This is odd since most cars require stepping down on the brake pedal to start the car. Even my UTV (side-by-side) requires this. I can't even remember the last vehicle I owned that did not require this. If my foot starts sinking down it will be obvious my brakes are failing. Cutting just enough into the last part of the brake line that is flexible hydraulic line to burst after a few miles would require quite some ski…
You are right to be skeptical here. Brake lines are just rubber hydraulic lines and fail in "normal ways" frequently. Without ANY forensic details on "the cut" it is very likely coincidence going viral "because Elon"
He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut
31–40 of 56 posts
Re: He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
Okay, good on you, but do you think every other person does this as well? I wasn't even aware warming up the engine would change my brakes until this thread. Honestly I thought the brake pedal was electronically connected to the actual brakes too so I didn't expect you could feel a cut line either.
You would absolutely notice if the system did not hold pressure. Normal "foot at rest to disable the interlock" pressure would result in pedal straight to floor.
Re: He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut
#33Re: He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Removing the airbag impact sensor and then rewiring it to bypass the fault detection, without triggering the airbags, is also indicative of someone who has extensive experience in something no one should normally have experience in.
That's shitbox-101 level stuff (if you're in a dumb state where they'd rather you monkey with stuff to turn a dash light off than just rock the light).
Re: He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Okay, good on you, but do you think every other person does this as well? I wasn't even aware warming up the engine would change my brakes until this thread. Honestly I thought the brake pedal was electronically connected to the actual brakes too so I didn't expect you could feel a cut line either.
You would absolutely notice if the system did not hold pressure. Normal "foot at rest to disable the interlock" pressure would result in pedal straight to floor.
Re: He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Many cars (especially ICE cars) may not have operational brake boost when you first get in to them I warm up my engine, to the point of annoying armchair quarterbacks on HN. If my brake line was cut it would be very obvious within seconds. Exception would be a partial cut that leave a millimeter of line not cut but that would take some serious skill and practice.
Okay, good on you, but do you think every other person does this as well? I wasn't even aware warming up the engine would change my brakes until this thread. Honestly I thought the brake pedal was electronically connected to the actual brakes too so I didn't expect you could feel a cut line either.
Now press the brake with moderate force, so it’s as far down as it goes easily in the no-boost state. Maintain that amount of force and start the car. (Do not do this experiment with the gas pedal! You are not trying to move the car!) You should hear the engine start and then, shortly thereafter, feel the pedal move farther down under the same amount of force. That’s the power brakes coming back online.
There’s no electronic magic here — the entire power brake system, on most cars, is entirely mechanical/hydraulic/pneumatic [0] with the possible exception of the antilock brakes and possible traction control. Neither of those will come into play when the car isn’t moving.
[0] Why pneumatic? Energy stored in a compressed or rarified fluid is proportional to the change in volume times the change in pressure. Hydraulics tolerate huge changes in pressure, but hydraulic fluids are highly incompressible, so the volume barely changes and the energy stored is tiny. Hydraulics can transport a lot of energy because then you have the pressure difference times the volume moved, but moving fluid from one cylinder to another does not change total volume. Gasses, on the other hand, allow huge volume changes. This is why it’s very safe to fill all the pipes in your house with water at 80 psi, but pipe manufacturers advise you very strongly not to fill the pipes with compressed air at pressures that high: you will store considerable energy in that air, and, if the pipe fails, it can release that energy rapidly.
Re: He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are right to be skeptical here. Brake lines are just rubber hydraulic lines and fail in "normal ways" frequently. Without ANY forensic details on "the cut" it is very likely coincidence going viral "because Elon"
How the actual fuck do you coincidentally end up with failing brakes right after a controversial social media post? The braking system is designed to be one of the most resilient systems in a vehicle. A coincident like that sounds a cosmic ray bitflip level of rare.
Re: He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Removing the airbag impact sensor and then rewiring it to bypass the fault detection, without triggering the airbags, is also indicative of someone who has extensive experience in something no one should normally have experience in.
That's shitbox-101 level stuff (if you're in a dumb state where they'd rather you monkey with stuff to turn a dash light off than just rock the light).
Re: He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are right to be skeptical here. Brake lines are just rubber hydraulic lines and fail in "normal ways" frequently. Without ANY forensic details on "the cut" it is very likely coincidence going viral "because Elon"
How the actual fuck do you coincidentally end up with failing brakes right after a controversial social media post? The braking system is designed to be one of the most resilient systems in a vehicle. A coincident like that sounds a cosmic ray bitflip level of rare.
And now let's talk about the epidemic of cancer in the Trump administration....
Re: He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's shitbox-101 level stuff (if you're in a dumb state where they'd rather you monkey with stuff to turn a dash light off than just rock the light).
I've owned plenty of shitboxes and done my share of goofy fixes, but fucking around with integral safety equipment like airbag wiring is where I draw the line and get it fixed for real. It's one thing if it's only ever you in the car and you don't care about your own safety, but if other people are ever in the car they're going to rightfully expect you've at least got the safety equipment working to factory standard.
Everything is "integral safety equipment" if you screech enough. A lot of cars didn't even come with airbags.
The people who are relocating to DC to make "it's really about serving your country" money working for DOGE while getting reamed by the local COL don't care. They're gonna be there a few years. They just need the $1700 04 Camry they're about to be the 9th owner of to have A/C and get them to work long enough for them to buy something real. Seriously, the DC area is full of this kind of stuff.
While the brake situation in TFA is sus, the airbags not working seems like the sort of typical thing that gets lost when the 5th owner crashes it, has his sketchy mechanic patch it up that way, drives it for another year, he tells the 6th owner. The 6th owner blows the engine up, doesn't think that's worth mentioning when he sells it as parts. The 7th owner is a flipper who fixes it and has no reason to look. Etc, etc. That sort of non-obvious stuff gets lost.
> but if other people are ever in the car they're going to rightfully expect you've at least got the safety equipment working to factory standard.
These are the kinds of cars where the passengers expect nothing and are pleasantly surprised.