S90 Stiff Brake Pedal

[key76]

After leaving the car standing for a while (it was several days the brake pedal would stiffen, so when getting in and pressing it to start the car you felt like you had to stomp on it.

I've had this before in other cars, so not too worried.

However, over time it has become so that it's like that after only a day of not driving it.

Is this normal?

Car was in for 2nd service only 2 weeks ago so assume they would have picked up any issues.

Brakes perform fine, it's just the stiffening of the pedal when not being driven that is getting more frequent.

[nu11eaf]

Sounds like a classic case of servo vacuum being lost making pedal hard to push, once engine is running the vacuum returns and brings things back to normal.

[key76]

Originally Posted by nu11eaf

Sounds like a classic case of servo vacuum being lost making pedal hard to push, once engine is running the vacuum returns and brings things back to normal.

Correct. As soon as I start engine all is well instantly. But should it lose the vacuum almost daily? And is it anything that should be looked at sooner rather than later?

Brakes when in use feel fine and no concerns at all with that side of things.

[nu11eaf]

It should not lose vacuum, it requires checking out, I doubt it will cause any problems in short term but I would not leave it too long before getting it checked.

[MikeGMT]

I have had the same occur on a few occasions. First time it happened was last year. When the car went in for it's 2nd service I mentioned the hard brake pedal randomly happening on start up, so they made a note of it. On collection the technician told me everything checked out fine and they could find no fault. Since then it has happened maybe half a dozen times, however the brakes perform flawlessly, so I tend not to worry.

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=317580

[key76]

I'll ask them to look next time I need to go into dealer. I have a big (3k miles) trip in the autumn so definitely want it checked before that just in case as I'll be miles away from nearest dealer if anything goes wrong on the trip.

[EssexExile]

Originally Posted by key76

After leaving the car standing for a while (it was several days the brake pedal would stiffen, so when getting in and pressing it to start the car you felt like you had to stomp on it.

I've had this before in other cars, so not too worried.

However, over time it has become so that it's like that after only a day of not driving it.

Is this normal?

Car was in for 2nd service only 2 weeks ago so assume they would have picked up any issues.

Brakes perform fine, it's just the stiffening of the pedal when not being driven that is getting more frequent.

They won't look at it as part of a service, you'd need to ask them.

[key76]

It’s not much of a service if they don’t check brake function, and I’d consodwr a vacuum leak something they should have noticed.

I’ll call then when I have time to take it in as things are fine (or sooner if things deteriorate).

[EssexExile]

Surely for a service they do what's on the service schedule, nothing more. If they tested the brakes an hour or two after you took it in they wouldn't experience the problem.

[key76]

Originally Posted by EssexExile

Surely for a service they do what's on the service schedule, nothing more. If they tested the brakes an hour or two after you took it in they wouldn't experience the problem.

No, but if it is a leak on the servo, that would be easy to spot/test for I assume.

Oh well, just means another trip back - at least my work has a site 20 mins walk from the dealer so I can work from there if I have to leave it all day.