Brake bleed the old fashioned way?

[wilpir]

I was driving in a parking lot and got cut off, slammed on brakes and avoided an accident ( driver never saw me :shocked I went to park and go to work and have the dreaded Brake Failure warning come on! Went home checked fluid tried the reset and nothing..Can I bleed brakes by taking caps off master and holding down brake pedel overnight like I used to do on my race bikes? I have new fluid and pades done by dealer less than 1000 miles ago..Last time dealer charged me $175 to clear this warning message! :banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

[RICZ]

I thought of doing that hold down thing too until I realized the brake lights would be on. I haven't checked this out yet, but maybe pulling a fuse will allow that bleeding technique. I used that method on bikes without removing the master/reservoir cap and it worked.

 

[PMK]

There is a process to reset the brakes. I would accomplish that before bleeding and such.

It involves applying brake pedal force until the pressure switch clicks. Forget if it is key off then on or something like that. Very simple.

 

[Grandpot]

Before doing anything that costs money, try this. There are several causes and your sudden stop is one of them.

Brake Warning Reset Procedure
If you do not have any codes, but still have a brake warning, it is possible the low pressure switch has been activated. There are three switches in the brake circuit. 1. Brake light switch, 2. Hydraulic pressure switch, and 3. Low pressure switch (this is really a limit switch that just senses the pedal has traveled too far). This can be reset by the following procedure:

After a low pressure switch (LPS) problem has
been solved, it is necessary to clear the occurred
fault in the VCM as follows:
1. Turn ignition switch OFF.
2. Wait 30 seconds.
3. Turn ignition switch ON.
4. Press the brake pedal, you should hear two clicks.
NOTE: The 1st click will come from the brake light
switch. Continue to strongly press the brake pedal to hear
a 2nd click. This one will come from the low pressure
switch. You may not hear the click, just push the pedal real hard.
5. Turn ignition switch OFF.
6. Wait 30 seconds.
7. Turn ignition switch ON.
8. Validate fault was cleared.

What caused the condition in the first place?
This has happened to me a couple of times. When the parking brake is ON and your foot is on the brake pedal, then you release the parking brake, you will feel the brake pedal go down an additional amount. If it goes down far enough to activate the 3rd switch, that is when you get the brake failure message. Now I'm just careful of the pressure I put on the brake pedal when I release the parking brake. No more problems.

 

[wilpir]

3rd time I tried the reset it worked! I removed key afterward ..I guess that's the secret!! The info doesn't say that though....

 

[PMK]

3rd time I tried the reset it worked! I removed key afterward ..I guess that's the secret!! The info doesn't say that though....

Glad the other guy listed the steps to do that reset. I suspected that might be it but forgot how off the top of my head.

 

[Grandpot]

3rd time I tried the reset it worked! I removed key afterward ..I guess that's the secret!! The info doesn't say that though....

Glad it worked. I've never removed the key. Your success may have had more to do with timing. Another way if it is too hard to press the pedal all the way down is to take off the right side cover, press firmly on the brake pedal, and trip the third switch manually.