-1

I've just had my mot back from an expensive garage. He phoned and said its failed due to unbalanced brakes across an axle. In the advisories they are all on there ... pads and disks?

My DOT 4 bottle had been low for awhile .. not realising why my abs was flashing as I was breaking. I filled the DOT 4 bottle last week and its not rele been driven as I work all week..n put it in after a few miles.. Had new tyres fitted and garage I did them at says they pads and disks are fine ... "You've got a few months in them yet" What could this problem be? Could it just need a blast and harsh brake a few times to get the fluid through. It's booked back at the same place Friday, but am I allowed to put to another garage as think they seen me coming?

Improve this question
5
  • 1
    It's very difficult to follow what you're asking. Please EDIT your question and clearly state the problem and leave out all the editorial comments as they don't help clarify anything. Also, please use normal punctuation and run through a spell checker.
    – jwh20
    Oct 30 '21 at 21:58
  • Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer.
    – Community Bot
    Oct 31 '21 at 9:28
  • Car has failed mot due to imbalanced breaks across front axel. And said would need new ones to pass.
    – Jamie
    Oct 31 '21 at 22:36
  • On the advisories break pads and disks were on there
    – Jamie
    Oct 31 '21 at 22:36
  • The dot 4 bottle had been empty for weeks to the point abs light beeped as I was breaking... topped up the bottle.last week but car hasn't had a decent run to get the oil back throughout the pipes.. could this be what it is?
    – Jamie
    Oct 31 '21 at 22:38
1

If it failed on front brake imbalance that means that the maximum braking effort of one side was less than 70% of what the other managed, that's a pretty big imbalance. Certainly enough to be dangerous if you had to slam on in an emergency. For comparison if the imbalance is such that one side manages less than 50% of the other that's classified as the more serious type of failure (a "Dangerous" fault) and you aren't permitted to drive the car until it's repaired!

In the advisories they are all on there ... pads and disks?

The minimum brake pad thickness for the MOT is 1.5mm (or if it's hit the wear indicator where fitted), so from the fact they only advised on that rather than a straight up fail means they're over that at least. But it doesn't mean that they aren't heavily worn.

My DOT 4 bottle had been low for awhile .. not realising why my abs was flashing as I was breaking.

Low brake fluid level in the reservoir suggests either a) your pads are completely shot or b) you're losing fluid somewhere. Neither are particularly reassuring scenarios!

From the fact that they advised on the pads (and Insignias are known to give low brake fluid level warnings when the pads are heavily worn) I'd suggest the former is more likely. When the pads are heavily worn the caliper has to push them further to make them contact the disc (which is further compounded by worn discs) and this means pushing the fluid further and this can push it past the sensor making the system think it's low.

Could it just need a blast and harsh brake a few times to get the fluid through.

No, it won't make a blind bit of difference and I really, really don't recommend going out and doing some harsh stops in a car that's been reported as having substantially out of balance front brakes. That imbalance could cause it to pull sharply to one side under braking and that could end badly if there's something hard in the way (or very badly if it's something squishy).

I think you're looking at new pads and discs - hopefully that explains your "low" brake fluid level as well otherwise you're hunting for a brake fluid leak :(

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.