when I purchased it states that the car is figuring out how its going to brake depending on speed traction before the pedal bottom's ........Really ???? He also told me he was a tech for 18 years prior to becoming a salesman .

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I've heard a bunch of BS excuses and alibis in my time, but when a vehicle is suffering from brake problems someone had best assemble their "stuff" before they have a whole crew of lawyers on them like ugly on an ape.

The OP's threat of lawyers seems to have gotten their attention at least, but they may well need a nice letter from a lawyer to really impress them. Nothing scares outfits like this more than anything is talking to a lawyer who would likely point out that if you or anyone else is killed or injured due to this problem it's going to cost them a huge pile of $CDN, and maybe their business.

** update **

A week has gone by and VW Barrie still has my car. After leaving a message asking for an update, I received a call this morning with a series of questions that the Service Tech from VW Canada requires. The questions included ...
-time and date of issue
-weather conditions
-speed of car when issue occurs
ect, ect, ect...

My answer to each of these questions was that it happens all the time !

I then started drilling the service representative with questions of my own... during his responses, he mentioned the term "brake fade" then quickly covered himself by stating that he isn't saying that this is the issue with my car and that it's just a term he used. hmmmm..... has my car been diagnosed with "brake fade" and he didn't want to say anything more??

I was advised that they will get back to me when they have more information. I reminded them that the "loaner car" that was provided STILL has a missing headlight and to this date they haven't attempted to rectify this issue. I was asked to bring the car in tomorrow evening (when they are open until 8pm) to have the bulb replaced.

Ugh... frustrated !

Brake fade is not what your experiencing .

Brake fade means the the brakes become less effective as they warm up; for example using them to come down a mountain. Normal braking come back after they cool down .

John

I would be frustrated also, but the dealer, and or salesperson should have never sold a car that the brakes were not working properly.
All of my VW cars have had excellent brakes be they be gas or diesel, all have brake booster these days. Best of luck. Have you driven another Diesel Jetta? To experience how the brakes should work?

Noshametogame your predicament has caught my curiosity. Has anyone found the actual problem with your brakes. The dealer has to correct this blatant safety issue. There should be a Canadian agency to respond to safety issues. Good Luck.

Wow! I just read the whole thread expecting to see what the resolution to the problem was. I can't believe there is still a problem and that they still have the car.

Do these new cars have any kind of fly by wire braking system or are they normal direct linkage between the pedal and master with a booster?

It's all mechanical from what I can see ... Brake pedal to rod that goes into booster and continues into master cylinder . ABS is down stream, looks typical to me.

Probably some low drag caliper stuff going on. Just like GM pickups and fullsize SUVs, hit the brake pedal, feel it firm up, then mash it down halfway to start getting brakes.
Gets even scarier when the rear drums are out of adjustment.

You get used to it. The "mash the brake pedal half to the floor" motion becomes automatic.

ETA: easy way to diag, vise grip on a brake hose, if the squish goes away, it was that caliper. repeat for all four, if it was the same on all four then you might have an issue in the master, booster, pedal push rod, or air in the ABS pump

486

I was at the dealer and checked a 2015 Jetta, brake pedal did exactly the same thing .
I still don't believe this is right .There are times when the brake pedal is rock hard at the top of the pedal . I wish I knew how to disable the electronic brake systems just so I could see the results . If I could disable the ABS Id bet that is what is creating this phenomenon .

I just started to read this thread and I can add one thing: my 2013 passat tdi DSG does exactly the same but not always.

Now its getting cold here in montreal and when I let my car sits outside during the night and in the next morning, I go for a drive, for the first 2 or 3 stops signs I'll meet, I have to push the brake pedal wayyy more than when the car is hot or kind of.

When everything is normal: I barely touch the brake pedal and the car is slowing down

Whe car is cold: you have to press almost half way to get the same results as when the car is hot.

I think its the brake assist that gets confused but the dealer couldn't find anything wrong and when we tried 2 other passat, it was the same thing... oh well.. I'm getting used to it now but I remember that my 2012 Passat TDI manual transmission never acted like that.

Today going to work , As some of you will know , we received 20mm of snow today and the roads were a mess . Anyway I was on my way to work and the first time I touched the brake the ABS kicked in I have never ever experienced an ABS system react the way this thing did . The pedal was jumping up and down pulsing as any other system but like an inch of travel . The brake didint even work well , If I was braking because I was behind another vehicle I would have hit it . Before this Car I had a 2001 Hyundai Accent Gsi, I purchased it new. It's a 5 speed manual trans. Power brakes no ABS . It handles Better brakes better .... does everything better than this thing I have now . Never for a min was I ever disappointed with it. I really like my Jetta but I'm so disappointed with the way the brakes and transmission work . I won't give up , I will find out the answers as to the whys and how I can correct or adjust what ever it takes . Soon I will be down loading the manual from erwin there Im sure I will get some answers . I'm really looking forward to finding the out come to noshametogames issuies with her car, after all this is her thread .

noshametogame said:

2014 Jetta TDI.

...
...

