Background: I've had a '03 350z touring since about august of last year. The car has no mods and is completely stock. The car was originally from New Jersey, so its been exposed to a lot of snow/salt. After I got the car, the clutch pedal went 'out' and the slave cylinder needed to be replaced.

Today: I was driving on the interstate and approaching an exit that curves around to go on an overpass. I approached the curve at 55mph and stepped on the brake pedal, and it made a derp sound and didnt really slow the car down much and the "SLIP" indicator on the dashboard lit up. Stepped on it again, same thing.

After that, the brakes worked as normal. No issues. This isnt a weather issue as the roads are clear and dry and its a sunny 60F here today.

I've heard this 'derp' sound before, usually when I first start the car in the garage, or after its been off for a while and I step off the brake to engage first gear. But today was the first time it happened while actually driving, so I'm a bit freaked out.

I originally thought it was my brakes just being old, and started this thread: https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-...ew-brakes.html

but now with this SLIP light warning and the pedal not working, I'm totally confused and in need of help. Please tell me what I should do

 

Brake pads are easy to figure out because there is a clip in the pad. When the clip hits the rotor you will know it.

 

I would start by cleaning the front wheel speed sensors.

 

so this is my first car with ABS, so the brake pedal sometimes not engaging, is that normal? I mean over the 6 months i've had the car, this issue has happened maybe 8 or 10 times total.

 

Your problem may be more complicated than simple pads. Brakes are one area where I do NOT cut corners. Take the car to a competent mechanic.

 

Pull your front wheel off, on the backside of the spindle you will see a plastic cap ( about 2 inch) remove this , clean behind it , install cap, drive car for results. Post back when you do it.

 

last week we had a giant snowstorm in Nashville for a day. I was caught in it for 3 hours, and the car performed fine, until it eventually got stuck in the snow. So the slip light was coming on a lot during that time but i never had this issue that I had today.

The thing with me is that im a total novice when it comes to cars, ie i've never changed a tire so I dont even know about cleaning this 'sensor' behind the wheel. The problem i've experienced is intermittent, and today was the ONLY TIME the slip light came on, all of the other 8 or so times, the brake just made a funny sound for a second.

I dont know what local area i should post this in, but I need a shop in nashville, TN that'll go through and check all the things related to brakes functioning properly.

 

It could be a variety of things, and is probably too much to diagnose through the internet.

Find a shop or a fellow enthusiast on the board to inspect the brakes.

 

i would check the brake fluid level first..as you went into the turn if it was low it may have caused the symptoms you are describing..

 

dude just risk it man. its just the brakes. not important or anything. watched the flinestones before? if they fail just open the door and manually stop the car with your left foot. if you have passengers have them do the same thing. and you can always throw the car in reverse.

 

I'm actually working in Nashville temporarily right now, I would suggest Rivergate Nissan, ask for Chad the service manager. I had a terrible 2 month experience with Downtown Nashville Nissan over them stripping my valve cover bolts and not wanting to replace them after changing the rocker cover, eventually they did but I shall never return. Hope that helps.

 

Exactly

Because saving money on brakes to pay for an accident makes perfect sense.

 

The "derp" sound you hear in the garage is the ABS doing a self-test. If it's doing that when you're braking under normal conditions on dry pavement, it probably means the system is getting erroneous information from one of the wheel sensors.

Take the car to a competent mechanic to get this fixed ASAP.

 

So, to answer your question - "how do you know if your brakes are failing?" the answer could be..

1. When your brakes make 'derp' noises.

or

2. When you can no longer stop.

 

thank you, the issue i described as being on the road only happened one time, yesterday. Drove the car over the same roads today, no issues. I will be taking it to a local mechanic who changed the brakes on my 95 maxima a year ago, tomorrow.

 

I live in south nashville so rivergate is all the way across town for me, but if this situation isnt resolved by my local mechanic i will take it there. thanks

 

The car stops stopping.

 

hahahahahaahahhahahahaha OMGOMGOMG!!! i laughed so hard

 

^^ LOL agreed

 

You can try taking it to Crawford Z downtown off of State Street.

http://www.crawfordzcar.com/