Hello, so I tried reading through some older posts but I am confused. I know nothing about cars, so bare with me please. I am just looking for some information on my Volvo 850 turbo, its a 96 and a station wagon, which i have only owned a year. First, occasionally the tracs and abs lights come on at the same time but go off, this has been happening for a couple months. Then the check engine light came on, I took it to have it read and they said I am getting not enough gas or too much air. This light is still on for about 2 weeks. Then a couple days later the brake light came on. My dad put brake fluid in, it seemed fine. Then the light came back on. Last night I was driving and the brakes went out. You have to push the brake all the way to the floor to stop and there is no ability to slow down. There is also most likely a leak somewhere. Any idea what is going on and/or how much it would cost to fix it?

 

Wherever it's going, you should see a wet spot. Pretty easy to find a brake system leak that is that severe.

Normally, you would expect either rust on a brake line (which could be anywhere) or an area near one of the wheels, where there are rubber parts in the brake system.

If you don't find it just by looking for a minute, park your car somewhere dry, wehre you could easily see liquid drip, fill up the brake master cylinder, and then pump the brakes a while. If you have a friend to look under the car while brake fluid is squirting out, that'll work even faster.

P.S. Did you hear about the guy who was addicted to drinking brake fluid? Of course, he said he could stop any time he wanted to.

 

It is definitely leaking because there are wet spots wherever I park. It seems like its coming from the front passenger side.

 

Ok. Time to replace whatever it is squirting out of when you step on the brakes.

 

The ABS and the TRACS light are signs of an ABS brake module going out. If it goes bad you will still have brakes you just will not have the anti-lock feature. Either way, a bad ABS module is not going to cause your leak. The Check engine light is most likely caused by a bad oxygen sensor. Not a big deal for now, it can wait as the brake issue is more important. Fix the brakes then get the code for the check engine light read again and get the exact code and let us know so we can help figure it out.

If you see brake fluid leaking, that is most likely your bad part/area. However, since it has leaked down enough, you now probably have air is the brake system which will need to be bled out (not hard, takes two people about a half hour).

Let us know what you find about the leak....

 

Yeah, until he didn't ...

OP, who said, "I know nothing about cars", if you're still alive and haven't totaled your car or killed anyone yet, GET YOUR BRAKES FIXED ASAP!!

After that, if you want help with a CEL (ck engine light), how about giving us the code? Diagnosing w/o a code is nothing more than a complete WAG.

 

Yes, please stop driving the car until you get the brakes fixed. This can lead to serious injury or death. When a RED LIGHT comes on in your dash, it is TIME to take action. Not driving action, fixing action.

 

Stop driving the car and have it towed to a repair shop. Or have a friend who knows brakes come over and look at it.
Having to refill your master cylinder is one of two things. The brake pads and or shoes are almost worn out. It takes more and more fluid in the system to make up for less and less pad or shoe material as it wears off. Normally near the end of the pads or shoes life you'll notice the master getting down to the "low" mark. This is always a one time shot as if you fill it back up you will absolutely run out of pad or shoe before ever having to add again. It's also the reason it overflows when you go to retract the calipers to install new pads (if you're not opening the bleeders like you should).

Secondly it's leaking. You know it's leaking as seen by the fluid spot on the ground and that it's likely due for the master to be filled again.

Cost will depend entirely on what it is that is leaking. Is it the rubber hose that burst leading to the caliper ?? Is it the caliper itself or did the metal line rust out before the rubber line ?? The caliper and hose would be the two relatively easy parts to just pull out and replace but the hard line would likely be the expensive repair as someone has to "FIT" a line back in there. It's a lot more labor.


Friends don't let friends drive without brakes

 

Exactly. Brake fluid shouldn't need to be topped up. It acts as a way to have the driver know they need brake pads soon. If it is full with new brakes all the way around, it will drop as the pads wear. Then it gets low and the low brake fluid light comes on. Driver takes it in and has the brakes replaced, which brings the fluid back up (opening the bleeder is unnecessary on a Volvo, but I won't start that argument).

Or- the low fluid warning comes on and the driver brings it in. The pads are all good which should tell the tech to check for leaks. If no leaks are found, then it can be topped up, as there is a chance it wasn't full after the last pad replacement.

If you don't know anything about cars, the low fluid light is designed for you so you have it looked at before you hurt someone.