I took my car out today because I finished rewiring and installing my rear speakers. I was playing around in a parking lot for a very short time (two reverse 180 spins) and much to my surprise, my brake pedal went to the floor! My brakes weren't working anymore! I had to pump it to get my car to slow down. No longer having any appetite for fun, I went to leave the parking lot... and couldn't stop. So I pump my brakes over and over locking the tires momentarily each time. It was very loud to say the least (I can't normally lock them that easily in clear weather, as far as I can remember).

The thing is, by time I got to the highway, it wasn't so bad. And by time I got home, it was just about back to normal. It just had a little give left in it.

Now, I know air can get into brake lines and add a mushy feeling to it. However, mine have always been responsive ever since I replaced the rotors and brake pads. Moreover, it doesn't make sense how laying off the brakes (which I weren't using that much) would somehow "cure" them of this problem. I could see them maybe overheating and slipping, much like a clutch does. But I can't see any reason why I'd have zero resistence to pushing the pedal down, and it'd fix (ever so temporarily!) with pumping. It was like I had no hydraulic pressure on the pads and I had to pump it to get it going. This is different from having no power brakes at all, where it's just harder to press and you can't get as much.

I don't have to work the next morning, so hurry and save me before I get myself killed!

Why would you need brakes on a highway? The highway is empty at this hour and I've got engine brakes (as if would need it anyway). The brakes worked, just very poorly. I just had to drive cautiously (like you would if you were driving a very large vehicle). Also, I was preoccupied with "I'm getting the hell home."

I'm off to bed now.

Well, miran, not every body stops at red lights like you. Pansy.

the parking brake is mechanical but usually poorly maintained(and thus unreliable) unless you use it alot, IIRC(no idea if one tends to use a hand brake more than the floor ones though).

Darwin in action...

Honestly, if the brakes don't work properly, stear your car to the side, release the gas and pull on the hand break or let friction slow it down. Then call the emergency repair service (you do have one over there, right?)

Did the pedal feel firm after pumping and then after a while slump again? If so, then you've got a hydraulic leak.

If you can't find the leak in the brake lines, check out the master cylinder/vacuum assister. Also if the brake pedal movement is sent to the vacuum assister via a cable or a secondary hydraulic link, like in so many other Mitsubishis (which your Talon is anyway), check that out too.

There there... A reverse 180 is the only way an overweight underpowered front wheel drive car does G-forces. And a quick way to kill CV-joints. However, that doesn't make it a clever trick, it's simply stupid and pointless.

An reverse knight rider turn OTOH is sometimes useful. Remember kids, don't try this at home, at crowded locales, on asphalt or any other well gripping surface (snow or ice, perferred), without power steering or with a rear-wheel drive. It begins as a reverse 180, but at mid-turn the front wheels are locked and while they're locked with the brakes and straightened (when they're locked they don't affect the car's yawing) while simultaneously engaging the first gear and straightening the tires, and when done 180 degrees, accelerating off.

Yep. Powersliding a 2500kg Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero in the winter was fun. Some grandmas on the sidewalk waved their fists in the air when i did that.

Thoug it was more fun and safero to switch on the 4wd and burn rice rockets at traffic lights.

Can I call you Chris 'Deathwish' Katko?

Yes it is. And especially when it is in fact a 135hp car that weighs a gargantuan 1300kg (2800lbs). That's very little badly behaving horses pulling a big wagon.

Source

My car is classified as a subcompact. Now, I'm not saying it's got anything in the upper MPH ranges. I drop into third at 75 MPH and I'm still not accelerating that fast. But at lower speeds, the thing flys. It's got more than 400 ft-lbs of torque in first gear. So it's not amazing, but it's still respectible for the size.

How do you jump in front of someone... on the highway? There's on-ramps, and off-ramps, and two empty lanes.

Yeah. But I've been in that situation already and survived. I was driving my mother's van, doing the speed limit of 70 MPH. There was an accident on the other road, but this one was completely unaffected. Well, apparently some lovely seniors decided to do 30 MPH so they could watch. So in an instant from clearing a hill, my car was at theirs. I slammed on the brakes. I couldn't go in the passing lane because someone was passing me! So, I swerved into the emergancy shoulder lane between their car and the metal railing. With the ABS brakes in the floor, I almost passed their car. I actually passed the passenger in their car with my brakes maxed out. I saved myself, their stupid ass lives, both our cars, and my sister; because I knew how to drive. Unlike their stupid asses...

It's really funny how many times I've almost died because of stupid people... in the less than a year I've been driving. Actually, it's not funny, it's horrifying, but I try to keep a positive outlook on life.

DeathWish knows no fear!

For base model. Yours is not, remember. It's got the Mitsubishi 4G63 that is a lot bigger heap of metal than the 4G37 in the base model. It's around 1230kg. 1300kg was overestimated but i was only bit off, so sue me.

Still heavy though, for that little power.