Hi - I was driving home from work a several days ago and all of a sudden my brakes would barely go down - the car was still braking but it was very disconcerting. I was in heavy traffic and going slow and tried to make it a mile or so down the road but as i continued to drive, it also became difficult to accelerate - like something was holding the car back. I eventually pulled over and walked the rest of the way to where i was going.
I returned about two hours later planning to have it towed but when i started it it drove fine.
I had my brake pads replaced a few weeks ago so i thought maybe id drop it off there which is 20 miles away by where i work, so i decided to see how far I could get and I got all the way to work - no problems - everything normal. I was late to work so i didn't get around to taking it in. I drove home and back and forth to work the next day - so I drove about 80 miles before it happened again.
So yesterday i was driving along and it happened again - hard brakes - feels like something is pulling the car back - I had to pull over within a few minutes. I left it where it was for a few hours and then when i went back it worked fine again! Tomorrow is Monday and I'm debating if i will drive it to work.
Who knows whats going on? I have read that hard brakes has something to do with a booster and vaccuum lines but I haven't seen anyone say they also had problems with the car feeling like it's being held back on acceleration. Does this sound like an expensive fix? I'm worried the mechanic won't be able to replicate the problem so hopefully he can just see something when looking at the parts.
Could this be related to the brake pads being replaced or the rotors being shaved down?