Passat brakes - more info

[Peter Orban]

Hello Everyone,

First of all, many thanks for the mumerous replies!

Here is some more info on the car and the problem:
 The dealer is in London, Ontario, Leavens VW, where the car was purchesed new
in '02 December. The warranty runs out this December.

 The engine is the NA 30 valve 2.8l V6 motor, it is the b5.5 platform. The
brake booster is vacuum operated. The car has ASR (anti slip) function but no
dynamic stability, brake force distributiom, or emergency brake assist
function.

 The brake does not seem to be overboosted, in general use it seems to behave
normally. The ABS kicks in when two wheels are on the shoulder of the road and
braking stronger. The brake is not soft when the engine is not running. When
the engine is running, it can be "pumped up" to a harder state.
 The dealer "flushed the ABS unit" with their computer when replacing the fluid
and the MC. The hydraulic system (and the car) was not touched before by
anyone. I doubt that there would be soft flex brake lines, but I have not
checked. Brake fluid level is/was normal.
 The Bentley manual for the car asks for pumping up the hydraulics from one of
the front brake blead points, and monitor pressure drop versus time to evaluate
the MC. I doubt that the dealer did that test, but at that time I did not ask.
 Only problem I am aware of the Passat ABS unit is failure of the electronics,
the connector wiring comes loose from the hybrid circuit in the controller.
There is a "Russian Repair" (basically resoldering of connector wires) around
on the net.

 The first time I noticed the soft brakes was when we got a 05 Cavalier, no
ABS, and it has rock solid pedal feel.

Thanks again, and I will keep you posted!

Peter