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated !

New VW owner...
Michelle
Innisfil Ontario

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(I think) it is doing what it should...

FYI, Press the brake hard and it will brake INSTANTLY, no question. (Maybe) you applied the brake lightly in your test drive. This activates the engine braking (a good thing)... MAYBE I AM WRONG, but Read on.

You were driving the DSG (automatic). The DSG will downshift if you apply light pressure to the brake. You feel the effect of engine braking, and yes, the engine transiently goes to higher rpm. That saves your brakes, because the engine slows you down.

But if you press the brakes harder, they should stop the car immediately. If not...something obviously wrong!

One more thing... if you lift your foot off the throttle, but do not touch the brake, it will NOT downshift, because you want to coast.

I RECOGNIZE THAT YOU MAY BE PRESSING THE BRAKE MUCH HARDER AND STILL HAVE DELAYED RESPONSE. If so, I hope that a software update or something fixes it!

**See if you can cause it to engage the engine braking with light braking, from a good speed, like 50-60kph. It SHOULD downshift and use the engine to slow you down. See if you can observe this when you are isolated on the highway and don't need to stop (to get used to it).

DSG is smart. You get used to it. And you are not "just" a chick. You are a VW driver!

Noshametogames did you get the car back from the dealer? Did they give you an answer to what was happening with your brakes.
Happy Holidays!!!

I'm not completely convinced there is a problem in the brakes based on the description of what is happening. When I first started driving a VW (2011 Tiguan) after years of driving Honda and Toyota, I noticed a pretty big difference in how the car brakes.

It is mostly in the "slow down braking" where it did not seem to respond/slow down as quickly as the Japanese makers with the light touch. When I needed to STOP and firmly pressed the brake pedal the car would immediately respond and stop the car. My 2015 Jetta is the same way and I consider this to be normal after talking to various dealer service techs etc. It is simply a characteristic of the car and thus I needed to learn how to drive it.

That said, if the car does NOT respond to firm pressure on the brake pedal there IS a problem and it needs to be addressed.

It does not mean that you need to ride the brakes (especially if you are directly in front of me. You can tell because you will see me going nuts in your rear view mirror ) Learn how your car brakes and how quickly, distances to stopping etc. Use the manual gear selection to apply engine braking when you just need to slow down a little (saves your brakes in the long run as an added bonus).

My dealer here hosts "Get to know your car" nights where they go into fairly detailed learning sessions about stuff like that. They are free (actually dealer give incentives like discounts on service for attending) and really help you know how to keep your car in top condition. You should investigate if there is a similar program in your area.

I hope you get your brake problem sorted out and get to start enjoying your VW!

Hello glick .

Thanks for your comments , I have to agree with you to a point . The brakes probably are OK . Comments received so far is that's the way they work.... Ummm ? and how is that , no one has really stated what happens exactly once the brake pedal is under pressure . Whats going with the first 20mm of travel until you feel more linear braking . That's my question ?

regards John

I was reading through some info on VWVortex about options available through vcds and found this little tidbit:

Brake Assist: Tested 12+
Description: Brake assist will make it so you do not have to push down on the brake pedal as hard before the brakes engage. It does not actually make the brakes any stronger. Some people like this, some people feel it makes heel/toe harder.
Go to Adaptation in the ABS module
Choose "Brake Assist"
Set new value to 2 (0 is stock, 1 is small, 2 is hard)
Pic tutorial: XDS and Brake Assist Settings
Note: Set to value of 2 and breaks engage response quicker. No waiting for 1/8 to 1/4 peddle press before anything happens. Think of it as a "sprint booster" only for your break peddle.

link to full page is here:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5939056-VAGCOM-Tweaks-MK6-GLI

Thank you Glick you have no idea how much I appreciate this information. Don valley VW was no help at all, my sales guy told me that’s the way they work , he stated he was a tech for 18 yrs before moving to sales . Just shows you how much some tech guys really know. Good that he is not working on cars anymore .
The service department told me the same thing; two mechanics looked at it ….same thing. I’ll be going to the dealer soon to discuss this matter and hopefully they will help. I doubt the techs even understand this ….. I may have to do it myself.

· Again a big thank you.

· John