The braking performance of my vehicle is not as expected. My car has a 4-disc brake system, and all 4 discs and brake pads are new, but I haven’t noticed any difference.

 

I suspected the ABS module, replaced it, but there was still no improvement. I also replaced the brake fluid, and the old fluid contained tiny black particles, but even after this, there was no change.

 

Here’s the situation: when driving at 120 km/h, if I perform an emergency stop and press the brake pedal fully, the car does not skid, it stops, but it feels like the braking power is insufficient.

 

On another vehicle, performing the same brake test activates the ABS and causes skidding, but on this car, it does not happen.

 

The problematic vehicle is a 2009 Ford Connect with 368,000 km. After descending a slope, I checked the temperature of all four brake discs — they were all the same.

 

What could be causing this?

 

I suspect the brake hoses and the master cylinder.

19 minutes ago, HardHardy said:

What could be causing this?

AI would be my guess 🤔

22 minutes ago, HardHardy said:

On another vehicle, performing the same brake test activates the ABS and causes skidding,

The whole idea of ABS is to PREVENT skidding !!

Antilock Brake System

I didn’t get what you meant. Do you have any idea?

It sounds to me that the brakes on the Ford Connect work exactly as intended.

It's the brakes on the other vehicle which are not correct. Any vehicle fitted with ABS should not 'skid' under emergency braking.

Any garage with a rolling road will be able to carry out a brake efficiency test. In the UK we would take the vehicle to a garage that does MOT tests to have the braking tested.

I don't like "tiny black particles" unless it was just darker fluid from the cylinders which I've seen on previous flushes.
If they were tiny rubber particles, that would be from seals somewhere
If it hasn't been changed since 2009 there may have been some corrosion etc.
As said using a very severe amount of braking should NOT lock the wheels but there must be a series of quite severe pulses in the brake pedal as the ABS operates to prevent the wheel locking (lots of people get terrified by this and release the pedal which rather defeats the object of braking whilst retaining some steering ability!)
If your full pedal pressure doesn't seem to be translated into stopping power, is the brake servo working?
Press pedal multiple times with engine off, this will "use up" the vacuum held in the reservoir.
When restarted with pedal still held down, it should go further.

In my very long winded way, I've been beaten by @unofix so can't wait to see if we agree, or not or who knows?

The brakes on the other car are very effective — there’s some skidding, but that’s not what I’m talking about. The ABS engages, and the car stops instantly.

 

With the Ford Connect, however, it feels like it might not stop. Even when I press the brake fully, the ABS doesn’t seem to kick in. The car does stop, but it feels like I’m not pressing the brake all the way. The brake servo is fine — when the car is stationary, pressing the brake 4–5 times makes it feel rock solid, but once the engine is running, this goes back to normal.

 

In short, the brakes feel weak. No matter how hard I press, there’s no locking, skidding, or sliding, which gives a sense of insecurity.

1 minute ago, HardHardy said:

In short, the brakes feel weak. No matter how hard I press, there’s no locking, skidding, or sliding, which gives a sense of insecurity.

I don't know that anyone is going to be able to help you with this. What you are wanting is the exact reverse of what ABS is designed to do.

In an ideal world a vehicle with fully working ABS should never be .... "there’s no locking, skidding, or sliding"

If you can't get enough pressure to activate the ABS then, as said, there's something wrong yet you say the servo appears to work - very confusing and almost impossible to believe?
Even with ABS disconnected (like the Olden Days with no ABS) you should be able to get the wheels to lock (on a clear road of course - no accidents please!)
Unless master cylinder is at fault i.e only on two wheels but it's diagonally split?) or something is seized i.e. the force of the hydraulic system is being "used up" in overcoming rust or friction so the pads are not being forced against the discs sufficiently or the servo is out of adjustment somehow.
As also said, because we are now going round in circles, with no real information a brake test on a rolling road a la MOT will be the only way to get some real data rather than subjective observations?

Has anyone experienced a brake hose failure?

After how many kilometers and how many years did the brake hoses fail?

I am currently suspecting the brake hoses as the source of the problem.

If a hose fails, the fluid level will drop and you'd lose braking on two diagonal wheels (as mentioned above - check that) as there are two separate fluid chambers and pistons in the master cylinder, one of which will collapse onto the other.

No hose failures ever in my experience and 15 years on the current vehicle from almost new.

Still say take it to a test centre if you can't quickly find the fault to stop speculating/guessing and get some actual numbers at the individual wheels.
What ARE the "MOT"/ brake test regulations in Co. Mayo?