2015 RT Brake pulls left & low fluid after fluid change? Ideas?

[Mike4143]

I have a 2015 RT and am having a brake problem the dealer can't seem to find. I had my brake fluid changed and within 1,000 miles I got a "brake failure light", when I checked the rear resavoir it was low so I added some dot 4 fluid and the light was gone. My problem is when I step on the brakes the bike pulls to the left and then straightens out, this happens at lower speeds. When going around 55 miles per hour the bike wants to take a left and the rear feels like it wants to swing out to the right.
The dealer checked the brake pads and rotors and said it all looks fine. They said that they would have to do some testing but have not been able to find the problem so far. At this point I have no confidence with the dealer and it seems like they not trying to find the problem at this point or just don't have the answers. Has anybody had this problem? Any help at this point would be great.

Mike

[Peter Aawen]

There's a few things that it could be, altho that low fluid level does make you hafta wonder about how good a job they did.... But when they checked it out afterwards, did they check to make sure the pads were sliding properly on the pins? Or the pads were seated properly?

It shouldn't be all that hard to diagnose a grabby Brembo Brake! They are pretty straighforward things....

[JayBros]

One has every right to be suspicious when a dealership says everything "looks" fine. Tell the dealership to open a case with BRP and solve the problem. If they won't do so, do it yourself, ask for the case to be opened that is, and if necessary take it to another dealership.

[RICZ]

Try making a series of very hard braking from 50 to 20 mph and repeat a few times. There might be some glazing on the pads.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Try making a series of very hard braking from 50 to 20 mph and repeat a few times. There might be some glazing on the pads.

If the new pads weren't broken in Properly .... some damage my already have been done .... I break-in any new pad's Exactly the RON says to do it ..... On REAR brake padf wear .... I just checked my REAR pads ( from Ron ) and was quite surprised at what I found ..... The orig. OEM pads got a hair over 30,000 mi. and then I switched to RON's ( EBC pads) when I checked them last year at 58,000 mi. I saw I had quite a bit of pad left, so I waited until the end of last season ( nov. ) to and planned to change them ..... well the EBC pads are wearing a lot less than the OEM's did ... I now have 66,000 mi. and still have a safe margin of wear left .... I plan to check them in June this year and see what they look like ...... I did as Ron suggested and and made one deep diagonal slit ( with my angle grinder using a ONE mm cutting blade ) ..... will let all know what I find in June ....... Mike

[EdMat]

I wonder if they blead air into a caliper when flushing the system?

[RICZ]

Order a set of Speed Bleeders for you bike. They make the job stupid easy and a one man show. No helper needed. When I learned about Speed Bleedrs and installed my first set, I got rock hard bleeds the likes of which I was was never able to attain with a myriad of devices.
speedbleeder.com

[Mike4143]

I tried that and almost lost it once. The faster you go the worse it wants to go sideways.

[BertRemington]

Mike -- I concur with your concern on dealer service.

With just the brake fluid being replaced, the two most likely possibilities for unequal braking are (1) EdMat's air in the system and (2) brake fluid dripped on pad or rotor.

In both cases, a hard brake test is not recommended for safety reasons until the above two possibilities have been eliminated.

WRT to SpeedBleeders here's my experience https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...ge#post1592737

WRT to removing brake fluid, I recommend either isopropyl alcohol (safe to use) or aerosol brake cleaner (use care with overspray and drips). If anything more than a few drops of brake fluid got on the pads, you're will need to remove the caliper then clean and lightly sand the pads. The dust is messy so best to do this outside.

One other possibility is the dealer removed the calipers during the bleeding process and did not clean the mating surface on reassembly.

Best wishes.

[Mike4143]

Got 35,000 out of the 1st set of pads, there is only 20,000 on the set in the bike now. The pads are fine.

I got a call from the dealer and they now are saying the right rotor mis bad. They want $279 for the rotor with a total bill of $769 which I questioned. The labor is $120hr, they have to bleed the whole system I guess.

[Mike4143]

I am also thinking they got brake fluid on the caliper when they changed the fluid because it did not pull like this before. Try to prove it was their fault.

