[Msujav]

I wanted to pull out of my garage today when all of a sudden my brake pedal lost all its “tension”. Now it shows Brake Fault on my dashboard and the brake barely works but I have to floor the brake pedal. The car is currently not safe to drive in that condition. Does anybody know what might be broken? Is it going to be an expensive fix?
thank you in advance

 

[Tobias]

Sounds like you have no brake fluid. Fluid on the ground under the car?

 

[Msujav]

Sounds like you have no brake fluid. Fluid on the ground under the car?

Thank you for the reply. I will check once I get home. Is there any specific brake fluid recommended for this specific Passat model?

 

[AndreasPassat]

If that is indeed the case, you better check your fluid level before you jump in the car and bail down the road.

 

[Msujav]

If that is indeed the case, you better check your fluid level before you jump in the car and bail down the road.

Yes that’s what I am going to do when I get home. Can you recommend a specific brake fluid for my 2003 Passat GLX?

 

[Iowegian]

Anything is better than nothing at this point. If you have no brake fluid you have no brakes, except for the rear parking/emergency brake.

And if the fluid is that low, you'll have to find the leak, fix it and then flush and replace all the fluid anyway, so I would worry more about getting the fluid topped up (DOT3 will work) and then get the 'right' fluid later.

 

[Tobias]

Brake fluid is pretty flammable. Locate the leak and make sure the fluid is not coming into contact with a hot surface.

 

[AndreasPassat]

For whatever it's worth, I use Pentosin DOT4 brake fluid.

 

[VAGguy]

While we favor euro brands for fluids, any DOT3/4 will be fine. Just pick a major brand. I would be wary driving it anywhere if you lost enough fluid to cause a dropping pedal. It may not hold pressure after the first couple of applications.

 

[Msujav]

Quick update: it got towed to the mechanic. Left brake hose exploded and right one was close to doing the same. They said it’s going to be a $440 dollar fix all included.

 

[AndreasPassat]

EDIT - SPELLING

So now after the fact, hindsight is 20 / 20.
While $440 sounds a bit steep (for my blood anyways) in the end you dodged a bullet. Pouring a bottle of brake fluid in would've just gone out the exploded hose right onto the ground.
Thinking that you would have filled up the brake reservoir maybe not noticing the leak, you would've jumped in the car and gone down the road and the first time you hit the brakes it would've been pedal to the floor and some serious butt cheek puckering.
I'm glad for you that the outcome is the way it is right now.

 

[Hirnbeiss]

This is a good warning to the rest of us. Replacing brake hoses pre-emptively at somewhere between 15-20 years is a wise move. Throw in a reservoir if you haven’t already.

 

[Wahobbert]

I had a sticky caliper piston on the left rear that I had to free up by extending it and compressing it repeatedly (yeah, I know...not the right way)...but I got that freed up enough to quit dragging. I was backing out of the garage after messing with the rear caliper to free it up and my right front flex line blew before I got it out of the garage. Lucky for me I had the new lines sitting on the bench. I was in a hurry is why I was cutting corners in the LSR caliper. I missed my appointment...

 

[geronimomo]

Quick update: it got towed to the mechanic. Left brake hose exploded and right one was close to doing the same. They said it’s going to be a $440 dollar fix all included.

Were there any signs of pending failure on the right hose?

 

[geronimomo]

This is a good warning to the rest of us. Replacing brake hoses pre-emptively at somewhere between 15-20 years is a wise move. Throw in a reservoir if you haven’t already.

Now you have me wondering if I should change the hoses on the car that my kids drive...

I already had my brake reservoir replaced this past year after it exploded when the indie shop I went to flush my brakes.

Would it just be the 4 rubber hoses by the brake calipers and that's it?

 

[PZ]

If you are in an area that uses salt, the front rubber hoses should have been replaced already. The rear hoses hold up better as they do not move nearly as much as the fronts. I've replaced them on a couple of Passats when replacing the fronts, but they actually looked fine.

 

[Hirnbeiss]

Would it just be the 4 rubber hoses by the brake calipers and that's it?

Yes, them’s the ones. The biggest time consumer is usually brake bleeding.

 

[PZ]

The rear hoses are under the car at the twist beam for a FWD.

 

[Wahobbert]

Yes, them’s the ones. The biggest time consumer is usually brake bleeding.

And getting those convoluted little brake lines on and off if they're too corroded. If they're buggered, here ya go...

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