Brake Failure

[jmcbow]

Ok, so this has happened now 3 times since last fall. I go to stop, push down on the brake pedal, and suddenly the brake is very "spongy" almost like there is no resistance. I take my foot off of the brake, and it's like the system resets, as there is normal resistance and braking after the pedal comes back to it's original position. However, at that point, it throws a code the parking brake indicator stays on and the cluster flashes the orange warning at the bottom of the gage cluster. The first 2 times the dealer bled the brakes, but it did it again last night coming home from work. At this point I don't think it's air in the lines. Just wondering if anyone else has had anything similiar happen to them.

[Chupaca]

there is something wrong in the braking system. If they bled the brakes and things worked for a while air is still getting in. They need to go further than just bleeding the system. I would try another dealer. Imo..

[bruiser]

Did they just bleed the brakes or did they change the fluid? The brake fluid needs to be changed 12,000 miles or two years. Check the fluid, if it's dark it needs to be changed. Check the calipers to make sure they're working properly, clean, not sticking, worn pistons/seals.

[billybovine]

Ok, so this has happened now 3 times since last fall. I go to stop, push down on the brake pedal, and suddenly the brake is very "spongy" almost like there is no resistance. I take my foot off of the brake, and it's like the system resets, as there is normal resistance and braking after the pedal comes back to it's original position. However, at that point, it throws a code the parking brake indicator stays on and the cluster flashes the orange warning at the bottom of the gage cluster. The first 2 times the dealer bled the brakes, but it did it again last night coming home from work. At this point I don't think it's air in the lines. Just wondering if anyone else has had anything similiar happen to them.

I find it interesting that you say the parking brake light comes on.
Was it the parking brake engaged light. Park Brake on indicator.JPG
Or was it the parking brake fault light. Park Brake Fault indicator.JPG

If it was either one of those lights then your tech MAY be looking at the wrong system. If the parking brake engages when it should not and you have your foot is on the service brake the pedal will drop a little bit. I am throwing that idea out there, I may be way off base here but maybe your tech should be looking at the parking brake system.

[jmcbow]

I find it interesting that you say the parking brake light comes on.
Was it the parking brake engaged light. Park Brake on indicator.JPG
Or was it the parking brake fault light. Park Brake Fault indicator.JPG

If it was either one of those lights then your tech MAY be looking at the wrong system. If the parking brake engages when it should not and you have your foot is on the service brake the pedal will drop a little bit. I am throwing that idea out there, I may be way off base here but maybe your tech should be looking at the parking brake system.

It is the parking brake engaged indicator that stays on, and yes, the brake fluid is up and was changed last spring. Incidentally, the parking break still functions normally after this happens, but even after shutting the Spyder off and letting it sit it holds the code as previously described. The Spyder runs and handles normally and even brakes normally, except for the 2 lights that are illuminated on the gage cluster.

[CyncySpyder]

Looking at your pic & going off the info you listed, I'm guessing that your experiencing this issue on an RT, right? Have you checked for fault codes? We've had a similar issue with the warning indicator and the Flashing Brake Failure Warning, but our foot brake pedal has always felt fine. Have you tried bring up any fault codes? On ours, when checked, we keep getting C1282 (I think) which reads as a Low Brake Pressure Fault. After many trial & error attempts, we finally ordered a new Brake Pressure Switch that mounts right below the Brake Light Switch on the right side of the machine & hope to get it installed in the next day or two & hopefully corrects our issue. We'll be following along to see how your issue progresses, but curious if your getting the same code? & I'm referencing the code you pull up by pushing the MODE SET & Turn Signal Cancel Buttons at the same time.

[NancysToy]

It is the parking brake engaged indicator that stays on, and yes, the brake fluid is up and was changed last spring. Incidentally, the parking break still functions normally after this happens, but even after shutting the Spyder off and letting it sit it holds the code as previously described. The Spyder runs and handles normally and even brakes normally, except for the 2 lights that are illuminated on the gage cluster.

