[JTM]

After driving over 6k miles, the brake light turns on (or flashing) whenever I am making the right turn (big turn or slight curve)

Took to the dealership, they said the fluid is low (I checked before I brought over, right at the middle of min and max). But they did indicated there is leaking at the strut.

It is covered by the warranty, and they replace the new one.
But a leaking? hmm.. not too good for a 40K car in this early stage. :3:

 

[JTM]

YUCK,

After 3 months, the break light is on again while making right turns. Scheduled the appointment tomorrow morning, hopefully they will LOOK hard to fix it, instead of adding fluid and make me bring the car back every 3 months. :3:

 

[DaleB]

What is the connection between a leaky strut and the brake light? Am I missing something?

 

[JTM]

Dale,

I am not sure as well.

 

[Pauls MDX]

After driving over 6k miles, the brake light turns on (or flashing) whenever I am making the right turn (big turn or slight curve)

Took to the dealership, they said the fluid is low (I checked before I brought over, right at the middle of min and max). But they did indicated there is leaking at the strut.

It is covered by the warranty, and they replace the new one.
But a leaking? hmm.. not too good for a 40K car in this early stage. :3:

Your brake light is a separate issue to the leaking strut. The brake light issue may be related to the Master Cylinder which hols the brake fluid, I remember my service mgr telling me something about an issue on a couple of MDX's with leaking master cylinder's loosing pressure. The light will go on if the fluid is low or if you hit the brake and the is not enough pressure. I would ask the service manager to check the Master cylinder for that issue. Also do you ever feel the brake peddle going lower than it should, even once in a while, if that happens tell the mgr than the pedal drops once in a while and he will replace the unit. The leaking strut is common not on the MDX but all vehicles that have struts. It's a simple manufacturer defect that requires that strut to be replaced, which the dealer should do with no questions asked. Good Luck. Feel free to ask any additionals questions, look forward to hearing the conclusion on these issues.
Paul

 

[JTM]

paul,

Thanks for the input. The dealer just called me and indicated that there is not enough fluid in the master cylinder. But I told them that the problem was there in late June and they filled up the fluid. If this happens every 3 months [I picked up the car on 3/1/2002], there must be a problem [possible of leaking].

I didn't feel that I need to brake harder. The light mostly come on while I was making right turns.

They will check the brake again and hopefully they will find out what causes this, instead of just filled up the fluid.

- JTM

 

[DaleB]

paul,

Thanks for the input. The dealer just called me and indicated that there is not enough fluid in the master cylinder. But I told them that the problem was there in late June and they filled up the fluid. If this happens every 3 months [I picked up the car on 3/1/2002], there must be a problem [possible of leaking].

I didn't feel that I need to brake harder. The light mostly come on while I was making right turns.

They will check the brake again and hopefully they will find out what causes this, instead of just filled up the fluid.

- JTM

I would insist they inspect the entire hydraulic system (brakes). Not even the suggestion of a leak is acceptable!

 

[JTM]

that is what I told them when I took the car in this morning. But they said nothing WRONG with it when the service rep called me a bit before 9am.

:I

 

[JTM]

The dealer found out it is master cylinder causing the problem. They will perform a warrenty work today.

 

[xfactor]

The dealer found out it is master cylinder causing the problem. They will perform a warrenty work today.

Good. keep us posted on the progress. It's too bad that sometimes, one has to put the squeeze on people to resolve a relatively straight forward problem!

 

[JTM]

The replaced the master cylinder. The light is not on anymore. But I will have to wait for 3 months or longer to see if the problem still there. Last time, they filled up the brake fluid, and it last 3 months before the light turned on.

So I will post it again if light comes on after 3 months.

 

[Pauls MDX]

The replaced the master cylinder. The light is not on anymore. But I will have to wait for 3 months or longer to see if the problem still there. Last time, they filled up the brake fluid, and it last 3 months before the light turned on.

So I will post it again if light comes on after 3 months.

Glad to hear they replaced the master cylinder, It would be safe to conclude that will solve the problem.

 

[renov8r]

I would log a complaint!

The dealer found out it is master cylinder causing the problem. They will perform a warrenty work today.

Then, about 48 hours later JTM posted this <u>great news</u>
The (dealer) replaced the master cylinder. The light is not on anymore.

I would call the TLC hotline and sternly give corporate the feedback that when it comes to SAFETY ITEMS it just is unacceptable to have to come back 4 times, be told 'everything is fine' and FINALLY have the master cylinder replaced...

Generally I do not like to come down too hard on techs. They have a limited amount of time to diagnose problems and get a repair done. Brakes are an exception. If they fail while you're driving it is disaster. The kind of leak you were experiencing, while unlikely to lead to a catastrophic failure ( my suspicsion is a porous casting or tiny imperfection in the bore of the cylinder) warrants replacement WITHOUT hesitation. Its not as if you were complaining about an odd noise. The LIGHT was on. They added fluid. They added more. Brakes are NOT SUPPOSED TO EVER NEED FLUID ADDED just because you turn a corner!!

While I an not convinced that decision makers really listen to the feedback from the TLC hotline, it is at least something!

 

[HARDROCK]

I've been having this same problem the past several weeks with my '02 Tour/Nav with 35K miles. The brake light is coming on fairly frequently, sometimes when I'm applying the brake but usually when I'm just driving along the road. Last week I did notice that it was coming on consistently every time I used the brake so I checked for blown bulbs and found the rear third brake light had a bad bulb. Replaced both bulbs and thought I had solved the problem but the brake light still comes on while I'm driving.

Have checked the brake fluid and it seems to be at the proper level. The brakes appear to to working fine with no lost of pedal pressure or stopping ability. I'm taking my X to the dealer to have the transmission checked for "rough shifting" and will have the brake light check also.

Anyone have a similar problem?