Don't piss about, get them seen to and don't drive until you are sure they work. Gradual brake wear is one thing but "one day they were fine and now they're shocking" is potentially fatal!!
Check your brake fluid, and if it's low, there might be a leak. Check your brakes, themselves, and make sure nothing feels "wet" -- I realize this might be hard to do in snowy climes, but try. Snow or wetness should never screw with your brakes bad enough to where they don't work.
It could be a leak, it could be the master cylinder, it could be something totally different. Do not drive it. Get it towed to a repair shop.
Make sure they check all of the brake lines, the brake cylinder, and the seals about each of the wheel bearings -- these especially can leaks trans fluid onto the brakes when they fail.
12oz of brake fluid got me to almost full pressure on the brake pedal (I was very low, but not out) and a guy from work came and checked out the car. He suspected a pin hole leak somewhere. I drove it around the block a-okay, and hit the brakes multiple times and they feel perfectly fine now, but there's probably a little air in the lines now. The zero catch I felt last night was probably a combination of an ice storm and something starting to go awry with the brake lines.
Not that I'm going to let that be the end of it. Cus what feels fine, may not be fine.
Tomorrow I spend the day in my Dad's garage learning how to do whatever it is I need to do, and check whatever it is I need to check. I have a feeling I'm getting a crash course in brake line bleeding.
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It could be a leak, it could be the master cylinder, it could be something totally different. Do not drive it. Get it towed to a repair shop.
Make sure they check all of the brake lines, the brake cylinder, and the seals about each of the wheel bearings -- these especially can leaks trans fluid onto the brakes when they fail.
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Not that I'm going to let that be the end of it.
Cus what feels fine, may not be fine.
Tomorrow I spend the day in my Dad's garage learning how to do whatever it is I need to do, and check whatever it is I need to check. I have a feeling I'm getting a crash course in brake line bleeding.
Thank god my Dad's a solid mechanic-type.
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