brake pedal lost nearly all firmness then handbrake light was on

[muzza73]

hi guys 2000 vx berlina auto v6 250 000 km, driving yesterday and all of a sudden the brake pedal lost nearly all firmness ,it was nearly on the floor to stop and brakes were only working a tiny bit ,limped it home turned it off ,came back 20 minutes later and just thought id double check and brakes were back to normal ,handbrake alarm was still on but goes awayafter about 15 minutes ,brakes have still been normal today and i live miles away from a mech,anyone have any idea why this weird problem would happen then come good ?cheers

 

[accentstencil]

Have you checked the brake fluid level?

 

[muzza73]

Have you checked the brake fluid level?

Yeah it's hard to see the level as the plastic resovior is discoloured, the fluids crap but, just looking at it , I know I need to change it but as I have abs, apparently it's more difficult than just changing the fluid and bleeding the brakes at the calipers ? As said the closest brake mech is along way away

 

[lout]

you need to ask yourself
when a truck pulls out in front of you and you hit the brakes and nothing happens what will you do
you need to make the effort to get a mobile mechanic come and inspect the system
stop driving until you know what has gone wrong
fluid looks ok, and doesn't match the symptoms
safety before convenience i'm afraid

 

[vc commodore]

Sounds very much like your master cylinder is on the way out....Personally I'd replace that

 

[Aus78Formula]

The handbrake warning light is actually a brake warning light. But it ties in the handbrake as well. Obviously you have a fault and it's not something that can be put off until you get around to it.

 

[gungazza]

i had that happen to me about 10 yrs agp never happend since