Brake issues

I have a 99 grand am and the brakes don't seem to work right. I can put the pedal to the floor and they will not lock up on dry pavement, but the pedal doesn't really feel that soft, and with the engine off it gets extremely firm. I've bled the brakes a few times since last spring and I don't get any air out of the lines. Is it possible that there's air in the ABS controller that needs to get bled somehow? The master cylinder has never gone dry, so I don't think any air could have gotten in that way. The last time I changed the front pads I used the middle of the road NAPA ceramics, so I'm wondering if maybe they're just junk pads. When the car has been sitting for a while and the rotors have a little corrosion the brakes seem to grab pretty well, which is why I think it could be the pads. The rear shoes haven't been replaced in a while, but they still have a fair amount of material left. My emergency brake does not work very well either, not sure if that's related.
I have no problem buying new pads and shoes, but I don't want to throw money at it if the problem is something else. I've had both the pontiac dealer and the local car-x look at it and neither one can find anything wrong with the system.

they really should not lock up that is why you have abs (anti block system) :), Pedal should be hard when engine is off, since no vacuum is produced for the power booster that gives you most of the power for braking.

according to your symptoms I don't see anything wrong...except that the rear shoes need some adjustment (do some hard braking in reverse).

The ABS isn't coming on either. I can't even get them to start to lock up and I'm pretty sure I've been able to do that in the past. The ABS should at least come on before the pedal hits the floor, right?

3100 is right your ABS keeps you from locking them up. Though at speeds less then 30mph , and wet pavement, it will lock and slide had it happen to many times.

Something Ive noticed with ceramic pads is they tend to get glazzed pretty easy and can feel like they're not stopping good.
You might try roughing up the rotor surface with some 80grit sandpaper or have them turned if they too are glazed over.

If the pads are under warranty and are glazed you might be able to get them replaced. :2cents:

Also if you turn off your traction control, ETC button, I bet they lock up then. :grinyes:
And you ebrake is self adjusting. If the cable has streched that too can make it not work. You can see the cable under the car, then in the rear it conntects to another cable that pulls both rear drums. If its saggin could be stretched.

In rain or snow the ABS will come on even at speeds below 30mph, so I know what that feels like and that's not what's happening here. I could believe the pads or rotors are glazing over, but how would I stop that from happening again? I take the train to work, so the car does spend a lot of time sitting in the driveway. I thought the low trac light came on whenever the traction control was working... but I'll try that today and see if it makes any difference. It just feels like the car should be stopping faster than it is, that's what's bothering me.

i would check the rear brakes and see if the ajuster is froze up. because in this area with the salt the ajusters get froze up. and when you ajust them you need to ajust with a little drag on the hub.

ETS off has no effect, but I can get the brakes to chirp a little if I hit them hard enough in reverse. Also with the parking brake on it seems to take a lot more gas to get the car to move in reverse than drive. Is that just the way the shoes wear or is it possible someone put them on backwards? I picked up a new set from NAPA today but they look like they're symmetrical. The adjusters look fine and move with no trouble. I'm not really sure how salt would ever find it's way inside the drums anyway, just lots of brake dust in there. How do you adjust the parking brake cable? I Don't see any type of adjustment point on it anywhere like they usually have. I have a haynes manual and it says everything back there is supposed to be self adjusting.