Braking Issue 2011 GTI 4 Door

[electricme]

So since I bought the car several months ago, I have been noticing something about the braking that I was curious if other people are experiencing. Every time I get in the car the brakes are ROCK hard until I start the car, this seems abnormal to me, I never experienced this. that is not the only problem, when I am driving down the road and go to apply the brakes there is a hesitation which causes me to press harder and then the brake kind of slam on. I know its under warranty but I hate taking my car to the dealership so I'd like to know first that its a legitimate problem before I take it to VW.

Thanks for any help... i hate the search function so please let me know if ther are other threads on this topic.

Jeff

P.S. I know about the Hill assist, this isnt part of the issue.

[R. Johnson]

Before you start the car you have no vacuum, which means the brake booster isn't working. That's why the pedal firms up, and then softens after you start the car. What you're describing sounds like normal operation.

I have about 600 miles on my GTI w/DSG and notice the brake pedal anomaly you're talking about. It's not the system, in my case, it's something with the pedal action itself that causes it to catch a little bit. It doesn't bother me, but it could be something simple to fix.

[eppy03GTI]

I had a similar issue with my F-150, after the truck sat for a period of time the pedal would "hang up" when I first hit it. Same thing would happen I would hit the brakes, it would hang up, then pop I had a lot of brake.

Dealer lubed the shaft going into the brake booster and never had another issue.
Could be something as simple as that.

.02

Good luck.

[Smrtypants44]

I have the issue with my brakes. There's a kind of resistance bump that drops off if you push down harder. Its very weird. I just figured that its just the way the brakes work on this car.

[fowtj]

So since I bought the car several months ago, I have been noticing something about the braking that I was curious if other people are experiencing. Every time I get in the car the brakes are ROCK hard until I start the car, this seems abnormal to me, I never experienced this. that is not the only problem, when I am driving down the road and go to apply the brakes there is a hesitation which causes me to press harder and then the brake kind of slam on. I know its under warranty but I hate taking my car to the dealership so I'd like to know first that its a legitimate problem before I take it to VW.

Thanks for any help... i hate the search function so please let me know if ther are other threads on this topic.

Jeff

P.S. I know about the Hill assist, this isnt part of the issue.

Car Off = No Power Brake Assist = Harder to push pedal

Car On = Power Brake Assist = Easier to push pedal

As for the other problem, have you done the obvious stuff like check your fluid level?

[David9962000]

You may have air bubbles in the brake lines. Does the pedal feel sponge when the car is running?

[wasim12]

You may have air bubbles in the brake lines. Does the pedal feel sponge when the car is running?

What do people mean when they say 'spongy brakes'?

And I also experience a sudden change in braking force. Usually from 20 down to 10 mph the car slighty brakes itself even with no brakes applied. My guess is something with DSG shifting?

[BlackHawk23]

that is not the only problem, when I am driving down the road and go to apply the brakes there is a hesitation which causes me to press harder and then the brake kind of slam on.

Could you please take it to the dealership and report back on it? I have been having this problem for a LOOOOONG time. I am so relieved that I'm not the only one. Admittedly I work at a dealership, but not on the VW side so I don't even know where to start on this issue.

[SoCalMK6GTI]

Where can a person find this brake booster shaft that we can lube? (serious)

[wasim12]

Where can a person find this brake booster shaft that we can lube? (serious)

lol no you're not

[feels_road]

I have the issue with my brakes. There's a kind of resistance bump that drops off if you push down harder. Its very weird. I just figured that its just the way the brakes work on this car.

Part of what you and others here describe sounds like the brake assist in VWs, and may be perfectly normal. But that's hard to tell just from a description, without actually driving the car.

[SoCalMK6GTI]

lol no you're not

I really am

[omgwtfbbqcopter]

I don't recommend trying to lube it yourself because of the design of our master cylinder, but it is located within the dash panel right above the brake pedal. You will need a T-20 torx bit and driver to remove the screws so you can drop the plastic. You'll see the rod attached to the brake pedal. Pull the rod off the pivot and lube it up.

If the brakes are rock hard when the car is off for a short while, there is a vacuum leak somewhere or your check valve is bad on the booster. Even after sitting for a few days, my brake pedal is still "soft" for the first two pumps and then it firms up like I'm trying to stand up on a boulder.

The brake systems in our cars are auto-adjusting via computer control. If you stand on the brake pedal while parked, the computer will try to compensate thinking that it is your normal brake force. The pedal will slowly drop until a point where it stops. For example... my mother is a light brake-r. I'm a moderate brake-r. Her car's computer raised the sensitivity of brake pedal input to maximize braking force. My car is less sensitive.


Sounds to me like you have a vacuum issue overall. If it hangs up like that and then catches, bring it to the dealership and have them repair it (if you're under warranty still)

[electricme]

Thanks for all the replies I am actually relieved I am not the only one to have this problem/or thought I was just overly aware of what my car is doing... I am going to take it in and get it checked. But since there seems to be a lot of people with the same issue I kinda feel like there could be a TSB in the near future.

