Pontiac - Torrent :: 2007 - After Driving About 10 Minutes Brake Pedal Gets Progressively Stiffer
Mar 27, 2014
I have been having a mysterious problem with my 2007 Pontiac Torrent that apparently no one, not even GM, can diagnose. I have done great research on this problem, and although there seems to be many many folks with Stabilitrak/Traction Control message issues, none seem to be having the same problem I am having.
Problem: After driving my car about 10 minutes, the brake pedal gets progressively stiffer and the car itself is “heavier” (no other way to describe it). If I continue driving, the car will begin to make a low roaring sound, which will get louder and louder if I continue driving. The car also at this point will lose acceleration and it is very difficult to make the car accelerate (that also makes the noise louder). A couple of times (luckily I was in my garage at home after driving), the car was stopped and when I tried to reverse, the car would not move at all.
When this problem first started (about 6 months ago), the Service Stabilitrak and Service Traction Control messages would come on, but I had a part replaced and that stopped (although the car was still having the same problem) until yesterday when those messages came on again. It has been four months since the messages stopped, yet the car was still having this problem during that time.
My remedy to this problem has been to pump the brakes each time I stop (I now take the highway instead of the interstate so that I can make enough stops to do this). I can go about 10 minutes before I have to stop, pump the brakes, and continue driving. This makes the stiffness in the brakes stop and keeps the car from making the noise and having the acceleration problems. The car runs fine as long as I do this.
During this six months, I have been to two different auto mechanics AND the local GMC dealer (at least four times). The parts that have been replaced are: right rear hub bearing assembly, EGR valve, rotors resurfaced, left rear caliper repaired, brake pressure modulator valve, and electronic brake control module. The dealership says they do not know what is causing this problem, and they claim they contacted the technicians at GM and they have never heard of this problem.
I feel this is a problem in the braking system. Something is getting hot the longer I drive and causing something to lock up the wheels, but not enough to stop the car entirely unless I continue driving. What stumps me is why does pumping the brakes work, and why are no service messages or warning lights coming on?
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I have 2006 Pontiac Torrent AWD with front disc and rear drum brakes. My ABS & traction control lights come on together (sometime) when I hit brakes slowly to slow down my car around 20-30km/h with a grumbling/scraping feeling sent to my feet from brake pedal (feel like rumble strip on highway). ABS & T/C lights go away if I shut off engine and restart car. It also happens if I accelerate at that speed. This issue does not happen when I hit brake hard.
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The low beam headlights on my 2007 Pontiac Torrent have been working intermittently for several months. Sometimes they will automatically turn on like they are supposed to, other times they will not and I will try to manually turn them on- sometimes it works, other times I have to use the high beams. I had the lever replaced, but it did not fix the problem. My boyfriend tried to track down the problem and removed the fuse panel completely from the car, didn't see anything that stood out, so he put the right back. After he put it back, the car would not start.
The radio works, the interior lights work, but when you try to turn it over nothing happens. At all. I towed it to the mechanic a week ago on Monday and they said that it smelled like burnt electrical under the hood, but could not pinpoint the problem. They have now had my car for a week and the latest update they have given me was the car will not communicate with their testing equipment, so they think it is the computer, but they are not sure. They said that they are trying to find a replacement computer.
Does this sound like a computer problem? And if so, should it have taken them an entire week to try to diagnose? I am trying to be patient, but it feels like a week is a long time to have a car in the shop and I am still without a definite diagnosis or any estimation on how much it is going to cost to fix my car. Should I try to take it somewhere else?
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About two weeks ago my wife's 2006 Pontiac Torrent's fuel pump went out. We had it replaced (costly repair) and two weeks later the car doesn't start again. Cranks but does not turn over/ turn on, which is exactly what it was doing before we changed the fuel pump.
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I just replaced the battery, and since then the electronic latch for the lift gate will no work. The only way I can get it opened is from the inside using the access hole and a screw driver. I have checked the fuse and it is good.
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For a little while I have been noticing an odd noise from the front driver side tire. About a year ago on two different occasions I heard a sound when I turned the wheel somewhat sharply that sounded like a clacking noise almost like gears slipping. It only happened for a few seconds and stopped but has never done it other than those 2 times that I am aware of. This is my wifes everyday driver, so I don't always hear the noises.
Recently it started making a sound that to me sounded very similar to a wheel bearing going bad. I looked into it a little and drove it and decided to change it even though it didn't have all the "symptoms" of a wheel bearing (louder when turning away from that side, quieter when turning towards that side, play in the wheel). After replacing the hub assembly it didnt make the same noise, but made a different noise that was from the shield on the back side of the rotor rubbing against it. Took it for a drive thinking that I fixed it only to have it start doing it again. After listening closer it sounded like a metal rubbing against metal sound, sorta like a brake pad dragging on a grooved or rusty rotor. I inspected the rotor and all i saw as an issue was on the inner side of it there was a ring of rust on the inner and outer edges, and it was wearing the pad to have beveled edges. I replace the pads and rotor, and it still makes the sound.
