I own a 98 Volvo v70 non-turbo. Was out xc sking, and was in my car changing into ski clothes and leaned hard against the brake to get something out of my pocket. The brake pedal suddenly went all the way to the floor. When I got back to the car and was backing up, I nearly ran into the car behind me because I had no brakes. After 10 or 15 pumps, the low brake fluid light came on so I limped over to an auto parts store and got a bottle of fluid. I live maybe 6 miles from the store and by the time I got home, the light was back on. I stopped maybe 4 times. What could cause such a major failure? I'll be out in 20 degree snowy weather tomorrow morning looking for the problem. Any ideas where to look first would be greatly appreciated.

 

Look for leak from broken hose.

 

or two... start by pulling the front wheels and inspect BOTH front hoses - its quite possible you popped both (since the brakes operate on two zones) when pressing hard on the pedal. Then I'd look up top by the ABS pump and the rear brake hoses/lines. Fluid has to have gone somewhere...

 

Actually, you could just look for a puddle. If you don't see one, you could put another bottle of fluid through it and make one. I mean, considering the weather.

 

LOL, that is one of the axioms of auto repair - "that fluid's gotta go some where..."