Folks, I had a hire car today for work that was a Rover 25.
On driving the vehicle I was not happy with the responsiveness of the brakes - from putting my foot on the brake pedal it seemed to take the brakes an age to do anything). I therefore complained to the hire car company that I was not happy with the vehicle, and they replaced it with a vehicle of the same make and model and approximate mileage. (Both vehicles had around 8,500 miles on the clock).
I then drove this vehicle (very tentatively as I did not trust the brakes). I turned off at a junction travelling at an approximate speed of 15MPH and the car in front braked. I depressed the brake pedal and the brakes appeared not to have functioned as I would have expected, I therefore pressed harder on the brake pedal which proceeded to put the car into a skid which unfortunately I was not able to control despite pumping the brake pedal. I was unable to control the vehicle. This resulted in me rear ending another car.
I've driven loads of other cars before and never had a problem or accident in my life until today!! (It has been one hell of a Friday 13th....)
I guess what my question is and I hope someone can tell me - Is there a common fault with the brakes on Rover 25s????
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I have heard of no "common complaint"
Could it be as compared with your normal vehicle?
For example, a friend driving my Audi said the brakes were "too fierce".
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Not on the ones I've driven.
Personally I hate the brakes on Mondeos and Focii because you have to press the pedal so hard to get any action. Because I drive many varied makes of hire car through work, I just have to get used to them and familiarise myself with each cars 'quirks' when I get them. As the driver that is ones responsibility.
You don't want to hear this, but...we have already established here that a locked tyre provides about 70 to 80% of the braking of a tyre held at maximum retardation by ABS. So if you hit the back of a car from only 15mph even with wheels locked, then you must have been very close. We've also discussed the need to keep extra distance from newer cars which might be fitted with EBA, because these cars have much superior stopping power compared to non EBA or non ABS cars.
Sorry, no sympathy from me for trying to pin this on an unfamiliar car.
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After driving the BMW for a week I got back into the Leon and the brakes did feel more sudden. Then after driving the Leon for 4 days I took it in for a service on Monday and the courtesy car was a Rover 25. I found that in comparison to either of the other two cars, the brakes on the 25 were almost non-existent until I really tramped on the pedal. This made me drive extra cautiously for the rest of the day - I was glad to see the back of that car as I didn't feel as safe or confident about stopping. I don't know whether it had ABS or not, but it didn't impress me at all.
Does your usual car have ABS? If so, and you were given a non-ABS car to drive, would there be a duty of care on the part of the garage to inform you of the difference? I don't know the answer to that one, I'm only thinking out loud.
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Neither EBA or ABS will shorten the stopping distance on a car. ABS merely prevents the wheels from locking, and if anything will lengthen stopping distances. EBA will take over from the driver when it senses that the brakes are being applied in an emergency, but will still not lock the wheels any sooner than the driver is capable of doing by increasing pedal pressure.
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All ABS gives you is the chance to steer round what you are otherwise about to hit. It can't change the laws of physics.
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...and if anything will lengthen stopping distances...
Take a look at:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=i&t=68...2
and
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=i&t=65...2
and
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=i&t=67...0
ABS is a device which enables the driver to stop a car in the minimum possible distance by monitoring the grip conditions at each wheel independantly - something the driver cannot do from the brake pedal alone.
Read through all of the posts - there is much technical info there.
As for EBA. Like ABS it is true that it will not shorten the THEORETICAL minimum stopping distance of a car. However (again like ABS) it does considerably shorten the PRACTICAL stopping distance of the car/driver combination.
If you follow the links to NHTSA contained in the above threads you will learn about the reasons why ABS has had no effect on the rate of road deaths.
Much research has found that under panic braking MOST drivers either do not hit the brake pedal sufficiently hard to power up ABS OR they do, but then release the pressure too soon. Thus, under these conditions the car fails to stop as quickly as it could do.
This is where EBA takes over. It recognises panic braking patterns and in a flash it pumps up the brakes, cutting in the ABS and maintaining maximum braking for as long as the driver keeps his foot hard on the pedal (hopefully that will be untill the car comes to a standstill). Thus, EBA maintains the practical braking rate very close to the theoretical maximum available.
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Cyd,
Thanks for your response. Like you I drive many different hire cars for work, and pride myself on being able to jump from car to car, familiarise myself and get on very well. My point was that I was being more cautious driving the car after experiencing problems with the previous vehicle anyway. Road conditions were wet. I am not trying to pass blame as I know I was at fault - I went into the back of someone - how could it be anyone else's fault?!?! All I was concerned about was that I KNOW that given the same situation again there is nothing I would/could have done differently. I was driving cautiously - I was at what i would consider to be a "safe" distance behind the car infront. Accidents happen.
I was simply trying to find out whether anyone else had experienced problems with the brakes on a Rover 25.
Someone does make an interesting point on the Duty of Care on the hire-car company's part re ABS etc... on the car they deliver. Personally I find it astounding that on an 02 plate car it does not have ABS as standard!
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I think it might have been that you were used to the more powerful brakes of your regular car.
The 25 is our bestseller - we have had NO complaints back from customers.
MG-Rover Problems? forums.mg-rover.org/
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I agree with the original writer - I have had a Rover 25 W Reg for 2 years now and can categorically say that there is a prblem with Rover 25 brakes - in the wet !! I have had so many instances where I have tried to stop at a junction in the rain, and have had to pump the brakes hard. I have had new tyres fitted, no good. I have had the brakes done again and again, but still the same old problem. The car skids to the left when braking hard in the wet, and also you have to pump the pedal.
Have not had this problem with any other car and I have been driving for 40 years. (Yes, getting a bit tired now !!)
I have today ordered alloy wheels with the low density tyres to see if this makes a difference.
By the Way the Rover 25 is a brilliant car and if and when I decide to change it I would still get another one.#
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David Lacey - wow that's a blast from the past............
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