Stiff Brake

[tallen32]

I have had my 335i coupe for almost a year now and have the stiff brake during start up. Do I really need to have that fixed? Any future problems if I don't. I ask because people have had the problem come back after repair and I hate going to the dealer.

[mryakan]

lots of threads on the topic, search for one and revive it if it doesn't already answer your questions.

[sor]

I've read a few complaints about this, and I've never really understood the problem. The last one I read the guy claimed he had to push the brake so hard that he thought he was going to strain a muscle in order to start the car. Just being worried about it being stiff is one thing I guess, but when mine is stiff I still only have to barely push to get it to start, it's not like I have to push the brake to the floor or anything.

Personally I'd only be worried if it were stiff after starting, I don't think a stiff brake after sitting a few hours indicates any problem with the power brakes, basically just that they lost pressure from being powered off.

[sprung]

OK...I'm reviving this one to see if anyone has actually not been able to start their car because of the stiff brake pedal.

Mine is occasionally stiff in the morning (and my car too), but I've had no issues starting up.

I have since learned that the previous owner had the car bought back by BMW because of this issue. Is this something I need to worry about?

[Blue330i2006]

no....

car sits, No vacuum, hence no POWER BRAKES. don't be lazy. push the pedal the car will start. If you have to push it to the floor then there is a leak, get it serviced. other than just a little uncomfortable,,,,suck it up, it is normal.

SEARCH Threads. mange!! Ich Can nich mer.

[azhrei]

For me it's a two-part problem. The first part is safety. If the car has been sitting and the pressure has bled off, the brakes become useless should they be needed.

The second issue is quality. If I spend $xx,xxx for a car, I expect the darn brakes to work! I mean, c'mon! So no, I'm not letting the manufacturer/dealer get away with saying, "oh, that's normal". If it were normal they wouldn't have replaced mine under warranty twice already. :(

[Critter7r]

For me it's a two-part problem. The first part is safety. If the car has been sitting and the pressure has bled off, the brakes become useless should they be needed.

The second issue is quality. If I spend ,xxx for a car, I expect the darn brakes to work! I mean, c'mon! So no, I'm not letting the manufacturer/dealer get away with saying, "oh, that's normal". If it were normal they wouldn't have replaced mine under warranty twice already. :(


First, the brakes start working again as soon as the car is started. you won't need the brakes before then, so it's not a safety issue.

Second, there's a fix for it. the only reason it's even an issue is for little old ladies that can't push the pedal hard enough to overcome the non-vaccuum-assisted pedal far enough to get the car to start. And some get it worse than others. I'm not sure why yours had to be fixed twice, (and frankly, I've forgotten what the fix is), but I'll do some looking on Monday, and see if I can see what's up.

[raceyBMW]

Actually, this is a well known problem with BMW, and the have an SIB out for the fix. I will admit though, it really is more of an inconvenience than a true issue IMO, but if BMW acknowledges its a problem, why not get it fixed?
http://www.bmwtis.com/tsb/bulletins/bulletin_graphic_temp/B340607g.htm