98 Grand Caravan Brake malfunction

Yesterday morning, the brake of my 98 Grand Caravan suddenly stopped working without warning! I was backing the van out of the garage on a down slope and could not stop car after stepping on the brake (all the way in) till it hit a tree. Luckly, no body was injured. The scary thing was that we used it on the highway the night before (did not have problem with the brake).

I tried to drive it slowly on leveled ground and was able to stop the car, but the brake felt 'soft'.

I'd like to know what is going on with the brake system? Your advices are greatly appreciated.

Don't take any chances. Have it towed to a shop <not Midas or Meinike> where they can diagnose and repair it. My guess is if you haven't noticed any brake fluid leaks it's a pretty good bet the master cylinder is shot especially if the fluid level is good.

Thank you. I'll do that.

I also had a problem with my 91 caravan brakes. According to the dealer, it could be a recall problem that has already been completed on my vehicle. The recall was in 96 and it was the pump for the brakes which costs normally about $1000.00. We bought our van about a year ago so there is no way of knowing if our problem is recall related or not. If it isn't the dealer will charge us $82.00 + tax plus the $1000.00 for the part, money we don't have. If anyone knows about the recall on that particular vehicle, would appreciate details before I have to spend money I don't really have to have it checked. Thanks, ST