ABS Failure

[Porto]

Took my car in to my local garage to have new pads fitted to rear brakes and at their suggestion, also replaced the brake fluid. Left the garage and few hundred metres down the road the front brakes locked up apparently, according to the garage, due to an ABS failure. They plugged the car into a computer and were able to access all areas except the ABS. I have had to have the car taken by car transporter to my nearest Jaguar dealer 200km away. The insurance company will pay for the transport but I am afraid that I might be landed with a hefty bill from Jaguar Lisbon, unless anyone knows different???

[KEN33Y]

Took my car in to my local garage to have new pads fitted to rear brakes and at their suggestion, also replaced the brake fluid. Left the garage and few hundred metres down the road the front brakes locked up apparently, according to the garage, due to an ABS failure. They plugged the car into a computer and were able to access all areas except the ABS. I have had to have the car taken by car transporter to my nearest Jaguar dealer 200km away. The insurance company will pay for the transport but I am afraid that I might be landed with a hefty bill from Jaguar Lisbon, unless anyone knows different???

 

Don't know exactly how it works out there in Portugal Graham with regard to Trading Standard Laws etc however, if such an occurrence had happened in the UK and the Brake system had been fine prior to taking to your local garage then they would be held responsible for costs if it were proven that they had caused the problem. UK law works to the terminology of reasoning for example; Would the reasonable man expect an auto mechanic to have performed his/her work to ann expected standard that would not have caused harm, injury etc to the driver, passenger and to that of damage to the vehicle or of any of it components. That said we are not in the UK and albeit having studied law I do not have any understanding of the Portuguese Law although I would be going back to your local garage to explain the situation in full and inform them that if Jaguar find that they have botched up something then you will be expecting them to cover the cost and if they don't agree then you will be seeking legal advise.

[Porto]

Hi Ken,

Many thanks for your appraisal of my situation regarding liability of the garage. I have already advised the garage that if the problem occured as a result of the proceedure they carried out, I would hold them responsible and as the owner is a personal friend, I hope that he will accept the final bill. What I was really hoping was that someone else may have experienced my problem and what had been the solution. In fact, after my post I telephoned a Jaguar dealer in the UK and the service manager said that it sounded as if when the braking system had been bled, the master cylinder seal may have been pushed out when the footbrake was depressed and this would cause the problem I had experienced. Had the fault been with the ABS, I would have seen a warning light on the dashboard that didn't occur. Hopefully he is correct in his diagnosis and I have now passed this information on to Jaguar Lisbon and hopefully now that they know that I have spoken to a Jaguar engineer, they will not try and sting me for a new ABS system - fingers crossed!

Best regards

Graham

[KEN33Y]

Good news Graham, good luck

[Porto]

Update on ABS failure. Apparently, as suggested by the UK dealer, the problem was the brake master cylinder and they also suggested it was caused by manually bleeding the brakes. The bill was €574.91 + €140 to have the car delivered back to me. This afternoon, having been without the car for ten days, I decided to visit the shops. On reaching the end of the road I braked and the car slowed, I braked again at the junction and nothing happened. Fortunately as the car was moving slowly, I was able to stop it with the handbrake. I have spoken again with the UK dealer and he said it sounds as if there is a leak in the brake servo and pushing the brake pedal down more than once would have the effect I experienced. It is amazing to me that this was not picked up when they changed the master cylinder or on the road test, if indeed they did one. Reluctantly, I took the car (very gently) to the garage that I believe caused the original problem and they confirmed the servo is leaking because it hissses when the brake is applied. Hopefully they can source one in Portugal or I will have another ten day wait. This is not the end of the story, when I arrived back home (3km) from the garage, I had difficulty in reversing into my garage because the brakes had again stuck on, in particular the front left and the rear right and thats how they remain until the call comes from the garage - any ideas folks on the cause? I wish now I had kept my 2.0D!

[KEN33Y]

You're obviously having a little bit of a nightmare out there Graham, as for ideas none I'm sorry I can understand a brake failure through leakage on the master cylinder (my father had repaired it the previous day) which actually many years ago happened to me on my driving test. I brought the car to an halt using the gears and handbrake and the examiner was so impressed that he deemed that I was a proficient driver having brought the car to an emergency stop in difficult circumstances that he passed me. As for the wheels locking I have no explanation surely the reverse effect would be happening as if the master cylinder was locking on sending pressure on the wheel brake cylinders but if that were the case then all wheels would lock on and not individual ones.

[Porto]

It's a mystery Kenny and unfortunately most of the time my Portuguese isn't up to understanding what I am being told and I am getting different opinions from two different garages and the only result so far is that I have spent a considerable amount of money and my car is still undriveable. I was thinking of offering the very kind chap at the Jaguar dealer in the UK a free holiday as long as he brings his toolkit!

[Porto]

Problem solved, however, not by the original garage that caused the problem or by the Jaguar dealer who fitted the new master cylinder but by my local Renault dealer, thanks to a neighbour whose daughter works there. It took five hours of detective work, the ABS was found to be working normally, as was the Brake servo but on examining the new master cylinder they found that it was not the correct one for my car and a pin or plunger or something did not fit correctly into the servo, so they cut 2mm off the end and problem solved. It's Renault servicing for me from now on.

[KEN33Y]

Problem solved, however, not by the original garage that caused the problem or by the Jaguar dealer who fitted the new master cylinder but by my local Renault dealer, thanks to a neighbour whose daughter works there. It took five hours of detective work, the ABS was found to be working normally, as was the Brake servo but on examining the new master cylinder they found that it was not the correct one for my car and a pin or plunger or something did not fit correctly into the servo, so they cut 2mm off the end and problem solved. It's Renault servicing for me from now on.

 

Obviously down to the care, attention and experience of the mechanic Graham and not so much the deanship as such. Anyway problem resolved and piece of mind again.