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What's caused a total brake failure on my Peugeot 406?

I just suffered a total brake failure on my Peugeot 406. I pumped the brake as fast as I could and yanked on the handbrake, then the brakes went back to normal. My mechanic friend thinks the master cylinder is passing and the ABS does something, but I am not sure what. I can only get it to do this again slightly where it sounds like one wheel locks up.

Asked on 30 July 2010 by Paul A

Answered by Alan Ross
It is most unusual to have total brake failure. For that to happen you must have a serious leak of hydraulic fluid somewhere. Therefore you need to firstly check the fluid level at the master cylinder to see if it is low. Then you would need to check each wheel's brake cylinder for leaks. It could be the master cylinder or wheel cylinder/s. I strongly suggest that the entire braking system is checked out urgently.
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