Brake pedal travel

Hi all, some background on my Jimny.  It's a 2013 with ABS and currently at around 28,000 miles.  There seems to be a lot of travel in the brake pedal (at least compared to other cars I've driven), so I've been servicing the brakes to try and improve it.  Rear shoes are fine and adjusted properly, and I've bled the system through.  The offside pads had worn unevenly, so I've cleaned and greased the slider pins on both calipers, and fitted new pads and discs.  The old discs were very worn, so I was expected a much firmer brake pedal with the new ones and the slider pins freed, but it's exactly the same.  I will bleed the whole system again to double check, but failing that, is it time for new calipers?  Or is a lot of pedal travel normal for the Jimny?

I guess before we start changing calipers it's better to determine what's normal or not. It's more likely to be trapped air or flexible hoses than the calipers, the OEM ones work for years albeit they can seize.
Problem is everyones perception is different, what's good for one is bad for another etc.

Whilst I think brake performance is marginal, I can't say I consider the travel to be excessive to answer you question.

Not scientific, but if I push my pedal by hand, engine off, It travels down just over 1 inch before it stops. May / may not help you decide. This is 2009 ABS and needs a brake service.

Edit - ok just measured it with a real tape measure, more accuracy. Measured at the longest point on the pedal, that's the bottom edge of the pedal rubber,  this longest point arch's in total 2 inches. That's longer than the movement feels / is, but it's a measurable item.
 

Thanks for that, I've just measured mine and it's about the same, somewhere between 2 and 2.5 inches of travel. So perhaps it's about right.

I've just had a look at the new discs having taken it for a drive to start bedding them in, the coating has worn nice and evenly off the nearside disc, but not so evenly on the offside, so I think it's still not quite right there. I'll give it all another bleed and re-check the offside slider pins.

I just had my 2011 serviced, but they didn't need to do anything to the brakes and the 'feel' in the brake pedal seems more or less the same to me. Anyway it passed it's MOT without problem.

I haven't measured pedal movement but I would say that there feels to be more movement in the pedal before it starts braking than other cars I drive. Give it a good push and my Jimny stops well enough.

The missus' Qashqai has you lurching forward as soon as you touch the brake pedal, in my opinion it is far too fierce. My other car has a little bit of movement then much more progressive braking.

When you push the pedal on your Jimny a good way down are the brakes powerful enough or do you feel they are lacking?

slickfonzy wrote:

Thanks for that, I've just measured mine and it's about the same, somewhere between 2 and 2.5 inches of travel. So perhaps it's about right.

I've just had a look at the new discs having taken it for a drive to start bedding them in, the coating has worn nice and evenly off the nearside disc, but not so evenly on the offside, so I think it's still not quite right there. I'll give it all another bleed and re-check the offside slider pins.

Hi been reading your posts, you said you left coating on disks?I'm not familiar with what people do in other parts of the world im in Australia we clean new disks with brake cleaner before fitting
Next step is NOT authorised by big jimny
Disk bedding process on a road with no one around at 60/70kph apply very high pressure for short periods Never come to a dead stop always being alert ,on the lookout for cars and people
This is not authorised information

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Check your wheel bearings are good. When they fail the wheel tilts overslightly and the disc pushes the caliper piston back in, leading to more pedal travel.

Lambert wrote:

Certain manufacturers notably ebc use a black paint type coating on new discs that you leave on and on the pads wear it off as you bed them in.

Good to know, interesting to hear how different parts of the world do things differently
Big Jimny forum has been very helpful tec tips, problem solving and Martin's how to videos

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My vented jimny diesel discs and Vitara calipers is a great upgrade for when you got a bit bigger tires. on a std tire jimny the brakes should be fine. I had lots og problems with warped discs and sometimes weak brakes from rusted discs and worn pads in the rear, Before i changed to the vented discs. not sure of changing to them is MOT OK in all countries but they have not given me any such problems.. yet..
this did not change my pedal travel i though.

the tip here on the hoses from scimike is a good one. if they are weak the brakes would be softer.

Thanks everyone for the replies. The brakes certainly work with the pedal pushed down a fair way. Nothing amazing, but equally it doesn't feel lacking, and the new pads and discs are likely still bedding in anyway. It does pull to the left slightly under very heavy braking at speed, if that doesn't improve as they bed in then I'll re-bleed the system and re-check the slider pins on the offside caliper again.

Overall, as you've said, I suspect my expectation on how firm the pedal should feel has been unfairly set by my experience driving other vehicles. My other car is a Kuga and after a brake service the lightest of touches on the pedal almost sends you through the windscreen!

Over sensitive brakes is an annoying quirk of new car sales. The brakes on modern cars have become increasingly over-assisted for the simple reason that it gives the new buyer the perception of more powerful brakes. It works from that point of view, playing on peoples ignorace, and it's a real pain when jumping between vehicles of different vintages.
Lotus took the opposite approach with the Elise, offering no assistance at all. Some criticised the brakes for being weak which couldn't be further from the truth. They just needed more force on the pedal, which was deliberate as it made them much more controllable when driving on the limit.