im supposed to be buying a 2002 A6 2.7. 113xxx miles, quattro, 6 speed manual. i took it home from the dealership for the weekend. drove it to work, everything was just fine. drove home from work ( in the snow) and toward the end of my 30 minute drive, i start having problems with the brakes.

when i apply the brakes the car slows instead of stopping, i hear a grinding noise from what sounds like the area in front of the brake pedal, cant tell if its from the wheel or firewall, and the brake pedal pushes back against my foot... to the point that my foot hurts now. it didnt do it every time i applied the brakes, just intermittently.

i am supposed to take it up to get re-inspected on monday for the dealer so we can close the deal. the car failed its initial safety inspection because "both front brake hoses split with exposed core". the dealer responded by having a mechanic "replace both front brake hoses" and "replace ABS unit" according to the invoice.

and ideas, suggestions, comments??????



and probably a stupid question, but is it safe to drive?

 

Your ABS is kicking in. That is normal in the snow.

 

the grinding noise is also normal?

 

Don't know the weather where you are, but if its super cold, the brake booster control valve may be sticking due to freezing condensation jamming it. This can cause kick back or weak braking as it can cut the booster power completely. You could also have a vacuum problem to the booster. As was said, ABS can give the vibrating pedal and slow braking too, but you would need to be on snow or low traction conditions for it to happen. If this is happening during normal braking on dry surfaces, you have a problem and the dealer needs to fix it before driving it anymore.

 

Visually inspect and feel all your rotors. The grinding can be due to various bad things affecting the pads and will score the rotors. I just chewed up a rear rotor due to a sticking e-brake cable.

If you are expecting to be able to lock up the brakes and screech to a stop, it won't happen. The ABS will allow you to apply full hard pressure and will slow, then stop the car, very undramatically. But it will stop.

If you are feeling pulsing and push-back on dry pavement, something is wrong. A little pulsing in the brakes and/or steering wheel could be due to warped rotors, but it should not be enough to make your foot hurt. Also, I'd be suspicious of the dealer claiming to have replaced the ABS unit. That's a $1200 oem part and most of us have them re-built rather than replaced.