since i've had my truck for over a year, the brakes have been EXTREMELY sensitive. this ONLY happens when you drive it for the first time that day. example: wake up in the morning and head off to work. i have to stop at my gate to get oout of the apartment complex and this is where i first use my brakes. i press the pedal and it feels like the brakes are slipping, but the truck comes to a complete jerking stop. also i did it today, and pressed the pedal harder to see what would happen. i felt my pedal have a slight pulse and the truck didn't stop immediately, maybe two seconds after i slammed them.

this almost reminded me of when i had to slam on my brakes because of a car pulling out in front of me. the brake pedal did the same thing, however, my brakes didn't stop the truck and i had to drive in the damn dicth to avoid the car. are my brakes jacked up? or is this normal? i thought if you have to slam on your brakes, the truck should stop instead of keep going. during this time, i felt a violent vibrating in the pedal until i let go of the pedal and drove on. i don't know how ABS is supposed to work or what it feels like. my ABS light is never on and the master cylinder is full. my wifes vehicle is never sensitive when you first drive it, only my truck. any ideas what this could be? i'm lost bc i've never been around something like this

 

are any of your axles leaking, i know gear oil on the brakes makes weird stopping behavior.

 

surprisingly, my truck doesn't have the leaking problems that one would expect from a 9yr old truck. i'll have to look to see, but from what i remember no no leaks. *knocks on wood*

 

A leaking wheel cylinder will do that.
When one of mine went it would lock up the back tire at the end of my gravel driveway after sitting overnight.

The violent pulsing and seeming like it doesn't stop as well when you stomp on the brake pedal is the anti-lock brakes doing what they're designed to do.
Anti-lock brakes take over when you hit the pedal hard enough and they apply pressure then release then apply it again to keep the tires from losing traction. When you need to jam on the brakes you need to be sure to keep constant pressure on them and not pump them like you had to do with older cars that didn't have anti-lock brakes.

 

Yes^^ That pulse you are feeling in the pedal is your ABS system. Mine does the same thing when it sits over night. But after that its fine for the rest of the day.

 

I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM: First drive of the day, or when it was very moist out.

I bled the system with a buddy and it fixed it. Had LOTS of air in the drums.


BLEED YOUR BRAKES

 

thanks for the input yall. i was thinking about several of those factors too. i'll try and take a look at my wheel cylinders as well. i'll probably be changing the brakes in the next month or so, so if the cylinder is fine, i'll wait til then.