I am down to two options that I can think of trying but do not want to really try either one because of the amount of money I have already put into it.
1) I have thought about replacing the brake caliper.
2) I have thought about replacing the CV Axle, BUT the boots are in excellent shape.
It doesn't make the noise all the time, and sometimes it is worse when turning to the right, and other times there is no change regardless of the direction you turn. When it does do it, it feels almost as if the car is dragging and pulls to the drivers side.
I am really at a loss here and don't want to keep narrowing it down because I have misdiagnosed the problem twice now, and was really confident in it being the wheel bearing.
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I have a 2003 Pontiac Vibe and recently have had problems...after I drive 15-20 minutes the car will begin to slow down...even if I give it more gas the car will stay a constant speed...say 30 mph and will not go faster...if I down shift..(manual trans)... I can get the car back to normal speed...and sometimes it smells hot when I get out...like brakes....on the highway the car will begin to slow as well and stay at 45...then come back after downshift..
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I have a 97 Honda Accord LX stick shift that's giving me some trouble. I bought it at 146k miles and now it has 151k miles.
-- Here is the symptom --I feel that I have to lift the clutch pedal higher to fully engage the clutch after driving for 20 mins. The problem showed up several times and one time the clutch was somewhat slipping and I had to park it somewhere and got towed. After sitting there for several hours or overnight, the problem would gone -- and it could show up again at some time. The strange thing is that I am not always getting this problem. The car could sometimes run over 1 hour without any unusual feeling on the clutch.
I also noticed that when the clutch is not working well, the clutch pedal is stiffer than usual (I never had problem disengaging the clutch though). When I push the pedal to the very bottom on the floor, I can hear some noise and the car even had a tendency to move a little when in 1st gear.
Once I opened the hood and looked at the position of the release fork when the car was cold. After driving about 20 minutes, I looked again and found that the fork moved a little bit away from the slave cylinder as if someone was pushing the clutch pedal gently! I think that's why the point at which the clutch engages is becoming higher. But I don't know what is the real problem. I replaced the slave cylinder last week but it did not solve the issue. Is the clutch bad again or the cylinder?
Here is the repair history --About a year and a half ago I found the clutch slipping. So I had the clutch replaced and the flywheel resurfaced by a mechanic. It was good for a few months until that problem rose again. Then I went to an auto shop. They told me that the slave cylinder was the real problem and got it replaced. I was good for about a year. Now I am still getting the trouble above.
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After replacing my brake pads and shoes I am hearing a squealing noise coming from the area near my brake pedal. This noise sometimes becomes high pitched if I depress the brake too hard. I am also losing a little bit of brake fluid if I depress the pedal hard several times. The brakes themselves function fine and have no problem stopping. When I bled the brakes today some of the fluid was black. I figured it might be air in the system but after bleeding them it is still happening. I also replaced the bleeder screws.
1997 Pontiac Sunfire 2.4L uses DOT 3 brake fluid.
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2003 Pontiac Aztek ... I'm a slow stopper. I like a rolling stop. Lately when I do that my breaks will make a clicking sound (around 6 clicks) only heard inside the car. I'd i let it click, then it's fine, if I press the brake down all the way before the clicks it depresses in a jerky manner. This problem has existed for awhile now. I now an the proud owner of new abs module, wiring harness, multiple wheel housing assys, new brakes, rotors... That may be it with the break system. We just checked and bled the break line for air. I'm tired of paying several mechanics and no results.
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I'll drive my 2000 Ford Ranger, 4cyl XLT about 5 miles to the store without a problem. On the way home, after a few miles, the clutch pedal will either jam at the top, or go all the way to the floor without engaging the clutch. If I wait 5 or 10 minutes, the clutch pedal will start working again for a short time.
If I feel the clutch pedal starting to misbehave, if I ride the clutch and don't release the clutch pedal all the way, and if I don't push the clutch pedal all the way down, I can keep driving the truck. As soon as I release the clutch pedal, it will jam up again, or the clutch pedal will go all the way to the floor without engaging the clutch. I don't like riding the clutch, but that seems to be the only way to get home once the clutch pedal starts jamming.
It certainly seems related to the engine warming, or heating up. Sometimes, after the clutch jams up, I'll wait 5-10 minutes and the clutch pedal will start working as if nothing every happened. So, it can't be strictly a hot engine, hot clutch fluid issue, right?
What would you attempt to replace first, the Slave Cylinder? The Master? Changing the fluid? Shooting the truck!?
