Possibly applied them several times in quick succession and all but emptied the servo, hence the vastly increased pedal pressure needed to stop, Citroens (and many others) are overservoed anyway, losing the assistance would be a shock to anyone who didn't realise what was going on.

Worth getting the whole system checked out by a good indy though (its finding one of these gems thats the key to happy and cost effective motoring), might be a weak servo pipe collapsing, though without looking i'm not even sure if these have a flexible pipe, the AA fellow will probably have considered that when he checked it over.

IF she pumps the pedal several times to empty the servo without the engine running, and then feels the brake effort required she might recognise the similar feeling, wouldn't do any harm at all and might give her some valuable knowledge should the engine ever cut out and such a thing happen for real on the road.

edit...don't suppose there's a tennis ball floating about in the drivers footwell?..;)

Edited by gordonbennet on 02/09/2012 at 10:54

Fred, been thinking a bit more...yes ok you wags it hurts..;).

Get your daughter to run the engine whilst stationary to build a full vacuum in the servo, then swtich off engine and whilst quiet get her to pump brakes a few times and hear/feel the servo emptying, then she'll know exactly what unservoed feels like and what sounds, if any, accompany the servo assistance, hopefully a gentle hiss with each pedal press that diminishes to silence as the vacuum goes.

Hope that makes some sense, would make correct diagnosis easier for a mechanic if he can be told exactly how the fault manifests, and give her some confidence that brakes are still there just at greatly increased pedal pressure.

No help for Cardiff indies i'm afraid.

Edited by gordonbennet on 02/09/2012 at 11:57