Hi, I have a 2004 Pontiac Vibe with all-wheel drive and abs. I have been fighting the brakes since I bought the car. The top half of the brake pedal is soft. Basically you kind of feel the brakes engage but the pedal keeps going to halfway down and then you get full braking power the rest of the way down. I plugged the master cylinder and the pedal was rock hard, I couldn't press it down at all.
I have been told conflicting things about the brake bleed procedure. I have been told you bleed it traditionally which I did multiple multiple times. I took the car to a gravel road and activated the ABS 20 times and then bled the brakes. The pedal got solid for maybe two miles , several eight or nine stops. Then it got soft at the top again. I was told that you do need a scan tool to properly bleed the brakes. After the car was parked for 2 weeks the first time I pushed on the brake pedal it went all the way to the floor. Then it got back to how it was working before. I finally caved in and took the car to a garage and said please bleed the brakes because I can't get them to bleed traditionally hopefully with a scan tool they will bleed properly. pick the car up, no change in the brakes. I went in to ask them the procedure they used, and I had told them the whole story, and basically they bled the brakes traditionally as well. Really upset that they did that and charged me money when I told him I already done it multiple times.
Ireally need to know from someone that really knows, can you just traditionally bleed these brakes, does it take a power bleeder, do you have to have a scan tool with the proper programming?
Am I missing something, could it be something other than air in the lines?