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What can I do to fix a hard brake pedal?
When I step on my brake pedal, it’s like trying to push a school bus with my feet. The pedal is really stiff and it takes a lot of manual labor to make my car stop. How can I fix a hard brake pedal?
Matt Terzi · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
We’re glad you’re proactive about this. Being unable to safely stop the car poses a lot of risks, both to you and other drivers.
Before we begin, this is a DIY walkthrough of how to take care of this issue. We’re assuming here that you have your own tools, you’re comfortable working on your car, and you know the risks of doing so. This is a relatively simple fix, but not one for an absolute beginner.
Hard brakes usually indicate dirty, sludgy brake fluid. So your first step will be to see what sort of condition your brake fluid is in. This will involve removing the cap from the brake fluid reservoir and putting a ruler or a screwdriver into the fluid.
Very gently scrape the bottom of the reservoir and take a look at the end. Brake fluid should look almost like apple juice, with that same yellowish color. If it looks mucky or if the tip of your reservoir scraping tool looks like it has gunk in it, you’ll need to flush and replace the brake fluid completely.
To replace brake fluid, do the following:
- Consult your car’s manual to find out the specific type of brake fluid your car needs.
- Suction out the old brake fluid from the reservoir.
- Fill up the reservoir with new brake fluid.
- Drain the brakes, starting with the wheel furthest from the brake master cylinder (usually the rear wheel on the right). Don’t forget your drain pan! Repeat this with each wheel going counter-clockwise and ending with the front-left wheel.
- Open the bleed valve half a turn.
- Ask a friend to push down on the brake pedal and hold it there. Once you see the flow of brake fluid slow down, close the valve back up.
- Ask your friend to now pump the brakes. You’ll open the valve back up and watch for the fluid to slow down. Keep doing this until all of the bubbles are gone.
- You’ll have to do this again at each wheel. It’s a time-consuming process, but you don’t want any air in your brake system.
If you want to leave this to a professional but dread the cost, use
Jerry
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. The average Jerry driver saves $887 a year on car insurance.View full answer
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Jerry partners with more than 50 insurance companies, but our content is independently researched, written, and fact-checked by our team of editors and agents. We aren’t paid for reviews or other content.
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