Sounds like a bad parking brake switch, or something interfering with its operation. Time to see your dealer for repairs/adjustments.

[jerpinoy]

What is your ride? year, model? It will always help to know.

[boborgera]

What is your ride? year, model? It will always help to know.

2010 RTS Sm5, Check his ;About me....

[jmcbow]

Looking at your pic & going off the info you listed, I'm guessing that your experiencing this issue on an RT, right? Have you checked for fault codes? We've had a similar issue with the warning indicator and the Flashing Brake Failure Warning, but our foot brake pedal has always felt fine. Have you tried bring up any fault codes? On ours, when checked, we keep getting C1282 (I think) which reads as a Low Brake Pressure Fault. After many trial & error attempts, we finally ordered a new Brake Pressure Switch that mounts right below the Brake Light Switch on the right side of the machine & hope to get it installed in the next day or two & hopefully corrects our issue. We'll be following along to see how your issue progresses, but curious if your getting the same code? & I'm referencing the code you pull up by pushing the MODE SET & Turn Signal Cancel Buttons at the same time.

I don't know what the fault code is, the dealer has it right now. They had suggested having the district rep from BRP look at it as this is a bit odd. Based on what has happened each time, I don't think it has anything to do with the parking brake. As I stated, you go to brake, step on the brake pedal and it's like there is nothing there, no resistance. At which point the brake pedal "over travels" for lack of a better description. When you take your foot off the brake pedal and it returns to its normal position, it brakes, and feels normal the second time. However, due to the over travel of the brake pedal, it throws a code and you get the illuminated lights on the gage as I previously described. If it were air in the lines I don't understand why the condition would disappear as soon as you take your foot off the brake and let it return to its normal at rest position. It's almost like it disengages from the brake system and then re-engages. And yes, they did do the recall upgrade on the brake pedal clip.

[jmcbow]

Well after a week in the shop, the dealer called me yesterday to tell me that (after talking to BRP) they believe the problem was the caliper piston(s) was "sticking". Which then caused the soft or spongy braking. BRP told the dealer that they have seen this issue on other Spyders. I'm not sure I'm buying all of this, but we'll see what happens.

[bruiser]

Are they going to replace the caliper assembly?

[skosh]

I have 2010 RT SM5. I have the orange cluster brake warning light flashing, parking brake on indicator light flashing (looks like exclamation point) and error code C1282 indicating brake failure due to low brake pressure. I have checked the brake fluid, bled the brakes, replaced the rear brake pads because they needed it, and checked the front ones (they were good) to no avail. I have been to the dealer numerous times for a BUDS reset and have put over 4000 miles on bike since first failure indication. I always troubleshoot my own electrical problems before taking into dealer and have successfully steered them in the right direction a couple of times. Once with regard to an ECM failure causing the RT not to start. So the mechanic values my opinion.


I took RT in for same brake issue on Thursday. The mechanic says they have this same brake error code/issues on lots of spyders and they really don't know what to do! He said that BRP always tells them to check the brake fluid and pads, but more often than not, that doesn't fix it. Other than that he said they couldn't just start replacing things because the VCM, for instance, is quite expensive. He suggested that I had more time than them and that I should look into this brake failure indication myself. I do not have the tools (mainly BUDS) to evaluate the problem and to check the the VCM.

I have read the posts about this issue and it seems quite common. This would seem to indicate an inherent defect in the spyder. Although I believe this to be an erroneous error code, it concerns to me that if something actually went wrong with my brakes, I would never know it because I have grown accustom (once reset stays off about a day) to the flashing brake warning light. However, armed with everything I have read from this forum, I guess I will plough into this issue and see what I can find. Needless to say, I'm disgusted and pretty skeptical at this point, armed with only my trusty multimeter, of actually finding the problem. Not sure where to go if not successful. I already go to the best mechanic in this area.

