Ford Fiesta - 2006 - Brake judder/hissing sound after starting - ah207

When I start the car and move off in first gear, the brakes judder - as if something is stuck. Then there is a brief ticking and hissing sound from the passenger side - and after that, everything returns to normal and brakes work as normal. The hissing/ticking disappears. It only happens after I start the car - and only for the first few seconds. If however after starting, I press the brake pedal a few times while stationary - and then move off, the judder doesn't appear at all, and neither does the ticking/hissing. Am I low on brake fluid?

Ford Fiesta - 2006 - Brake judder/hissing sound after starting - gordonbennet

The sound you describe i'm none to sure about, but the sticking/juddering could be a caliper sticking or a rear drum if you have drums at the back, when did you last have the brakes serviced properly, and i don't mean someone peering at them or squirting brake cleaner at them.

Ford Fiesta - 2006 - Brake judder/hissing sound after starting - madf

Sounds like a leaking vacuum hose to the brake servo. Check all joints and hoses .

Ford Fiesta - 2006 - Brake judder/hissing sound after starting - edlithgow

Sounds like a leaking vacuum hose to the brake servo. Check all joints and hoses .

Yep. Hiss does suggest a vacuum leak, but its odd that it stops.

Maybe the hoses are constricted so its taking time to build up vacuum in the servo, and hissing while it does it.

Re "Am I low on brake fluid?" Am you 'avin a larf?

If you want to know if you're low brake fluid, you CHECK YOUR BRAKE FLUID.

You DO NOT ask a bunch of people on the Internyet to determine this by remote extra-sensory perception.

Ford Fiesta - 2006 - Brake judder/hissing sound after starting - ah207

Calm down fella, no need to blow your gasket. Asking for advice (and nothing more) is not ESP! That's Uri Gellar territory - I hardly think those types hang around on Honest John's website. Brake fluid level was fine. The problem was indeed a vacuum leak which has now been fixed. The judder's gone. And surprise surprise, that very suggestion - or advice - came from this very internet forum - including yourself.

Ford Fiesta - 2006 - Brake judder/hissing sound after starting - 3uga

If I understand corectly, problems apear only when you move the car.
My opinion is that you need new brake pads, old ones may have split from friction material. This usualy happens when rust starts forming between brake material and metal plate.
If you don't use the car often enough and end up changing brake pads as often as once every 5 years , I recomend painting pads with heat resistant paint so they can be protected from watter, salt or other contaminants that you might get from road use. Use heat resistant paint where friction material joins metal plate. Clean brake pads before you paint and don't spray brake cleaner directly on them as friction material might react and "swell"

If hising sound apears on engine startup, you may have vacuum leaks.

Ford Fiesta - 2006 - Brake judder/hissing sound after starting - madf

When were the brakes last serviced? I mean cleaned and greased..

If the answer is more than 5 years ago or ? no idea, then they probably need an overhaul from top to bottom by a competent mechanic. As the car is 12 years old, I would expect as a minimum , new front disks and pads, a full hose check, possibly new rear cylinders and a full brake fluid change.

It's your life and the safety of others..