[E90bedi]

I went in to give my e90 for servicing and they gave me a f30 328i with just 47 miles as a loaner. i was driving down a hill and naturally i started braking for the stop sign. and i realized that the car wasn't slowing down. i tried to pump the brakes. and that did not help that much. i put the car in manual and tried down shifting but that didnt help much. the car gradually picked up speed from 25 mph to 45. and my last resort was the handbrake. i pulled it as hard as a could and tried to slide the car to prepare for impact that way it wouldnt injure me as much. the car is totaled. Has anyone else experience something like this? I am very surprised to see that on a brand new f30 the brakes would act like this. Any comments would be appreciated thanks!

[Dan_335i]

Is the bmw dealers going to make ur insurance go up? Or will they inspect the car and indeed blame it on brake problems?

[finaloption]

wow, talk about bad luck.. good thing you weren't seriously injured

let us know how it turns out

[Geekenstein]

What did you crash into?

[DerekS]

I am very sceptical of this reported brake failure. Downshifting didn't help, h'mmm ? Handbrake didn't work, either, h'mmm ?

Total brake failure is a virtually unheard of situation with contemporary vehicles, all of which have dual channel hydraulic brakes - if one channel fails, there is a back-up channel. Unless, some one has sabotaged the brakes ???

[m2michael23]

I had this issue before my car is fully broke-in. The break pad and the caliper are too new for the car, therefore you experience this. now my car has 2800 miles on it, the car stops whenever i want. i have the f30 335 m-sport.

[E90bedi]

Originally Posted by DerekS

I am very sceptical of this reported brake failure. Downshifting didn't help, h'mmm ? Handbrake didn't work, either, h'mmm ?

Total brake failure is a virtually unheard of situation with contemporary vehicles, all of which have dual channel hydraulic brakes - if one channel fails, there is a back-up channel. Unless, some one has sabotaged the brakes ???

ya tell me about it. I almost died.

[E90bedi]

Originally Posted by Geekenstein

What did you crash into?

i tried to control it. i avoided a parked car. ripped the handbrake to make it skid into a tree on the passenger side that way it wouldnt hurt me as much lol. and only i was in the car.

[DerekS]

Originally Posted by E90bedi

ya tell me about it. I almost died.

I'm very sorry that you had such a frightening experience. But brake failure seems so unreal for a new BMW ! I sincerely hope that the dealer who owned the car enlists BMW's assistance to determine the cause of this brake failure. This could potentially have serious ramifications for other F30 owners.

[Frzdrdhppy]

Originally Posted by DerekS

I am very sceptical of this reported brake failure. Downshifting didn't help, h'mmm ? Handbrake didn't work, either, h'mmm ?

Total brake failure is a virtually unheard of situation with contemporary vehicles, all of which have dual channel hydraulic brakes - if one channel fails, there is a back-up channel. Unless, some one has sabotaged the brakes ???

Not the first report of this happening. While there are two channels, both use one master cylinder and one brake fluid reservoir. If there is a leak/break, and all fluid is gone (pumping the brakes will do this), then the result can be a total brake failure.

[E90bedi]

Originally Posted by Frzdrdhppy

Not the first report of this happening. While there are two channels, both use one master cylinder and one brake fluid reservoir. If there is a leak/break, and all fluid is gone (pumping the brakes will do this), then the result can be a total brake failure.

is there any report of this happening? documented proof? just curious because it may come in handy. thanks

[Frzdrdhppy]

Originally Posted by E90bedi

is there any report of this happening? documented proof? just curious because it may come in handy. thanks

Don't know how "handy" it will be, but just Google "total brake failure bmw" and several incidents on BMW's and MB's pop up along with a couple of recall notices. Good luck!

Also, re-read your post and I saw that your loaner only had 47 miles on it. Probably just enough to lose the brake fluid.

[guitarplayax]

I'm having the same problem. The car is a day old, with 81 miles on it. With the brakes depressed 100%, the car feels like I'm not even pressing on the brakes. I'm extremely worried and I can't drive it at all right now. Any recommendations? This is my first BMW, and I'm almost started to regret my purchase.

[guitarplayax]

Just wanted to give you guys an update. I had the car brought on a flat bed to the dealership after calling BMW Assist. They found that the master cylinder is faulty, losing vacuum pressure. A new one has been ordered and will arrive in 2 days.

[ghettodefendant]

Originally Posted by E90bedi

i tried to control it. i avoided a parked car. ripped the handbrake to make it skid into a tree on the passenger side that way it wouldnt hurt me as much lol. and only i was in the car.

This why defensive driving should compulsory.
FYI never let the wheels lock up even if using the hand brake if at all possible.
Good to hear you've come out of it ok bud.

[ixse]

Originally Posted by guitarplayax

Just wanted to give you guys an update. I had the car brought on a flat bed to the dealership after calling BMW Assist. They found that the master cylinder is faulty, losing vacuum pressure. A new one has been ordered and will arrive in 2 days.

I would hire a lawyer and get something going against the dealer for not maintaining their loaner cars, and possinly bmwna.. not even a cheap kia don't hav brake master cylinder failure at 47mi odo. F that.. you could've been seriously injured.

[E90bedi]

Originally Posted by ixse

I would hire a lawyer and get something going against the dealer for not maintaining their loaner cars, and possinly bmwna.. not even a cheap kia don't hav brake master cylinder failure at 47mi odo. F that.. you could've been seriously injured.

yeah I think I will end up doing that. Thank you for your concern!

[E90bedi]

Originally Posted by ghettodefendant

This why defensive driving should compulsory.
FYI never let the wheels lock up even if using the hand brake if at all possible.
Good to hear you've come out of it ok bud.

Thank you i appreciate it. and i know it was dumb to lock up the wheels but it was the only way i could get it to avoid hurting me as much. i just walked away with a few scratches,soreness and a concussion.

[ntalekt]

Glad you weren't seriously hurt and tells a lot about the safety of the vehicle although sadly it speaks louder about the quality control of the brake parts. Especially if this isn't an isolated incident.

Car companies are very shady about recalls like this because they weight the cost of all the lawsuits vs. how much the recall will cost them. If it's cheaper to let a few people get injured, then that's what they do. A travesty if you ask me but what we get for living in a capitalistic society.

Again, glad you're not hurt but you should just talk to a lawyer. Most won't charge for the initial consult and you might get a free loaner for life out of the deal. Just hope it's not another F30 with bad brakes.

Good luck.

[E90bedi]

Originally Posted by ntalekt

Glad you weren't seriously hurt and tells a lot about the safety of the vehicle although sadly it speaks louder about the quality control of the brake parts. Especially if this isn't an isolated incident.

Car companies are very shady about recalls like this because they weight the cost of all the lawsuits vs. how much the recall will cost them. If it's cheaper to let a few people get injured, then that's what they do. A travesty if you ask me but what we get for living in a capitalistic society.

Again, glad you're not hurt but you should just talk to a lawyer. Most won't charge for the initial consult and you might get a free loaner for life out of the deal. Just hope it's not another F30 with bad brakes.

Good luck.

Thank you sir. I was thinking the same thing in terms of recalls. Im just glad i got out of it with a concussion rather than something more severe. and yea lol im going to stick to my E90. I personally like the way the E90 looks better than F30.

[renegadeavenger]

This same thing is happening to a new 2013 BMW 328XI that was purchased last wednesday. Brake failed twice and no one has any idea why it is failing. I really don't trust the car anymore, it may end up leading me to a collison.

[diesel86]

What's more amazing to me is the number of corroborating stories from members with <5 posts...all using some variation of the same post written in broken English. Coincidence?