Brake(s) Question

[AlphaWolf]

Was in a rental PT Cruiser recently with low miles and noticed that the pedal feel was really good, firm and well modulated. I want that! This was in comparison to my LX (same model) which has a more mushy pedal, and tends to grab a bit when your foot is all of the way down.

That got me thinking, maybe my brakes need an quick adjustment? I went to a local dealer near the house and they were no help. They did however ask me about 10 times if I bought the car there, by 4 different people, which was annoying. If they did not want me to come back, they succeeded. They did say the rear drums are supposed to adjust and grab like that. Hmm.

Now I am confused on which car is adjusted correctly, mine with the soft pedal or the rental. It is not a GT, but it should at least inspire confidence. Any advice out there?

[Hooligan]

80% or so of the braking is done by the front brakes. I don't see where you mentioned how many miles you have on your PT. If you look at my signature, you'll see that I have NAPA ceramic pads on my new 2008, I had 850 miles on it, mainly to cut down on brake dust. Maybe it is time for pads??

[CREWZIN]

Agree with Hooligan. If you have the OEM pads, or they've been replaced by the dealer with the same kind of pad, they are very soft. You can tell by the way they leave so much brake dust on the wheel. A better pas makes for better braking.

[AlphaWolf]

I just hit 1275 miles today. So yeah, they are the stock pads. You both are not kidding about the brake dust! Holy crud when I washed the car yesterday I could not believe how much dirt/dust was on the front wheels.

Someone told me you can adjust the brake pedal travel as well to take some of the travel out of the pedal. I will ask my more mechanical friend to look into that and replacement of the pads.

Hooligan, did you notice a big difference with the new pads on stopping power?

[Hooligan]

AlphaWolf, I haven't had any problem stopping on any of my three PT's, of course the other two I traded in had just over 50,000 miles on of them.