2015 C4 Brakes

[RichardW]

By the looks of it David the vac system is very simple - two pipes off the pump, one to the turbo solenoid and the other to the servo. It looks like there is a pressure sensor on the servo line, it might be possible to see the vacuum pressure in diagbox? To me it sounds like the servo or its vent is sticking. Does it pass the pedal goes hard after a few strokes engine off, and then does it sink when you re-start the engine? You might need to do the former in the evening, and then test the sinking from from cold in the morning - as pumping the pedal might be enough to free it off. New servo in the region of £175, might be swine to fit though!!

[DHallworth]

If I pump the brake pedal it takes around 3 presses for it to be solid and when you start the car the pedal slowly drops again.

I've ordered the discs, pads and a replacement air box for it and before I picked it up this evening I've booked it in again for a week on Monday. She asked what I was booking it in for and I told them I was 99.9% sure that the repairs they requested wouldn't fix the issue with it.

Fingers crossed the parts I've ordered arrive quickly so I can prove my point.

Just before going to get the car I asked them what they thought about the possibility of a master cylinder or servo fault and they replied "Yea, it could be. We need to sort the vacuum system out first though... although I guess we could blank it off to test it". Why was he thinking this at 4pm on a Friday ffs..

Anyway, this is the bit they've that’s broken...

Getting the air box out of there to change it looks like it might be a bit of a nightmare.

David.

[RichardW]

Shouldn't be too hard, looks like you just need to change the lid



I think that's the vent from the turbo boost solenoid, in which case it will have naff all effect on the vacuum system!

[DHallworth]

That’s what I said to the “Master Tech” but he’s adamant that as it’s a break in the vacuum system it needs to be repaired before they’ll look any further.

They wanted £130 for an air filter box but I found a brand new one on eBay for 55 quid so I’ll fit it myself when I do the discs and pads.

Arnold Clark noted that the car was missing the front brake disc retaining screws. Not only did they want £130.70 to fit them (they’re missing, not sheered) they also told me that they needed to be replaced before it’s next MOT as it would result in a fail.

Apparently when they got the car there was a warning light on the dashboard saying it needed a brake fluid change too... I reminded them there is no brake fluid warning light so they said it was due going by time/mileage.

[Hell Razor5543]

I would give Arnold Clark a wide berth in future. It sounds like they think their customers are cash cows to be milked dry.

[DHallworth]

I normally wouldn’t touch them, however, Cheryl saw a car she wanted and it was priced fairly when she bought it.

It came with a 2 year warranty on it and she paid 180 quid for a 2 year service plan which unfortunately are both Arnold Clark only so I can’t take it anywhere else.

Once this issue with the brakes is fixed I’m going to write off the rest of the warranty and the servicing and I’ll do it myself from now on.

David.

[Hell Razor5543]

I wonder what Trading Standards would say about the quality of their work?

[DHallworth]

I never did update this.

I got sick to the back teeth of Arnold Clark so decided I'd repair this myself. I ordered new discs and pads as they'd warped them. The spigot that goes from the air filter housing to the vacuum pump had been broken (I'm sure that was Arnold Clark too but can't prove it) so I replaced the air box too.

I stripped both front calipers down, cleaned them and lubricated them and rebuilt them, I fitted the new discs and pads, and replaced the air filter housing.

Thankfully, Cheryl hasn't had any more issues with the car since. Fingers crossed it stays that way!

David.

[Dormouse]

I wonder what Trading Standards would say about the quality of their work?

you don't want to know