Soft brake pedal after not being used
Slimy38 - 23/11/25 at 06:56 PM
I took my car for a sneaky drive today (no IVA means no long drive just yet!), everything felt good but I noticed my brake pedal went down a bit
further than I remember when I last operated it (about a month ago). There's no evidence of a leak so I'm guessing this sort of symptom is a
pretty simple case of air in the lines?
Am I on the right track or can something more serious cause a pedal to go soft over time? It's standard MX5 fare, not assisted but the master
cylinder and calipers are all from the donor.
jacko - 27/11/25 at 09:55 PM
Did the pedal feel better after you pumped it ?
If so I would think it’s air .
It would not hurt to bleed the brakes anyway
G
Slimy38 - 30/11/25 at 03:53 PM
Yep, I spent today bleeding everything again, and it's finally back to where it was. I really hate bleeding brakes...
David Jenkins - 3/12/25 at 04:11 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
I really hate bleeding brakes...
There was a time when I just couldn't get my Locost's brakes bled properly... I had left far too long an interval before changing my brake
fluid - did the job, did my best to bleed the brakes, but just couldn't get them right - always a bit soft (normally they were very firm). This
was with assorted gadgets that were supposed to make things easy!
In the end I threw my hands up and admitted defeat; took the car to the local garage at the other end of my village and got them to do it. The
combination of experience and the right tools meant that the brakes were perfect for the cost of one hour's labour charge (their minimum charge).
A bargain, as far as I was concerned.
The laugh was that I paid for one man-hour, but I think just about every mechanic was standing by my car at some time or other! 
nick205 - 5/12/25 at 10:13 AM
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
I really hate bleeding brakes...
There was a time when I just couldn't get my Locost's brakes bled properly... I had left far too long an interval before changing my brake
fluid - did the job, did my best to bleed the brakes, but just couldn't get them right - always a bit soft (normally they were very firm). This
was with assorted gadgets that were supposed to make things easy!
In the end I threw my hands up and admitted defeat; took the car to the local garage at the other end of my village and got them to do it. The
combination of experience and the right tools meant that the brakes were perfect for the cost of one hour's labour charge (their minimum charge).
A bargain, as far as I was concerned.
The laugh was that I paid for one man-hour, but I think just about every mechanic was standing by my car at some time or other!
Sometimes the experience/knowledge/practice is well worth the money.
RE: "all the mechanics looking at your car", when I took my MK Indy for it's first MOT at my usual garage, all 5 mechanics did the MOT
(just to get a sit in the car )