[BertRemington]

Mike -- I'm calling BS on your dealer. Who I suspect is RideNow Ocala.

BRP uses ordinary Brembo brakes. H&B Cycle's picture shows a H-D but the review implies they have multi-brand mechanic skills so they would be my first choice. Earl's looks like a possibility. For sure Melillimoto Ducati has the skills but BMW (bring more wallet).

If the pads are badly contaminated then you will have to replace them. At 20K it's probably your best choice.

Stay safe.

[Peter Aawen]

Got 35,000 out of the 1st set of pads, there is only 20,000 on the set in the bike now. The pads are fine.

I got a call from the dealer and they now are saying the right rotor mis bad. They want $279 for the rotor with a total bill of $769 which I questioned. The labor is $120hr, they have to bleed the whole system I guess.

Before you pay for any new parts like rotors &/or pads, if you don't think you're gonna get any joy with that dealer (& it really doesn't sound promising! ) you might wanta check with BajaRon for replacement EBC rotors & pads...

If you can take a wheel off the front & get down there to spin a spanner, it's really not a big &/or complex task to swap a rotor &/or check & make sure a Brembo caliper is working properly & the pads are sliding on the pins as they should - and unless you're removing the brake lines from the caliper or otherwise opening the brake lines (which isn't really necessary if you're only swapping rotors &/or pads.... ) there should be no need to re-bleed the brakes - unless they didn't do that properly the first time around!! In which case I'd be questioning why you get to pay for their stuff ups?!

It does sound like this dealer is trying it on?!?

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Got 35,000 out of the 1st set of pads, there is only 20,000 on the set in the bike now. The pads are fine.

I got a call from the dealer and they now are saying the right rotor mis bad. They want $279 for the rotor with a total bill of $769 which I questioned. The labor is $120hr, they have to bleed the whole system I guess.

Your " STEALER " *ucks .... - period ..... JMHO .... Mike

[mecsw500]

Don't you need access to a BUDS system to get the ABS pump all flushed and free of air? Perhaps that ABS pump part of the system is not operating as it should because it wasn't bled properly?

Suddenly consuming a goodly amount of fluid like that without a leak would imply a large air pocket somewhere. The fact they diagnosed a bad rotor and wanted such an outrageous sum to replace it may suggest they didn't do such a good job on the BUDS side of things first time round.

That the system veers to one side and then seems to correct itself suggests the stability control system is at least working to some extent.

Even my lowly Triumph Bonneville T120 needs the ABS controller manipulated with the factory servicing tool when doing a brake fluid change. All the BMW motorcycles I've had needed the same thing, going way back to their early ABS systems in 1997. Anything with any kind of stability control, linked with the ABS, is quite a complicated system that probably needs more than just pushing some fluid through. Unfortunately, unlike most common car brands, I doubt if there is a universal third party device for doing this and it's down to the factory supplied BUDS device and a knowledgeable operator.

Your mileage may vary but I would want a detailed conversation with that dealer and exactly what they did before I trusted my life to just swapping a rotor.

[Little Blue]

Got 35,000 out of the 1st set of pads, there is only 20,000 on the set in the bike now. The pads are fine.

I got a call from the dealer and they now are saying the right rotor mis bad. They want $279 for the rotor with a total bill of $769 which I questioned. The labor is $120hr, they have to bleed the whole system I guess.

Let me understand what has happened.
1. The Spyder went in for Brake Fluid Change.
2. The Brakes now pull to the right.
3. Dealer did not do or has not performed a 'test' ryde.
4. Dealer said Brakes are good to go.
5. Dealer now wants to replace a rotor or two.

So if this information is correct and true. I would be talking to the Service Manager and then to the Owner of the Shop.

Then maybe to a good Lawyer.

Brakes are a Safety Issue and need to be Serviced and Checked out Correctly. .....

[Mike4143]

I am going to talk to the general manager of the shop who seems to be a good guy and has helped me in the past. I really think it was the fault of the mechanic and the fluid change was not done right.
Thanks for all the help.

