A high, hard brake pedal and excessive stopping distance could indicate

• A. Warped rotor
• B. Worn pads
• C. Air in the brake lines
• D. A defective power brake booster

Answer: (D)

The brake booster provides vacuum assist to multiply the force you apply on the brake pedal. When it’s working, you can push with moderate effort and still get strong braking. If the booster is defective, that assist is lost, so the pedal feels high and hard and you must push much harder to brake. That extra effort often correlates with longer stopping distances because the braking power isn’t being amplified as it should.

WarPage in the rotors would typically cause pedal pulsation or vibration rather than a consistently hard pedal. Worn brake pads mainly increase stopping distance but don’t usually make the pedal feel hard; the pedal may feel soft or normal but the stopping power is reduced. Air in the brake lines makes the pedal feel soft and spongy, not hard. So the symptom of a hard pedal with increased stopping distance most directly points to a defective power brake booster.