[TopRowSeat]

I guess I haven't been playing too much with the gadgets and not paying attention to the brakes.

I noticed recently that the brakes are "fine" but a little mushy on initial braking. With one pump, maybe two, I can get a nice firm pedal.

Is this a "feature" to keep me from bouncing my passengers off the windshield or is anybody else concerned about their master cylinder?

 

[Terrain]

Mine is far from mushy. In fact, I find it takes a ton of pressure (ie the pedal is quite hard) to bring the vehicle to a stop. Much more than my Sierra, although that didn't have 4 wheel discs.

I definitely don't have to pump the pedal.

 

[Gm guy]

My brakes are mushy too. I've read on a few different reveiws that this is common.

 

[gearhead]

They are kinda spongy, IMO as well, when comparing to other vehicles.
No problems stopping on a dime though.
If you have a chance, by all means, when you're on an isolated road, try the brakes in different conditions of road and weather.
They are more than quite capable from our experiences.

 

[scottyyyc]

They are capable, but indeed a little mushy. Depends on what you're used to. SUV's/Trucks in general tend to have less pedal feel. Plus, most domestic brands I drive I tend to see less pedal feel (more mushy). Whenever I switch back to my Civic or a toyota I end up slamming on the brakes first few times because the feel is so much stronger. Some people like it one way or the other, but once you get used to good or high performance brakes everything else will seem mushy.

 

[redlight_005]

Same here, mushy feel, but they do work well. Just gotta get used to the pedal feel.

 

[gearhead]

I got to play with the Terrain in the snow today.
Most of the roads were cleaned up over the last day or two, so I had to go a little out of my way to find a safe parking lot that was still snow covered.
Loved it, the traction control kept me going straight as an arrow, either when accelerating or braking relatively hard.

The wife had it over the duration of the storm and was very pleased with the performance.
We remind each other to not let ourselves get overconfident or aggressive whatsoever under abnormal driving conditions.

Defensive driving is our motto, the computer assisted safety features are a bonus, in our opinion.

 

[Mobius]

Guess I'm used to mushy, because mine feels perfectly "normal". I will say that with the exception of trying to stop on some snow today, I've never had to "pump" the brakes.

QFT on this. The pedal travel may be a little more than some vehicles, but I've encountered no problems coming to a stop (even an emergency stop). Definitely no need to pump the brakes.

 

[Scooby24]

Reviving this thread as opposed to starting a new one. I'm pretty disappointed in the brake pedal feel. The booster doesn't seem to have a lot of umph in it which results in significantly more pressure required by the driver than every other car I've ever owned.

I wouldn't describe the pedal feel as mushy at all. I'd go so far as to say my G35 w/ sport brakes feels mushier... The Terrain's pedal is firm, it just requires a lot of effort. It might feel better if the engagement wasn't so far into the pedal length. I'm not really sure which it is, but it's starting to get on my nerves. I wonder if there's any adjustment in the pedal's engagement point.

 

[NHOJWOLFE]

scooby you may want to check with your dealer. I know if you buy the tow kit they program the computer to break differently. If yours is really firm you may need a slight adjustment as well. I do not own mine yet but I have test driven3 different models v4 v6 ,awd v6 .All the breaks seemed a little mushy to me.

 

[GARYD]

Mine are mushy also compared to my Tiberon which stops....NOW.
Same feel as my Aztek which I traded in for the Terrain that had 85k miles on it.
You mentioned something about setting the brakes different with the tow package. I have that, but will never tow anything. Can the dealer reset the brakes?

 

[scottyyyc]

There's been a few discussions on brake feel already. The terrain's brakes are definitely a tad on the mushy side, but still perfectly acceptable. A lot of it depends on what you're used to. If you're used to larger SUVs and trucks, the terrain's brakes feel pretty normal. If you're used to smaller cars or cars with better brake feel, the Terrain's will feel mushy. For me, the brakes feel a little mushy, but pretty much the same as every truck or large SUV I've ever driven, not a whole lot better or worse.

 

[Narg]

I feel the brakes in our 'Nox are on the firm side.

Normal comments about GM products is that the brakes often rate as mushy. I was suprised by the 'Nox when I found the brakes to be somewhat firm. I did notice it took a very small bit more pressure to get the 'Nox to stop over other GM vehicles I've owned, but at first I blamed that on the low rolling resistance tires, which still may play a large part in this pressure need.

Something I'd recommend, if you have the scenario where the first press is mushy, then the next and others are firm I'd have your dealer check for air in the brake lines.

 

[R3Cherry]

Just drove my wife's Terrain for the first time today (Chrismas present I guess ) I didn't care for the braking feedback - good feedback for greater than 40 MPH, but it almost seems like excessive pressure is required for the the final decel/stop (but I drive a Porsche, so my expectations are different), I'm glad to know that others have the same perception. Other than that it drives like a dream (180 miles thus far).

I would be more than happy to drive her Terrain again

 

[georgi55]

Definatelly mushy when comapred to wife's camry, but when compated to my pervious car 2004 Impala, about same or better.

Like many have said just what your are used to.

Also wife's Camry's accelerator is very responsive - or very "hard" - if I drive it after having just driven the Equinox I almost cause for traction control to kick in.

 

[Dave25]

Have any of you tried stainless steel brake lines? that will get rid of some of the mushyness in the pedal and will make the brakes very responsive. Ive done this to all of my GM cars, but not yet to my 'Nox. It made a huge difference on the other vehicles.

Japanese cars tend to have VERY responsive brakes, too much for my taste. I like to vary brakes, but with Japanese cars its seems they are either On or Off.

 

[suprax]

I've got to be honest, I had read a bunch about people not being happy with the braking on the Terrain, before buying my 2011. But I've found it to be fine. I don't have to stomp on it to get it to brake.

 

[Z_Ghost]

The feel is fine on my Terrain.
Not as good as the brakes on the 08 Cobalt SS I had, but then again that had Brembo's on it.

 

[GARYD]

The brakes on my '10 Terrain are great.
I put SS brake lines on my Harley and it made a world of difference. I wouldn't do it to a car though, cost too much.

 

[NoobNox]

My brake pedal? Probably starting to wear a bit on the bottom right corner since I always "heel and toe" from accelerator to the brake...in other words I don't lift my foot from one to the other. Brake feel isn't great, but the 4 wheel discs do a fairly good job of reigning in the nearly 4000lb beast to a respectable stopping distance.