Spongy Brakes

[realast8]

Hello Everyone,

I have a 2008 X5 4.8.

In the morning, as I drive away, my brakes felt spongy. Braking distance increased quit a bit. I'm use to tapping my brakes and feel like I was going to hit the steering wheel with my head. It took about 1 minute of driving to have the brakes work normally.

Considerations:
-Winter temperatures (about freezing)
-Have not done any work to my calipers recently

Does anyone have an idea of what this could be?

thanks

[mitch808]

Bleed brakes, and do some bedding of the pads, then see how things go.

[realast8]

Thanks...

Is there a reason why the problem goes away when the engine warms up? Is there are a reason why it needs bleeding now since it is a contained unit?

[mitch808]

The braking system of any car should go through a fluid flush about once a year or every 15k miles. It's not as sealed as you think. Air will get in, and with that, moisture. I've had to in my track cars bleed before and after every day on the track, and flush a few times a year...

This is the simplest and easiest maintenance one can do on their car other than oil, plugs, air filter. It's just good house keeping.

If that doesn't solve your woes, then you have to start looking at more expensive options like master cylinders, power boosters, etc...