Brakes 51 Reg Ford Focus

[BQW]

Advise about the brakes on a 51 plate Ford Focus, previous elderly owner averaged millage was about 300 miles a year, it`s only done 45 miles between the last two MOT`s. Current MOT was done in December. Brakes are a bit `spongy` but do stop it. Could this be lack of use ? Advise please.

 

[norseman]

Advise about the brakes on a 51 plate Ford Focus, previous elderly owner averaged millage was about 300 miles a year, it`s only done 45 miles between the last two MOT`s. Current MOT was done in December. Brakes are a bit `spongy` but do stop it. Could this be lack of use ? Advise please.

and I thought mine, at 68k over nearly 39 years, was low mileage !
Mind you there was one year in it's history (before my ownership) when it only covered 14 miles.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Brakes are a bit `spongy` but do stop it. Could this be lack of use ? Advise please.

If the brake pads have been recently replaced, and not yet fully bedded in, they can feel spongy. If the car is not moving, due to the vacuum assistance, the pedal can also feel a bit spongy. The final possibility is more serious - that there is air in the system, and it hasn't been properly bled.

If rather than spongy, you mean the pedal goes down a longer way than you would expect, that might mean the brake shoes at the rear (if it uses shoes), are out of adjustment, but most these days auto-adjust.