2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse: soft or spongy brake pedal

Filed Jun 9, 2016 · Brakes, Electrical · HI

5 years after buying vehicle, brake pedal would sporadically push all the way to the floor. Took me 3 years for someone to figure out what was wrong with spongy, whistling brakes. Abs hydraulic unit had grease caked under it, and the shop would not let me drive my car because it was too dangerous. Had ABS system replaced on my $, a year later a recall came out on the ABS hydraulic unit. Mitsubishi denied my claim for reimbursement because the place that fixed it failed to write on the form the reasons I came in to get it fixed. Apparently I'm going to have an $800 part replaced for no reason. Found on the federal safety agency the indicators of a bad part and the fact that it is documented my ABS light came on should be enough. Also, passenger side door: the automatic lock no longer works and there is no key hole on that side; could be a slight issue but is more annoying than anything and puts car at risk for theft.

Filed Oct 7, 2015 · Brakes · 95,000 miles · AZ

Slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting something and now the brakes are very spongy and need to pressed all the way down to stop. Also makes a noise when letting go of the pedal. Was sent a recall notice months ago and the parts still aren't available. Hoping it doesn't get any worse while mitsubishi plays around getting the parts to stop my car.

Filed Sep 3, 2015 · Brakes · 79,080 miles · CA

Brakes stopped working before a speed bump. Have been spongy and making puppy like sounds ever since when released.

Filed Aug 16, 2015 · Brakes · 134,750 miles · NJ

I was pressing brakes when I suddenly got the bump driving from the hill and brake pedal became very soft and the car stopped braking until I pushed breaks very hard. Fortunately, I could avoid the collision with car in front of me before the lights. I pulled off the road to check brakes and I found the liquid leak under the car in the center. It didn't smell like fuel, my breaking fluid is at the maximum level, so I'm not sure what it is, it doesn't smell and has no color. So, car still can stop, but brake is spongy and I had to press pedal to the very down to start breaking. I figured out it's pretty common eclipse model problem (see forums http://club4g.org/board/problem-reports/31276-spongy-brake-pedal-whistle-release-2.html and http://club4g.org/board/problem-reports/86737-recall-updated-june-2015-a.html) and it may be related to the problem with ABS module. Later, I found out that mitsubishi made a recall on july 21, 2015 for antilock systems on eclipses 07 (see http://www.dealerrater.com/recalls/mitsubishi/eclipse/#y2007), code of recall: sr-15-004.

Filed Jun 27, 2015 · Brakes · NC · crash

I was driving down the road when I was coming to a stop my brake would not stop me. When I push on the brakes you would hear a whistle sound. Cylinder and booster both replaced and pedal/brakes are still soft. After hit a bump, the brakes would go completely soft and required them to be pumped up. This happened several times. We replaced the master cylinder and booster after brake pedal would go all the way down with little stopping power. Replacing the master cylinder fixed that issue, but now the problem is exactly as described in the previous : brakes begin to engage, then go soft (spongy) for a bit, then re-engage. Braking power is significantly less than before.

Filed Mar 18, 2015 · Brakes · 112,000 miles · TX

I have had this issue 20 or more times in the past, I have owned my vehicle for 5 years, I have had the brakes replaced 3 times. Today I was driving about 60 miles an hour on a wet road. I had to suddenly hit the brakes, although I did not slam on them, and the anti lock brakes kicked in, then I lost all the brakes all together. I released the brakes immediately and drove to the right side of traffic to avoid a crash! As the car slowed on its own I had to slowly and repeatedly press the brakes, all pressure was lost to the brakes at this point and they felt spongy. I exited the freeway (full of traffic) and slowly pulled off the side of the road, while depressing the brakes I noted they felt inconsistent, they would either immediately brake or not at all, terrifying! This has happened in the past and last a few hours or days, I have to repeatedly pump the brakes as if there is air in the brake lines. There is also a hissing sound like many other ppl describe (might be coming from the pedal). The biggest shock is that this has not been recalled, when I take it in to be checked they always say the brakes look fine, with no other ideas and after a few days it just goes away until I hit the brakes again or run over a big speed bump. Please do a recall on this issue! I have read on other forums that this may be due to the master cylinder's internal seal breaking and leaking fluid into the booster and ruining it, although when calling the dealership they say that this is unlikely, so confused. Recall this issue! This is too common and terrifying. I do not trust my car!

