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THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHBrakes dont work after CarWash
Reported or suspected cause
some deficiency in the braking system
Reported cause
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
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Reported cause
Any loss of braking action beyond just a wee bit due to simply wet brakes is due to some deficiency in the braking system.
Leading evidence: 'some deficiency in the braking system' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'some deficiency in the braking system' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check body water drains' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
My car serviced at every service date, oil changed every 3500 miles.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I ran the car through a carwash and when leaving I couldn't get my car to stop in time for a stop sign...
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
My brakes exhibited this behavior every time that I used the car wash.
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Suggestion
Check the body water drains for blockage and water build up.
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Suggestion
Proper servicing of one of these cars requires periodic checking of the body water drains for any trash build up or other problems and addressing this so no water builds up and the water drains run any water right down to under the car.
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Suggestion
Proper servicing of one of these cars requires periodic checking of the body water drains for any trash build up or other problems and addressing this so no water builds up and the water drains run any water right down to under the car.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
37 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
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Hey all,
as you know these cars stop on a dime... Brakes were working fine. I ran the car through a carwash and when leaving I couldn't get my car to stop in time for a stop sign... Ended up slowly rolling through it (Thankfully no one was around)
Drove another 5 miles to my office engine braking and trying to use the brakes again and they are only braking at about 10% of their capabilities..
Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? I have my car parked in the sun right now to dry out before I drive it around my business park and try again
I agree. If it was something on the pads/rotor from the car wash it would have burned off quickly with a couple of good stops.
Brake fluid?
Is there meat on the pads? Inner and outer?
Rotors still good?
Frozen caliper(s)?
Booster issue?
My car just had its 60,000 mile Service done last week so I would have to assume that is all good... I will run it over to my mechanics over lunch who is also a Porsche owner and see if he can look at my booster and brake fluid for me and possibly get the car up on a rack...
Car was stopping on a dime up until the carwash, so the carwash thing has to be a coincidence....
*What type of brake fluid do you recommend? I should change it out just in case
My initial guess is that the brake booster took on water.
If the drain plugs gets clogged, water can fill up the cowl area and enter the brake booster.
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...age-holes.html
I recommend that you verify that each item on the service lists are actually completed. Things sometimes don't get done when you may assume they got done. I think that your brake failure just after the car wash is a coincidence. Glad that you were able to avoid any accident. Let us know what you find out after having your car checked out.
The fact that no one (yet) has given you **** for taking a Porsche through an automatic car wash is amazing. It's a Rennlist miracle!
Check your brake fluid level - I suppose it's possible that you lost a brake line and you're bleeding fluid when you try to stop...
you get **** for taking your Porsche to a car wash
Wash it yourself!
You can even wash it in your garage with Optimum No-Rinse and get virtually no water on the ground
Check the brake fluid level and around the wheels and as Schnelly said, you might have broken a brake line
I've actually had this happen to me as well. Every time I go thru the nice car wash, you know the one with all the underbody spray and brushes, etc... I do manage to stop, but the first stop is always really slow, but then it clears up after a few miles of driving so I figured it was simply everything getting really wet and maybe even some slippery soap on the brakes that didn't get rinsed off all the way.
So the first guess was correct..... After my car dried in the sun, the brakes starting working... drove it to my mechanics and the drain plugs are all clogged, water was in the battery tray ect....
Cleaned them out and the car is back to breaking normal....
*I always hand wash my cars, but I have been working 12-14 hour days 7 days a week (started a new company 10 months ago) and just lazily drove it through an automatic carwash.... Wont happen again!!
That is normal and expected but it shouldn't be persistent like the OP's case. Water intrusion into brake booster has different symptoms (brake will automatically applied and drag but it should brake like normal when the user applies brakes).
I also second checking the brake fluid and leak.
I think loss of brake fluid due to a brake line rupture makes a lot of sense. My son's 2004 BMW X5 started braking badly enough that he actually brought it to my attention. For all of you E53 X5 owners, the rear brake lines are notorious for rusting through just below the driver's seat. There's a splash guard that holds in water and debris and causes the brake lines to rust in about a 12 inch section. Easy to miss because the splash guard retains the brake fluid as well as water and other crud. Anyhow, once the brake lines begin to leak, you still have front brakes until the fluid all leaks out. Then, virtually no brakes.
