Brake Pedal Hard to Push Down

Brake pedal hard to push down when hitting the brake, you need to step extra hard on the brake pedal for the brake to function.

Troubleshooting car problems of hard to press brake pedal during braking

Most of the car today has power brakes that helps make the braking much easier cars are equipped with power brake that is vacuum assisted, when the power brake has problem the driver has to step extra hard on the brake pedal to stop the car. Vacuum assisted power brake unit uses vacuum from the engine to help in applying the brakes, it has a vacuum hose from the car engine into a round metal or plastic canister and can be found between the master cylinder and the engine compartment fire wall.
To determine the cause of the problem observe the car engine, when the engine runs rough the possible problem is that the vacuum hose is broken or there is a leak somewhere the vacuum hose. However when the engine runs rough only when the brake pedal is depressed while the car is park then the possible problem is that the canister is failing.

There are other types of brake like the hydro-boost, when the car speed does not change when the brake pedal is depressed then the car uses hydro-boost brake unit.

Possible Cause of Brake Pedal that is Hard to Push Down When Brake is Apply
Bad or failing power brake unit

How to Fix Hard to Push Down Brake Pedal
When this kind of problem happens to your car the first thing to do is to identify what type of brake unit installed on the car by looking under the hood. Look for the power brake unit in between the master cylinder and the fire wall it should be a plastic or metal canister with 10” to 14” in diameter. Once you locate the vacuum assisted unit, check the hose that connects the unit to the engine if there is crack or leaks, if so then replace the hose. If the hose is fine then no other option but to bring the car to the car shop for diagnosis and repair if necessary.

See more of related topics on Brakes Problem Troubleshooting