Has anyone actually had success getting this problem fixed and staying fixed? I'd like to hear what actually fixed it.

It seems to me that BRP should recognize this to be a serious problem and possibly set them up for a negligence law suit. Just sayin...

[CyncySpyder]

We had a similar problem with Teds Red Sled which is a 2011 SpyderFest Eddition RT-S #1 of 5 from Len (then at Cowtown) now at PitBull PowerSports.

Our issue was caused by constant braking while on a group ryde and with our 400 pound camper in tow while in the mountains durring this years Owners Event. I knew we were burning up the brakes, and should have known better and gone off on our own, but instead kept with the pack. The end result was warped front rotors & pads that needed to be replaced. I knew they were warped from the intermittant braking pattern that seemed to grab & release. Once the front pads & rotors were replaced, all seemed well. Now at this time, we hadn't been having ANY Brake Failure Warnings or codes.

After a few weeks of everything seeming to be fine, that's when we started getting the Low Brake Pressure P1282 Fault Code & the constant flashing Warning Indicators, driving me crazy even tho everything seemed to fine with stopping. Unlike the original poster, our pedal always felt firm as usual & stopping was the same as always.

After checking everything I could think to check, someone else posted on here about a similar issue & their shop stated their issue was due to their rear brake pads being worn. BRPs specs for the pads are 5mm new and <1mm needs replaced, so I took a caliper & checked the rear pad best I could without removing the exhaust. When I checked, I could only reach the trailing end of the pad and that came out to about 2.4-2.5mm, which is just about in the middle of their limits, so I basically ruled this out as being the possible cause.

I called our local dealer and talked with the Service Manager, and he said that they have had to replace a few of the Brake Pressure Switches themselves, and if everything else checked out, then it was most likely the switch itself was faulty & causing the code to be thrown. So with this new info, I went ahead and ordered a new Brake Pressure Switch which is around $40 & once it arrived, enlisted my brothers assistance in replacing it.

Before replacing the switch however, we needed better access to where its housed, which is right under the Brake Light Switch which is housed close to the foot peg support on the right side, close to where the brake pedal is, so I first removed the muffler to allow better access. Once the muffler was removed, I decided to now measure the leading edge of the rear brake pad & was a little shocked that it was about half of what the trailing edge was, as it measured in right around 1.2mm. Seeing this concerned difference between the leading and trailing edges of the same pad, we stopped and I PM'd BajaRon that I needed to order a new set of rear pads and rear rotor as well.

As soon as they arrived, I once again got my brothers assistance, and we had a heck of a time in getting that rear caliper to push back in far enough to allow the new pads room to fit in around the rotor, but after a while of working with it, finally got just enough space to get them in. Upon further investigation, my brother was confident that the rear rotor wasn't bad nor in need of replacing, and once we had replaced the fronts, the Sled stopped solid with no variation, so I didn't doubt that the rear rotor itself was still in good shape. We did take some fine grit sandpaper to it, just to make sure it was nice & clean for the new pads. Once seeing how the rear OEM Pads were worn, my brother thought that it could cause the issue I was having.

Once we replaced the rear pads, I then went about clearing the Low Brake Pressure Fault Code as it states to do in the Service Manual, and after doing the Reset Sequence two times, the fault code cleared and it has now been gone, seemingly resolved for almost 2 weeks and about a thousand miles

Not sure if this helps anyone or not, but it would seem that our rear brake pads being unevenly worn was the cause of our Low Brake Pressure P1282 Fault so far ....... so good

[ulflyer]

Have had all the symptoms mentioned above other than spongy brake pedal. Been going on for nearly a year now with at least 6 shop visits, several with mechanic on phone with BRP. At various visits:

Rear brake pads replaced. (my cost)
Brake calipers inspected (my cost)
Front rotors replaced along with new pads (rotors warrantied, pads my cost)
VCM replaced (Warrantied)
Battery tested, wires jiggled, system reset (warrantied)

Nothing has solved the problem.