Filed Sep 10, 2014 · Brakes · 62,350 miles · FL

After a sudden stop due to pedestrian jay walker in the road, the brakes became almost irresponsive, the feeling is spongy and the pedal makes a whoooa sound when released. Now the pedal travels almost to the end before there is any brake response.. There no leaks or any other attributed to the sudden loss of response from the brakes, the car is very unsafe now and my mechanic says there is nothing wrong with the master cylinder, lines, air in the system and the pads are in good condition.. This car has become very unsafe to drive.

Filed Jul 10, 2014 · Brakes · 100,000 miles · VA

I have been having issues with spongy brakes I have replaced the master cylinder but I have been reading up on the issue an a lot of owners with mitsubishi eclipse have been experiencing the same issue I have had when you go to engage the brakes its takes tons of pressure and the issue is the first time you slam on brakes to avoid an issue the ABS never resets and starts to leak I have replaced all brakes and still experiencing the issue this needs to be recall because having spongy brakes is dangerous and scary that your brakes may give way.

Filed Apr 13, 2014 · Brakes · 84,653 miles · IN

I had to make a hard stop due to a deer jumping out in front of me. After that my brakes were spongy and not smooth while braking to a stop. I would almost have to press all the way to the floor board to stop. There is also a squeak noise when I release the brake pedal. Every time I took it to a mechanic they could not find anything wrong with it. While looking online I found many people with the same exact description of this issue with no real solution.

Filed Feb 25, 2014 · Brakes · 146,444 miles · TX

Driving into a parking lot, hit bump, complete loss of brake pressure, depressing the peddle had little to no effect on speed. Had to stop vehicle using transmission and emergency brake. Took vehicle to repair station in the parking lot, car sat for several hours before technician could inspect car. Brakes returned to normal function. Mechanic found no exterior issues. No particulate in fluid, fluid within normal parameters, lines intact. Mechanic found no cause of loss of brake pressure. Brakes still slightly spongy.

Filed Feb 11, 2014 · Brakes · 70,000 miles · TX

I had to brake hard to avoid an accident and now my brakes are very soft and spongy and make a whistling noise. I have had the entire brakes and drums replaced twice and master cylinder replace and the issue is still there. I went online to see if anyone else had experienced it and there is a huge group of eclipse owners who have experienced this problem.

Filed Dec 9, 2013 · Brakes · 58,000 miles · IN

While driving on snow as brakes were applied the ABS kicked in and the vehicle slid. At that point all brake pressure at the pedal was lost and failed to return. Braking required full engaging pedal and had little to no pressure. About 2 days later all brake pedal pressure returned. Since this incident, anytime I have to brake hard the same issue happens, and has come close to causing a collision on several occasions. It also happens when brakes are engaged and the right front passenger wheel hits a bump. Each time this happens all brake pressure at the pedal is lost, however after about 2 days it is fine again. Also each time this happens, there is a whistle sound when the brake pedal is released. There are many owners of this same vehicle with the same issue. Many have replaced several parts but still have the same issue. It is a major safety concern for owners, and some have suggested getting rid of the vehicle all together. This issue for this vehicle can be read about from many owners at several online forums: club 4g: http://club4g.org/board/problem-reports/31276-spongy-brake-pedal-whistle-release.html#post1321818 car talk: http://community.cartalk.com/discussion/2284516/2006-mitsubishi-eclipse-brake-problem.