[The Pain]

Hi.

I have a 2011 VW polo 1.6 Petrol car that's done about 18k Kms. Used mostly for errands and city family visits and outings only.

Recently I've been facing an issue with its brakes. The brake pedal sporadically becomes spongy while driving. This is completely sporadic and there's no particular situation where it can be replicated intentionally. When it's not spongy, the pedal and pressure seems completely normal.

Also when parked especially in the rains for 2-3 days, the brakes seem to be locked up when the car starts to move.

Post the brake faults showing up, Off late the ABS + STEERING + BRAKE warning lights have started to glow in the dash. This again occurs completely sporadically and cannot be replicated intentionally. I have attached a video below.

Can anyone help identify the source of these issues please. I've taken the car to 2 local garages for a checkup and have gotten mixed responses ranging from a Brake booster and master cylinder problem to a faulty ABS module problem.. Both costly affairs to resolve.

The lights in the video below all start together and go off together.

Please help. Thanks

https://youtu.be/WLUEqvT2VUw

[Jeroen]

Let’s start with the obvious: did you check the brake fluid level? The red flashing brake light means the level is low if I recall correctly. There can be two reasons for that: either you have a leak or the brake pads are completely worn. Easy to check.

When was the brake fluid last refreshed? Needs doing every two/three years.

Did you get the car hooked up to an OBD scanner? If so, what codes were shown. If not, you should.

Red lights on the dashboard mean DO NOT DRIVE ANY FURTHER, YOUR CAR IS UNSAFE!

Jeroen

[ssjr0498]

This will happen only if the rubber seals/boot that stops the water and dust from entering the brake piston has got cut. This allows the water to enter the piston cylinder causing the piston to not move back to the right spot. A similar thing can also happen if the caliper pin rubber boot is cut! Have it checked, any mech can do this.

Originally Posted by The Pain

Hi.

Also when parked especially in the rains for 2-3 days, the brakes seem to be locked up when the car starts to move.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by ssjr0498

This will happen only if the rubber seals/boot that stops the water and dust from entering the brake piston has got cut. This allows the water to enter the piston cylinder causing the piston to not move back to the right spot. A similar thing can also happen if the caliper pin rubber boot is cut! Have it checked, any mech can do this.

This was an old problem in early Polos.

This was being caused by water coming in contact with brake drums and reacting with it, thereby causing a substance which used to jam the drum.

At that time, it was suggested to avoid too frequent washing of the car's brake drums & discs, and take the car for a short drive after heavy wash, to dry up the water.

[ssjr0498]

You can experience a little brake fade if you've waded through a pool of water or have washed the car recently, however, the bite and smoothness (when brake released) will comeback once you've applied the brakes and the disc/drum dries up from surface water.

But, unless the brake caliper boot or the caliper pin boot is cut, which will then allow the water to seep through the piston/caliper pin and wash away the lubrication, or it will not allow the caliper piston to recede so as to free the disc, ideally, water will not cause the brakes to lock/jam. This is applicable for any car (make)

Originally Posted by abhishek46

This was an old problem in early Polos.

This was being caused by water coming in contact with brake drums and reacting with it, thereby causing a substance which used to jam the drum.

At that time, it was suggested to avoid too frequent washing of the car's brake drums & discs, and take the car for a short drive after heavy wash, to dry up the water.

[Shome]

Originally Posted by The Pain

Can anyone help identify the source of these issues please. I've taken the car to 2 local garages for a checkup and have gotten mixed responses ranging from a Brake booster and master cylinder problem to a faulty ABS module problem.. Both costly affairs to resolve.

In addition to the other comments about the jammed liners in the drum (the red fault light), the ABS and steering fault lights (yellow) are most likely due to faulty ABS sensors, only those need to be replaced and not the entire ABS module, please check with your FNG or VAG A.S.S.

Most common issue with VAG cars, I'm on my third set in 8 years.

Edit - Where are you located in Mumbai, I have a good FNG in Andheri East who may be able to help you with the initial diagnosis, my Rapid is being maintained by him for the past 3 years.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by The Pain

Hi.

I have a 2011 VW polo 1.6 Petrol car that's done about 18k Kms. Used mostly for errands and city family visits and outings only.

Recently I've been facing an issue with its brakes. The brake pedal sporadically becomes spongy while driving. This is completely sporadic and there's no particular situation where it can be replicated intentionally. When it's not spongy, the pedal and pressure seems completely normal.

Also when parked especially in the rains for 2-3 days, the brakes seem to be locked up when the car starts to move.

10 year old vehicle that has been used for 18K Kms means a lot of time sitting idle.

The oils seals have dried up in the master cylinder, at this age it probably needs a new brake booster + master cylinder. Edit : If the seals are broken, the pieces can travel into other parts of the brake system.

This can happen to the clutch as well.

Its common for the rear brakes to hold onto your wheels if they are of the drum type and you leave the handbrake on overnight, next time park in gear and leave the handbrake disengaged.