Mike

[JoeyL]

I know I'm late to the party, but I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. I spent quite a few years working on brakes (but on cars, not Spyders). When a car would come in with these symptoms we'd check first for a seized caliper, then for an imploded brake hose. The brake hose thing happens much more often than you'd think and the fact that this happened right after a system bleed would make me suspicious. For a quick test, raise the front wheels off the ground and make sure that both spin freely. Then have someone apply the brake pedal and try again. If you're able to spin the right wheel even slightly but not the left, the hose is likely blown on the inside.

[Piratezz]

Mike 4143, how did the situation, pan out for you, Is the problem solved? Just curious, JoeyL, gives a good advice...
Brakes are quite a safety issue, and if the bike pulls to whatever side, that is a biggie.

Are you able to check your pads? Take a wheel off, as BajaRon suggested, and check the pads, even if the piston is moving freely, Brembo uses very few moving parts, and what they make, it works, they have a name to loose

[happyspyder2039]

I had similar issue. I took disc to NAPA and they resurface. Put back on and went for ride. Did a few panic stops like suggested above. Problem solved.

[GoldenSpyder]

I had this same problem to occur on my 2014 RT-S. My husband and I took the front wheels off and took the pads off both sides. They all looked fine. They were worn to about the half way point on both wheels. Put them back on and the same thing occurred. Took them back off and replaced them with EBC pads and the problem was solved. The ones we removed were not OEM pads as the dealer had replaced them the very day I bought the Spyder. I know this because when I test rode it before buying, the front brakes were making so much noise, I would not buy it until they did replace the front pads. So, I guess all pads are not created equal??!!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I have a 2015 RT and am having a brake problem the dealer can't seem to find. I had my brake fluid changed and within 1,000 miles I got a "brake failure light", when I checked the rear resavoir it was low so I added some dot 4 fluid and the light was gone. My problem is when I step on the brakes the bike pulls to the left and then straightens out, this happens at lower speeds. When going around 55 miles per hour the bike wants to take a left and the rear feels like it wants to swing out to the right.
The dealer checked the brake pads and rotors and said it all looks fine. They said that they would have to do some testing but have not been able to find the problem so far. At this point I have no confidence with the dealer and it seems like they not trying to find the problem at this point or just don't have the answers. Has anybody had this problem? Any help at this point would be great.

Mike

IMHO , beside the brake problem you have a Dealer problem ....Mike

[Little Blue]

....How did the brake issues pan out? Give us your
Latest Updates on your progress. ......

[Ghoster]

As has already been noted, that type brake problem is caused by (potentially) one of four things.
1. Air in a caliper
2. Brake pad problem
3. Rotor damage
4. Failed (imploded) hose.

Rotor damage would not be a sudden symptom nor show up coincidental with flushing the fluid system.

Brake pads would also not be a sudden occurrence, unless damaged by something like brake fluid. Brake fluid would usually tend to make the pad sticky and grabby which could account for the pull to one side, but not the fluid loss.

A failed hose would often cause that wheel to drag when the brake was released as it would often keep fluid from returning to the master cylinder as well as slowing the application of pressure in that caliper.

Pulling to the left says the left brake is grabbing or braking much harder than the right. Air in the right? Sticky pad on the left?

Air in the system would easily account for the loss of fluid from the reservoir as it was compressed, and also would account for the pull to one side then straightening out as the abs/traction control fed fluid to the side that had lower pressure to compensate for the air bubble.

I agree with the comment about poor service and really, really, stress that the dealer probably is responsible for fixing this issue. Since the issue was not a problem before the service then was found right after the service it seems caused by whatever was done.
If they say the brakes "look good" but do not do a test drive and confirm the brakes are functioning properly then they really are not doing their job.
If they failed to find and fix the problem they would lose my business forever.

[Lulley]

It could also be a frozen caliper.
That type of problem happened last year to my 2016 F3-T, had a frozen caliper on the opposite side. It would pull terribly to the right, could not imagine what would have happened in a panic stop. It had moisture in the system, two new calipers and pads installed and a complete fluid flush and refill. The system had never been opened since new. My cost $0