Brake pedal feeling noticeably changed

[snowden]

Morning all,

Got in the car last night to go to pick up some more oil (after having a farce with a local garage overfilling it last week), and since it was in the garage I've noticed the brake pedal feel has suddenly changed.

Before, with the engine running, the pedal would feel rather firm and I couldn't push it to the end of its travel, but since going into the garage I can now push it all the way to the bottom. It does seem to return OK, and the brake fluid reservoir level is about a third below the maximum mark. The pedal also seems to be making some noise when pressed — almost like a plastic on plastic scraping sound. The action of the brakes hasn't changed and they still stop well, just the pedal action feels to have changed.

With the engine off, if I pump the brakes the pedal stiffens up which is what I'd expect to happen.

Not sure if this is a correlation vs causation thing (with the oil overfilling if I've now just started noticed other issues), but does anyone have any suggestions of things worth checking? I have had a search and found mentions of people changing the brake fluid which helped — I'd have to check the service history to see if this has been done before.

Thanks,

 

[martin j.]

I’d be checking for a leak, start at the callipers and then the master cylinder, inside the car and under the bonnet, that doesn’t sound right.

 

[snowden]

I’d be checking for a leak, start at the callipers and then the master cylinder, inside the car and under the bonnet, that doesn’t sound right.

Had a nosy under the bonnet last night with a torch, couldn't see anything looking wet around the brake servo. If it was leaking I'd expect the pedal to be able to be pushed down with the engine off, even slowly? I've not noticed the fluid level having suddenly dropped either (my previous car did have a brake system leak that suddenly occurred but that was immediately noticeable).