When my 996 C4S was my daily driver, I used to occasionally run it through a touchless car wash to get the dirt, crud, and magnesium chloride off of the car. My brakes exhibited this behavior every time that I used the car wash. Once you make a few stops and they dry out, they work fine.
The same thing happens in my Audi SQ5.
I generally have the opposite problem - I wash it and put it away and I'm too stupid to remember to not set the e-brake, so the pads are rusted to the rotors the next morning.
I just started to Research this topic as this is what happened to me- Forester 2010 went through the car wash, exited the car wash, a car came from my left side drove right in front of me, didn't stop, I slammed my brakes on and the brakes failed. I then tried to put the car in neural at same time swerving to my right, trying desperately not to hit this guy, but I hit the car on the right rear fender.
At first I thought I was crazy, but, now I am beginning to think this happens more often and it's not reported. Any thoughts?
Also, my brakes are about 1 - 2 years old, barely 15+- k miles on them. My car serviced at every service date, oil changed every 3500 miles.
I think this is a big problem that has not been investigated.
Investigation will find some owners are apparently unaware of how important it is to keep the body water drains free of trash to avoid water build up which can affect braking.
Check the body water drains for blockage and water build up.
I've washed my cars a number of times, and to "cure" noisy brakes I've even paid special attention to the brakes/brake areas, really dousing the brake hardware so the braking hardware is really really soaked.
The Boxster brakes (no holes rotors) never has manifested any noticeable loss of braking after the car wash. But to be safe I am very careful when leaving the car wash bay and apply the brakes on the way down the driveway and out in the street to dry the brakes just in case. (The Boxster is "old" enough that when I apply the brakes this does not cut the throttle so I can drive with the brakes applied which heats up the brakes PDQ.)
The Turbo brakes are a bit more sensitive to water. The rotors have holes and maybe that's the reason.
When using the brakes the first time after leaving the car wash there is a distinct lack of braking effect. But I know what's going on and apply the brakes harder. Even with a short braking period the brakes regain their bite. I make it a habit to use the brakes a few times before I get in the thick of traffic just to make sure the brakes are dry.
I can't drive the Turbo and apply the brakes because the DME cuts the throttle when I apply the brakes, but a few slow downs even from 35mph to something less -- traffic permitting and over the few blocks from the car wash to the main drag there is no traffic -- has the Turbo brakes working just fine.
Any loss of braking action beyond just a wee bit due to simply wet brakes is due to some deficiency in the braking system. From the previous posts on this subject the culprit is water accumulating in the body water drain basis and this water can interfere with the action of the brake booster.
(I know from experience when my VW Golf lost its V-belt on the freeway just how hard a car equipped with power steering is to turn with no power steering. The usual "tug" on the wheel had no effect and the car continued in the direction it was pointing. I managed to get the car turned but it required some considerable effort to crank the wheel over enough to make the sharp turn after leaving the stop light. Likewise much more force was required to obtains the same level of braking action comparable to when brake boost was in effect. Had to stand on the brake pedal to get the brakes to work.)
Proper servicing of one of these cars requires periodic checking of the body water drains for any trash build up or other problems and addressing this so no water builds up and the water drains run any water right down to under the car.
I don't want to sound like a d!ck but this is not new knowledge. I always "ride" my brakes for a few hundred yards after washing the car to dry them out. Never had a problem. If you are trying to get yourself a big class action suit started you may have a tough time with that
Yeah, I wrote that wrong. Search my post history for "I'm an idiot" - I at least offer a disclaimer.
Anway, what I choulda said is "I'm too stupid to not use the e-brake when I pull the car in after washing it, so I wind up with the front pads rusted to the rotors."
Thanks for setting me straight in a non-dickish way.
521 words/10 paragraphs/2,792 characters @ a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of 9.3...that is an IMPRESSIVE way to restate "Meh. Happens sometimes. Make sure your car is properly maintained."
You're the man, man. Obama's second State of the Union (I believe) was an 8.1. Fellow Rennlisters, take heed: Macster thinks you're smarter than Obama did.
What part of general/any brand car ownership is not understood that "when your brakes are wet braking efficiency is diminished?" Is this your very first car? Ever since I was a kid and had a bike this was understood. Drive through a puddle and your brakes don't work. Gosh!