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Anyways i have a 2007 Chevy Silverado 5.3L that is having some difficulties with the power steering, let me explain. About 2 weeks ago i noticed when i first started my truck that the steering was stiffer than normal, so i checked the fluid and indeed it was low. Great i thought i will add some more power steering fluid, which i did and bam instantly fixed. Well fast forward to yesterday and all of a sudden now the steering is even worse. I thought dang i must be leaking fluids, but no the fluid level was just fine. I checked it both when the engine was hot and cold. The real mystery of this is that I am not hearing any weird noises, no whining or signs of a bad belt. Maybe the pump is going bad? Not sure what is going on here.
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I just did a brake job on my 2002 2.7l and 10 minutes after driving both the e brake and battery indicator light came on not the abs. It is not throwing any dtc codes also. Did I do something wrong or is it a coincidence meaning my alternator is crapping out? I replaced all pads and front rotors and sucked out some dirty fluid and added clean fluid. It brakes properly and I do not believe I got air in the system.
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07 That has 138K miles. The noise starts around 10 minutes of driving. Th engine sounds like a diesel engine. The noise has lasted 5 to 10 minutes. Then shut it off and it won't return til the next morning...Same thing. THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO OCCUR on start-up. It has to run for about 10 minutes (moving) or so. Changed out the water pump. The noise is coming from near or behind the water pump.
My mechanic is stumped but he pretty much thinks it's coming from behind the water pump. That leads me to believe it's the timing chains/tensioner's etc. But the time it starts up is throwing me off. When it is cold I think I can hear a little clacking that shuts off quickly after oil pressure gets going but it's not really the same sound that were are hearing when moving and the crazy sound starts and it is LOUD!
We were thinking it was the timing belt tensioner however, it is not behaving like it should.
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Our santa fe 2008 diesel randomly stalls. Most of the time the stall happens after at least 15mins of driving but I am not sure if its just a coincidence. It only happens when the car is stopped. When it happens, i put the car in park, turn off AC, then turn the car back on. It starts right up but is a bit rumbling like it will stall again. When i press the accelerator there is no response.
If I turn on the AC or turn the wheels, it dies. If i put it in drive or reverse it also dies. That happens around 3-5 times, then after that, everything is good again. Accelerator responds normally, car doesn't stall. Its driving me crazy! Whats worse is sometimes it doesn't occur for 1month! Then all of a sudden it stalls again. Bought the car 2nd hand and since january it died around 8-10 times.
I brought it to a reputable mechanic and they checked the fuel system. Replaced the fuel filter, fuel sensor. They even tried a different pump and sanction valve and it still didn't fix it. They kinda concluded that its not in the fuel system already, but they are at a loss. Its very hard to trigger since we don't know what really causes the stalling. All we know is that it only occurred when the car is stopped.
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I just returned after leaving LS 460 in garage for 5 months. Car & a/c start up fine but after 5 minutes of driving the a/c shuts down & can not be re-started until I shut off the engine. I re-start the car and again after about 5 minutes, the a/c shuts down. All a/c panel lights are off except "outside temperature". In the dashboard console where the outside temperature is normally displayed there is an "E" displayed instead. The coolant fluid level is fine.
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I just got check PCS/VSC/ECS and a ring while driving. I was coming home from work and i was about a mile away (this is at 6am) and all of sudden the dash lite up the messages in the topic and just about all the lights on. the brake pedal was stiffening up and i barley made it home. what could it be? the alternator? I haven't looked at it due to the night sky but i do have a drop leak from the cam seal that is above it. also the vehicle almost died in my driveway because my navigation screen was going on and off.
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My '07 started making three very quite beeps while driving, happens about every 15 minutes. It sounds like it might be coming from under the passenger seat. Mileage on vehicle 168000.
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I have a 2007 Santa Fe GLS AWD that has a rear driver side tire problem. It starts after roughly 10 minutes of driving as a slight squeal. It starts at around 20mph and will quit when I reach 40mph. The longer I drive, the louder it gets to a point where it is almost constant between 20-40mph. It stops when I apply the brakes or when I turn slightly to the left or right. Also, if I stop and turn the car off it takes 5-10 minutes for the squealing to start again. There is a smell of hot metal and sweet smell coming from the area.
I had the rear brakes and rotors replaced 12,000 miles ago, and them checked at my local Hyundai dealer when I first noticed the squeal and the mechanic said the brakes and rotors in the rear did not need replacing. What it could be?
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I noticed something a few weeks back, wanted to see if it's normal or a potential issue is arising. When you are driving slowly, maybe coasting to a red light and not using much braking power, I notice the pedal is pretty firm. If you push on it harder, it then "gives" and feels softer and you can more easily push it towards the floor. If you are driving faster or braking harder, it feels more normal and doesn't have the firmness when you first press the brake.
I assume this is the brake assist or some other electronic nanny at work, but wanted to verify. I have checked the brake fluid in the car, and it's certainly not low.
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