Why my 1998 brake is down to the floor soft and spongy

called spongy brakes
air in system or bad MC
if it leaks down, pedal, move slowly to floor heavy foot
that is bad MC, (zero leaks, to driveway)

mc= master cylinder

keep in mind there are 2mc in 1 mc
a dual system
and if rear mc section(piston) fails, it can by self.
and cause what you just felt.
usually is bad seals in inside MC
replace it.
per FSM book steps. skipping none.

Can you provide me with additional information? Such as, does the brake pedal go to the floor when applying the brakes, are the brakes spongy, non responsive? Is there anything leading up to this issue, such as a minor accident?

once should have been enough to get it fixed
indicates a master cylinder failure
go to a brake specialist shop for a proper diagnosis and quote
the master is probably original and is well past a replacement maintenance period

If the pedal goes all the way to the floor you have air in your lines somewhere. If the pedal is soft and spongy then there is air in the lines. Start checking around the inside of your tires, and up near your Brake Booster and Master Cylinder

check that fluid level is ok, by changing pad and opening calipers you may have lost fluid our of resovoir.

if your discs where not changed or skimmed at the same time you will have ridges, that do not match to the smooth pads, when you drive for a few miles eventually the pads will wear down and form the shape of the discs.

if they continue to be soft, bleed the fluid to make sure there is no air in it, if the brakes are still soft after this you should replace the brake fluid completely if it has not been done for a while as brake fluids absorbes moisture and that makes the brakes feel spongy or soft.


i hope this was useful.

OK, there are little nipples or bleeder screws that when not rusty and new can be turned with a small wrench or socket.

The problem is that when they get old and rusty, they can shear off or round off the hexagonal sides and corners of the bleeder screw.

Therefore, you sometimes need some oxy acetylene torch heat pinpointed on the bleeder screw to let air and brake fluid out of each wheel's bleeder screw (through the hole in the center).

If you only add brake fluid, then air bubbles can still exist in the sensitive brake lines, causing a spongy pedal and endangering anyone who drives it.

One wants a hard pedal that pumps up in a couple of tries, not a spongy pedal that goes to the floor board, which doesn't generate much braking force.

FIrst, pump up the brakes to maximum pressure by pumping the brake pedal up and down.

Then, on the down cycle (a friend or assistant can do this), open the bleeder screw counter clockwise until fluid comes out. Don't allow any in your eyes. Then tighten the bleeder screw and ask the assistant to pump up the brakes again, and then repeat the cycle on the 4 different wheels, until it has a 'hard' pedal and not 'soft.'


I wish you luck on bleeding your brakes.

Faulty master cylinder.The fluid should be changed before changing the cylider,

I just went to Brake Masters this morning and had them replace the Master Cylinder since I was experiencing the pedal very spongy and going to the floor. When they replaced the Master Cylinder and they gave me back the car, the brakes were still spongy and going to the floor. I addressed this to them and they took another look at it, but when I took it for a second time, the brakes were extremely spongy. It was almost like they gave me back my car in worst condition to when I brought it in. Can you help?

It's either fluid in the master cylinder leaking by the piston, or it's wheel cylinders/calipers leaking. You should take it to a shop, pronto!!