Question for car repair experts

[jekajekalynn]

Hello , I was hoping one of you guys could help me with my car question.

I was pulling out of my works parking lot today and noticed that my brakes were VERY smooshy, to the point of non existent and my brake warning light came on. I made a circle and pulled back in and parked, and I called my dh to come pick me up. He brought a couple of bottles of brake fluid to fill it up, but my car just drank it down and leaked it out somewhere. What could be the problem? Is it the brake lines themselves or something else? Also, is it an expensive repair? TIA!

 

[bumbershoot]

Asked DH who used to work in the shop for Saturn and loves working on cars.

He says...first, tow it to the shop, do not drive it.

Probably not a brake line leak, more likely a brake caliper seal is broken or if you have drum brakes it's called a "cylinder seal".

The expense of those depends on the car. If they replace one caliper it's probably good to replace both. But if you haven't done brake pads and rotors and it should be done then, that should ONLY be parts cost, NOT labor cost, because doing it all at once should not take more labor time.

If your mechanic will allow it, buy the parts for cheaper and supply them to the mechanic. They might not warranty the parts, but they should still warranty their service, and it will bring the price down.

Since DH doesn't know the car you have, I'm not going to give the prices he's saying. But it sounds expensive to me! (OK, here...he's saying a normal brake job would run around $150. Replacing both calipers would bring it up to around $600...but again, he doesn't know your car)

 

[jekajekalynn]

ETA: I have a 2001 Kia Rio

 

[marlynnp]

I see you are in Michigan and with the age of your vehicle you could very well have a hole in the brake line. It happened to me - road salt eventually ate through the metal line.