Ohh and I did check fluid levels, I actually went as far as taking the wheels off and visual inspecting the rotors and calipers for something that could be sticking but everything looked normal.

Just on the rant side of things I feel like car companies have lost there way regarding braking, they have opened the door to countless future problems becasue of break assist and hill assist and other $h it. I mean if you cant pull off a hill then you shouldnt be driving a manual transmission.

Does anyone know if you can disable this feature via VAJ Com?

[eppy03GTI]

Hill hold can be turned down to a less aggressive level and turned off via VAGCOM.

[wasim12]

Hill hold can be turned down to a less aggressive level and turned off via VAGCOM.

I thought our cars didn't have the hill hold feature

[SoCalMK6GTI]

I thought our cars didn't have the hill hold feature

2010 can be turned on via VAGCOM. AFAIK 2011+ comes with it enabled from the factory.

[wasim12]

2010 can be turned on via VAGCOM. AFAIK 2011+ comes with it enabled from the factory.

So this obviously means we don't have the actual buttons other VWs have.

Wait a second, so you're telling me, that when I let go of the brake (w/ no gas) and my car rolls back while the rpm build is the hill hold feature? What kind of hill hold lets the car roll back some? Or does that mean mine doesn't have it?

Thanks

[feels_road]

Thanks for all the replies I am actually relieved I am not the only one to have this problem/or thought I was just overly aware of what my car is doing... I am going to take it in and get it checked. But since there seems to be a lot of people with the same issue I kinda feel like there could be a TSB in the near future.

Just be a bit careful with the conclusions, there. Sometimes this place is like a kindergarten, where when one child throws up, all of them get sick and inexperienced teachers expect mass poisoning...

With some of these things, people are just used to the way other/older cars drive, and don't expect the feel of the brake assist etc. Same with the DSG idiosyncrasies - and you would be surprised how many threads there have been in which owners didn't know what XDS or the kick-down switch were, or how to open the change or glasses holders, or the fuel cover... the first reaction is always: must be broken, it's a VW after all.

[loopless]

It took a while for my brakes to "bed-in". From new they felt leaden and hard to modulate. At about 6K miles things improved greatly... really noticeable and I have no complaints.
I recently also used VAG-COM to increase the brake assist to the middle setting. I like it better than at the default setting. The combination of brake assist/hill holding etc is something to get used to if you are coming from an older car.

[SoCalMK6GTI]

It took a while for my brakes to "bed-in". From new they felt leaden and hard to modulate. At about 6K miles things improved greatly... really noticeable and I have no complaints.
I recently also used VAG-COM to increase the brake assist to the middle setting. I like it better than at the default setting. The combination of brake assist/hill holding etc is something to get used to if you are coming from an older car.

So what settings are offered using VAGCOM for brake assist? What exactly does this alter? I'd rather disable it altogether and give that a try.

[eppy03GTI]

So this obviously means we don't have the actual buttons other VWs have.

Wait a second, so you're telling me, that when I let go of the brake (w/ no gas) and my car rolls back while the rpm build is the hill hold feature? What kind of hill hold lets the car roll back some? Or does that mean mine doesn't have it?

Thanks

On my 11, 6 Speed the hill hold does not rev the engine but simple holds the brake for a pre-set amount of time. When that time is reached and you have not started to move forward/ reverse the brake releases and the car will drift back. I'm not sure how it works on the DSG.

[wasim12]

On my 11, 6 Speed the hill hold does not rev the engine but simple holds the brake for a pre-set amount of time. When that time is reached and you have not started to move forward/ reverse the brake releases and the car will drift back. I'm not sure how it works on the DSG.

Ok, so its not dependent upon the rpms at all. I'm honestly having a hard time figuring out if my car has it. I would say no, b/c I remember I was one coming out of a steep parking slope on Rodeo Dr. and as soon as I let go of the brakes, the car started to roll back and I had to give some throttle continously to hold it. My car was made in like early summer of 2011. Maybe that's why

[electricme]

the hill hold is not hard to figure out, if your on more than a 5% incline and the clutch and brake are depressed, let go of the brake (like normal when you would pull out) if the car rolls backwards you dont have hill hold on, if the car holds still for about 3 seconds then lets go the car will roll. I imagine its similar with DSG minus the clutch action.

wow I re read that originally (excuse me I had been drinking haha... edited to understand.

[wasim12]

the hill hold is not hard to figure out if your on a brake and the clutch is depressed and the brake, if you let go of the brake and the care rolls backwards you dont have hill hold on if the car holds still for about 3 seconds then you will feel the brakes let go and the car will roll...

That makes more sense but I have a DSG, I feel the system is slightly different