Causes of car brake failure

Causes of car brake failure

Loss of brake fluid pressure

The car's brake system operates based on brake fluid pressure. A vehicle that loses brake fluid pressure will cause slow braking, long braking distance, or even brake failure. Normally, if the brake fluid pressure is low, the car's brake warning light will turn on to alert the driver.

The reason why the car loses brake pressure is mostly because the car is low on brake fluid. The reason may be that the car is leaking oil or has not been topped up for a long time. To find out, you need to check the brake fluid reservoir. If the oil level is too low compared to the regulations, you should add more oil. However, after adding oil, the brake loss still occurs, then it is likely that the car is leaking oil.

There are many causes of brake fluid leakage, commonly the rubber seal or brake line is worn, torn, or leaky...

In this case, it is best to quickly take the car to the garage for inspection and thorough treatment.

Air in brake line

If you try to brake but the brakes are weak or do not work, it is very possible that air has entered the brake fluid line.

Air entering the oil line will clog the line, preventing the vehicle from creating enough pressure for the brake system to operate. To handle a brake failure in this case, the driver needs to bleed the brake system to remove air bubbles in the oil line.

Master cylinder failure

The master cylinder is responsible for creating brake fluid pressure for the car's braking system to operate. Therefore, if the master cylinder malfunctions or is severely damaged, the car will lose brake fluid pressure, leading to brake failure.

ABS brake failure

ABS is an anti-lock braking system that helps ensure safety when the vehicle brakes suddenly. Nowadays, ABS systems are equipped on most modern cars.

The anti-lock braking system (ABS) can sometimes fail. Usually a faulty ABS system will not affect the operation of the braking system.

However, sometimes the ABS error prevents the intake/exhaust valve from opening/closing, causing the vehicle to lose its brakes. This is a rare case.

Bad habits from drivers

Car brake failure can also be due to driver error. During the use of the car, especially when the car is carrying a heavy load, going down a steep slope... if the driver continuously steps on the brake for a long time, creating great pressure on the brake, it is easy to cause the brake pads to burn, leading to the brake not working, the brake is weak or the car loses its brakes.

Due to continuous braking, the friction between the brake disc and the brake pads creates a large amount of heat, causing the brake fluid to boil and burn the brake pads. Therefore, the driver must be very careful and should not continuously brake for a long period of time, causing too much pressure on the brake system.

If you want to slow down, you can combine using the brakes with shifting to a lower gear to brake with the engine.

How to handle when the car loses its brakes

A car losing its brakes is a very dangerous situation. Because at this time, it is very difficult for the driver to control the speed of the car. In the case of a car losing its brakes when going downhill, it will be even more dangerous. Here is how to handle a car losing its brakes:

Keep calm

Losing your cool when you discover a brake problem will only waste the golden time to handle the brake failure. Therefore, the driver needs to be calm.

Always observe and turn on emergency lights

Do not panic and do not focus on slowing down the car. Instead, the first thing to do is to observe the situation ahead to avoid collision. Immediately turn on the emergency lights, flash the headlights, and use the signal continuously to let other vehicles on the road pay attention and proactively give way.

Reduce/release the accelerator pedal depending on the situation.

A brake failure is a situation where the brake pedal cannot be used to control the speed of the vehicle. The most recommended way to handle a brake failure is to release or reduce the accelerator pedal.

However, it is also necessary to consider each situation. If moving in a crowded road or going downhill, the driver should not release the accelerator but only reduce the throttle.

Because releasing the accelerator to let the car run freely makes the car more likely to collide with other vehicles, causing serious consequences. This is not a good time to let the car run freely by inertia.

If the vehicle loses its brakes while Cruise Control is on, the driver should immediately turn off Cruise Control and reduce the throttle.

Do not turn off the car

When the car brakes fail, absolutely do not turn off the engine. In many cases, due to losing composure, the driver turns off the engine as soon as he discovers that the car has lost its brakes. This action is extremely dangerous. Because turning off the engine will cause the car to lose power steering, making it very difficult for the driver to control the car to avoid obstacles on the road.

Furthermore, turning off the car means that the car is no longer being braked by the engine and transmission. The car will fall into a free-wheeling state. This makes the situation worse.

Shift the car into low gear.

The driver can use engine braking by shifting the vehicle into a lower gear. This is the most effective and safest way to handle a brake failure.

For automatic transmission vehicles, the driver simply switches to semi-automatic mode, low gear mode, or shifts using the paddle shifters on the steering wheel. For manual transmission vehicles, the driver simply shifts the gear lever to 1st or 2nd gear.

However, a problem arises that if the car is running at high speed and suddenly forced to shift to a lower gear, it can cause the car's engine to break down, destroying the transmission system. Therefore, according to experts, when dealing with a car that has lost its brakes, you should not shift to a lower gear right from the start.

Instead, shift gears in steps or 2-steps. For example, if the car is in 5th gear, you can shift to 4th or 3rd gear, then when you feel the speed is more stable, continue to 2nd or 1st gear.

Continuously apply the brakes

Even if your brakes fail, try pumping the brakes repeatedly. It is possible that your brakes failed because your car only lost brake pressure temporarily. Pumping the brakes repeatedly can help restore brake pressure.

Use the handbrake

In addition to the foot brake, there is another braking system on the car, which is the hand brake. The hand brake is designed to be used when the car is completely stopped. But in an emergency, the hand brake can also be used to create braking force.

However, if you use the handbrake, you should only use it to stop the car when it is running at the lowest possible speed. Because using the handbrake when the car is running at high speed can cause the car to lock the wheels, lose traction, and slide on the road, leading to dangerous situations such as the car skidding or losing control.

When pulling the handbrake, you also need to pay attention to using enough force, not too fast or too strong. When braking, you should brake according to the threshold, braking and releasing at the same time. Pay attention to the feeling of the vehicle's condition, if you see signs of the vehicle losing control, you need to release the handbrake immediately.

Active collision to stop the car

When the brakes fail, the driver should try to drive the car onto deserted roads, rough roads, or roads with lots of gravel or rocks... to slow down the car.

In case of force majeure, the driver should choose the last way to handle the vehicle's brake failure, which is to proactively drive the vehicle into an obstacle to stop the vehicle. It is advisable to choose movable obstacles to reduce the impact force such as median strips, grass, forests or drive the vehicle into the field...