Well, I've been dealing with brake issues for a while now. The flex hoses, all 3 were rotted out, and the master cylinder was shot too, confirmed by the brake fluid leaking out into the front of the booster. After replacing all of these parts, (I personally bench bled the master cylinder until there were no bubbles coming out) my brakes are no longer spongy, BUT there is still way too much travel in the pedal, it doesn't really engage until the pedal is almost too the floor. We bled the brakes with a power bleeder, and the second time both power bleeding AND my stomping on the pedal at the same time, bled until there was no bubbles of any kind coming out. The front rotors are pretty worn, not noticeably thinner, but the surface is all worn, I have a brand new set of pads and rotors coming, I've heard this can be part of the problem, but there is so much travel that I have a hard time believing this alone is the cause. I haven't bled the ABS system out, as that requires a DRB tool to actuate it while bleeding the brakes. I'm happy to take it in and pay someone to do this (I'd be happier to do it myself, but paying them to do it will be cheaper than buying the tool to do it...) if it will help, but if I get it back in the same shape I'll be unhappy... The rear brakes were completely serviced with new hardware sometime 1-1 1/2 years ago, not long before the engine died, so they haven't seen a whole lot of use. Now that I've spent big $$ on an engine replacement, I feel I've committed to fixing this brake problem correctly.

The ABS is functioning and there is no ABS light. I did have to replace the ABS module a while back, as the ABS light was on and it would not activate. After replacing the module, the light is off, and the ABS does work again, but my brake pedal still travels too far. The brake light is on, I'm going to have the code read at AutoZone for me, as none of our personal scan tools at home seem capable of reading these codes. If the code reveals something, I'll add that later, otherwise I'm looking for ideas.

 

Rear brake adjustment determines pedal height, so long as everything else is functioning properly. Try adjusting them up some, and see if it helps.

 

Well, thankfully everything else is functioning properly, and the adjustment did it. The pedal has a good feel again and at lower speeds the weight of my foot/leg alone will bring it to a stop without actually putting any push on it.

The brake light is still on however, and I'm almost ready to start looking at the parking brake switch, unless there's somewhere else I should look first?

 

Is the ABS lite on as well?

 

No, and it does come on with all the other lights for a second when you start it, so I know the bulb works, it just doesn't come on and stay like the brake one.

 

Might be low fluid, proportioning valve displaced a bit, (which *should* self-correct....) e-brake slightly depressed, or a wiring issue somewhere.

 

When my 2002 Durango brake light was on, it was the e-brake not being disengaged all the way. Unfortunately, mine was stuck/locked in place so my light never went off and had to get it unstuck. My dad decided we'd just take it to the shop to get it fixed and they turned over my Durango and the brake line rusted right through when it turned over.

They called and said "hey so uh we started your car and your brake line broke, rusted through, can we fix it?" and so they did. Haven't had any brake lights since. I'd check your fluids and see what pressing and releasing your ebrake does. In my case, the emergency brake not releasing all the way was my issue.

 

The fluid level hasn't changed since finishing all the repairs on the system, and I have fully engaged the parking brake and pulled the release, it releases all the way.