Email to BRP acknowledged to extent of asking whether the last visit (wires jiggled, battery tested) solved my problem.
This will be two weeks as of 25 Sep '13 when I replied that it didn't and am getting frustrated, to say the least.

Sometime this week I am going to try to get a phone call through and see if they have any further clues. Barring satisfaction, fairly soon, I will be looking to the N.C Lemon Law for results.

I can't sell it or trade it in this condition.

[ulflyer]

I called our local dealer and talked with the Service Manager, and he said that they have had to replace a few of the Brake Pressure Switches themselves, and if everything else checked out, then it was most likely the switch itself was faulty & causing the code to be thrown. So with this new info, I went ahead and ordered a new Brake Pressure Switch which is around $40 & once it arrived, enlisted my brothers assistance in replacing it.

Before replacing the switch however, we needed better access to where its housed, which is right under the Brake Light Switch which is housed close to the foot peg support on the right side, close to where the brake pedal is, so I first removed the muffler to allow better access. Once the muffler was removed, I decided to now measure the leading edge of the rear brake pad & was a little shocked that it was about half of what the trailing edge was, as it measured in right around 1.2mm. Seeing this concerned difference between the leading and trailing edges of the same pad, we stopped and I PM'd BajaRon that I needed to order a new set of rear pads and rear rotor as well.

As soon as they arrived, I once again got my brothers assistance, and we had a heck of a time in getting that rear caliper to push back in far enough to allow the new pads room to fit in around the rotor, but after a while of working with it, finally got just enough space to get them in. Upon further investigation, my brother was confident that the rear rotor wasn't bad nor in need of replacing, and once we had replaced the fronts, the Sled stopped solid with no variation, so I didn't doubt that the rear rotor itself was still in good shape. We did take some fine grit sandpaper to it, just to make sure it was nice & clean for the new pads. Once seeing how the rear OEM Pads were worn, my brother thought that it could cause the issue I was having.

Once we replaced the rear pads, I then went about clearing the Low Brake Pressure Fault Code as it states to do in the Service Manual, and after doing the Reset Sequence two times, the fault code cleared and it has now been gone, seemingly resolved for almost 2 weeks and about a thousand miles

Not sure if this helps anyone or not, but it would seem that our rear brake pads being unevenly worn was the cause of our Low Brake Pressure P1282 Fault so far ....... so good

Sounds like you may have solved your problem; however, if the code pops up again, please let us know ASAP. I'm going to have my rear pad looked at again, just in case, although it was one of Ron's pads and shouldn't be worn much. Nevertheless I'm gonna have it checked.

Just checked mileage since the new pad was put on its about 9K. I'm not hard on brakes but have no idea how long the pad should last. The OEM pad that this one replaced lasted 20K.

Also, I stopped by the shop today and they're ordering a brake switch to see if this will solve my problem.

[yanksskins]

Ok, so this has happened now 3 times since last fall. I go to stop, push down on the brake pedal, and suddenly the brake is very "spongy" almost like there is no resistance. I take my foot off of the brake, and it's like the system resets, as there is normal resistance and braking after the pedal comes back to it's original position. However, at that point, it throws a code the parking brake indicator stays on and the cluster flashes the orange warning at the bottom of the gage cluster. The first 2 times the dealer bled the brakes, but it did it again last night coming home from work. At this point I don't think it's air in the lines. Just wondering if anyone else has had anything similiar happen to them.

happen to last week too. took to my dealer they told me the oil was thick up, so they flush the lines and put new in. so far working....bob

[mob133]

had a similar problem ,rear brake caliper was sticking didn't figure out until one day it was so bad you could smell and feel it . so I took rear brake apart threw in new pads cleaned the slide bushings and lubed, haven't had a problem since, hope this helps

[ulflyer]

It is the parking brake engaged indicator that stays on, and yes, the brake fluid is up and was changed last spring. Incidentally, the parking break still functions normally after this happens, but even after shutting the Spyder off and letting it sit it holds the code as previously described. The Spyder runs and handles normally and even brakes normally, except for the 2 lights that are illuminated on the gage cluster.