[The Pain]

Thanks for the replies and apologies for not replying earlier . I took it to the Mumbai North SVC. The issue seems multifold

My disc's were skimmed in the past due to rust and uneven wear and were not done properly so i replaced them yesterday

Brakes were bled as well but the pedal pressure issue still exists. Seems the booster and Mc need to be replaced as kosfactor pointed out. A set has been ordered. It will take abt a week to arrive.

The abs/brake and steering lights are still a mystery as the the vw diagnostic shows nothing wrong.

They opened the abs module coupler and cleaned the contacts to rule out any issues wrt. Moisture etc. But the issue showed up again on my way back home from the SVC.


@shome I wouldn't mind getting a diagnosis done at ur mech. It would be great if u could pm me his details. I live in Malad.

Have u had all of these lights show up ie. The abs +steering +brake all together in ur car due to faulty sensor

Thanks!

[Zen Av8r]

I had a similar issue on my 2013 Polo 1.2 around October last year. The ABS light and steering lights would come on and the brakes would be a little spongy. The car can be driven if necessary but without ABS functioning, so you would need to be careful.

My car is maintained by Wheels Wisdom in Bangalore and they had it checked thoroughly at a good FNG. Initially, there were no error codes being shown but after trying many times intermittent ABS sensor failure was seen. Two ABS sensors, one on the front LH and one rear RH were replaced. The car ran without any problems for close to a month and the same issue resurfaced. This time the ABS warning would come and go by itself after a few minutes. The duration and occurrence was random. This would happen mostly, soon after starting to drive or whenever the car went over a speed breaker. Again the error was seen intermittently for the front LH ABS sensor. The same was replaced under warranty and the problem went away. Two weeks later, the same issue cropped up with the Rear RH ABS sensor. This was also replaced under warranty. It just happened that both the sensors which were replaced had failed in a short time. After the second round of replacing the sensors, the car has been running fine.

It would not be out of place to mention that the Technical Advisor from Wheels Wisdom was very patient and dogged in his ways to get to the source of the problem and I ended being a very satisfied owner.

[Aravind_M92]

I suggest you to drain the brake fluid. I believe brake fluids are hygroscopic and tend to get more water into it, making the brake fluid much less effective

Best would be to get to a FNG and ask them to flush the lines with appropriate dot fluid. While at it, check your brake pads too!

[The Pain]

Originally Posted by Zen Av8r

It would not be out of place to mention that the Technical Advisor from Wheels Wisdom was very patient and dogged in his ways to get to the source of the problem and I ended being a very satisfied owner.

Thanks for the reply bud. Hopefully its a sensor issue in my case as well. The damn ABS module is estimated to cost 45k + for my model. Definitely a cost i want to avoid at this stage.

Originally Posted by Aravind_M92

I suggest you to drain the brake fluid. I believe brake fluids are hygroscopic and tend to get more water into it, making the brake fluid much less effective

Best would be to get to a FNG and ask them to flush the lines with appropriate dot fluid. While at it, check your brake pads too!

Thanks for the reply! yeah a brake fluid change is planned at the time of the booster change. The brakes feel lovely now like a new car with the new discs installed. Only the pressure exists due to the booster issue.

[raunaqv471]

The ABS and EPS lights on the steering clearly indicate a faulty relay or fuse.Start by checking that. Thereafter check the level in the brake reservoir. If it's full then that means there isn't any leak. You can rule out the brake booster since a faulty booster would lead to a hard pedal. I suspect due to a faulty relay/ fuse, both your ABS and Electric power steering are getting impacted. Also have an FNG inspect your wheel speed sensors since those are notoriously known to fail on German cars and can also trigger the above lights. If after inspecting all these, the spongy feeling still prevails , have the brake master cylinder checked to see whether adequate hydraulic pressure is being built up.Ensure all of the above before throwing any parts at it. Hope this helps....

Regards

[prithvi53]

This looks like a faulty wheel speed sensor to me. I had this problem a few times as well. It's quite a simple fix .
You can just take the car to the vw service centre and get it done. They should have spares for this on hand .

I had a similar issue with my Passat a few years back. The lights came on one day and then disappeared. They came back after a few days again. A new sensor sorted out all the issues.

[itsbaman]

Recently encountered this issue in my SKODA Rapid. ABS warning was appearing along with brake warning. While brake warning issue stopped after few instances, ABS warning was appearing repeatedly. With ABS warning, braking was little bit different. It appeared, ABS were not engaging when ABS warning was appearing. I am a slow driver, so I never faced any major issue with it. SKODA ASC told me about faulty ABS sensors, which they replaced. It cost around INR 8000.

[The Pain]

Originally Posted by itsbaman

Recently encountered this issue in my SKODA Rapid. ABS warning was appearing along with brake warning. While brake warning issue stopped after few instances, ABS warning was appearing repeatedly. With ABS warning, braking was little bit different. It appeared, ABS were not engaging when ABS warning was appearing. I am a slow driver, so I never faced any major issue with it. SKODA ASC told me about faulty ABS sensors, which they replaced. It cost around INR 8000.

How many were changed for 8k. Thanks