I just had new brakes put on my truck today. I upgraded from standard brakes that came on it new to wagner thermo quiets in the rear and wherever platinum's in the front. From everything I have heard they are supposed to be better brakes. I noticed a LOT less vibration when braking, and they are completely silent. That said, they feel mushy. They don't seem to be gripping to well compared to the old brakes. I have about 7 miles on the truck since I changed them (mostly back country roads, with some in town driving) and I actually felt a bit nervous because of how they didn't want to stop me really :/


Did I screw up buying those pads and shoes, or do brakes just require a break-in period before they are fully functional?

This post was edited by skyeye on Feb 27 2013 01:14pm

sounds like you need to bleed your brakes again.

im not mechaniclly inclined, do ya mind explaining what that entails, and how much it would cost?

After getting new pads it's recommened you take your car on highway, when its safe, brake strongly from 60mph to almost standstill, do not stop, get back to 60 and repeat few times, that should make them work better

think it's called bedding

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=85

This post was edited by msbrz on Feb 27 2013 01:18pm

you have air in your brake lines, you need to force it out.
that's what's giving you that mushy feeling
take it back to wherever you had the brakes done and ask them to bleed them. should take 10-15 minutes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_bleeding

This post was edited by Morphmcmanerson on Feb 27 2013 01:20pm

I don't believe they did anything with the brake fluid (I wasn't charged for it anyway) and it didn't do it before. Is there anyway that air could have got in without anything being done with the fluid?

They had to open the system to replace the breaks, they should have bleed them before they gave you back the car. And they may have, but didn't get all the air out.

since when do you open brake lines to install brake pads? we always took the cap off the brake fluid resevoir and used a c-clamp to push the piston all the way back out. any excess fluid is pushed out of the resevoir. you dont bleed brakes unless you changed a brake line or changed a caliper

This post was edited by JDH on Feb 27 2013 01:35pm

So what's your first thought when someone says they replaced their breaks and the new ones don't break we'll and feel mushy?
I think you expect too much from rando tire store guy.

the only thing he mentioned being done was brake pads. that never involves opening the bleeder screws. perhaps he should check fluid level and make sure its not leaking.