Mechanics at my shop said that the parking light does stay on when a C1282 occurs, even tho the parking brake goes on and releases normally.

[ulflyer]

We had a similar problem with Teds Red Sled which is a 2011 SpyderFest Eddition RT-S #1 of 5 from Len (then at Cowtown) now at PitBull PowerSports.

Our issue was caused by constant braking while on a group ryde and with our 400 pound camper in tow while in the mountains durring this years Owners Event. I knew we were burning up the brakes, and should have known better and gone off on our own, but instead kept with the pack. The end result was warped front rotors & pads that needed to be replaced. I knew they were warped from the intermittant braking pattern that seemed to grab & release. Once the front pads & rotors were replaced, all seemed well. Now at this time, we hadn't been having ANY Brake Failure Warnings or codes.

After a few weeks of everything seeming to be fine, that's when we started getting the Low Brake Pressure P1282 Fault Code & the constant flashing Warning Indicators, driving me crazy even tho everything seemed to fine with stopping. Unlike the original poster, our pedal always felt firm as usual & stopping was the same as always.

After checking everything I could think to check, someone else posted on here about a similar issue & their shop stated their issue was due to their rear brake pads being worn. BRPs specs for the pads are 5mm new and <1mm needs replaced, so I took a caliper & checked the rear pad best I could without removing the exhaust. When I checked, I could only reach the trailing end of the pad and that came out to about 2.4-2.5mm, which is just about in the middle of their limits, so I basically ruled this out as being the possible cause.

I called our local dealer and talked with the Service Manager, and he said that they have had to replace a few of the Brake Pressure Switches themselves, and if everything else checked out, then it was most likely the switch itself was faulty & causing the code to be thrown. So with this new info, I went ahead and ordered a new Brake Pressure Switch which is around $40 & once it arrived, enlisted my brothers assistance in replacing it.

Before replacing the switch however, we needed better access to where its housed, which is right under the Brake Light Switch which is housed close to the foot peg support on the right side, close to where the brake pedal is, so I first removed the muffler to allow better access. Once the muffler was removed, I decided to now measure the leading edge of the rear brake pad & was a little shocked that it was about half of what the trailing edge was, as it measured in right around 1.2mm. Seeing this concerned difference between the leading and trailing edges of the same pad, we stopped and I PM'd BajaRon that I needed to order a new set of rear pads and rear rotor as well.

As soon as they arrived, I once again got my brothers assistance, and we had a heck of a time in getting that rear caliper to push back in far enough to allow the new pads room to fit in around the rotor, but after a while of working with it, finally got just enough space to get them in. Upon further investigation, my brother was confident that the rear rotor wasn't bad nor in need of replacing, and once we had replaced the fronts, the Sled stopped solid with no variation, so I didn't doubt that the rear rotor itself was still in good shape. We did take some fine grit sandpaper to it, just to make sure it was nice & clean for the new pads. Once seeing how the rear OEM Pads were worn, my brother thought that it could cause the issue I was having.

Once we replaced the rear pads, I then went about clearing the Low Brake Pressure Fault Code as it states to do in the Service Manual, and after doing the Reset Sequence two times, the fault code cleared and it has now been gone, seemingly resolved for almost 2 weeks and about a thousand miles

Not sure if this helps anyone or not, but it would seem that our rear brake pads being unevenly worn was the cause of our Low Brake Pressure P1282 Fault so far ....... so good

Cyncy: two questions... were the leading edges of both pads thin, or one side only? Just checked mine and couldn't measure but the outside pad was overall much thinner than inside (nearest tire) one. I've ordered a new set from Ron.

Can the code be cleared without BUDS? If so, Is it something fairly easy to explain? I'm not very technical!