does anyone else have this problem or know what this is. Sometimes after i park and come back to my car later i try to press the brakes and they are very hard to depress. With a lot of force I can still depress them and hit the push start but I know this is not normal. The dealership said they never have heard of this problem. Does anyone know what this is.

 

there is a TSB for pedal feel for 2008

 

When the car isn't running, it isn't building up vaccuum for the brake assist. Sounds like you have a vaccuum leak. Can you reproduce the problem 100%?

 

I had a problem where once I shut off the car, the brake pedal would firm up automatically, the same way it would if you pump it after shutting the car off. I had a brake booster leak.

 

You don't have to smash the brake to start the car, you can practically rest your foot on the pedal and it will sense it enough to start.

 

...This would provide a "mushy" pedal, not a hard one like OP has. Vacuum makes it firm, loss of vacuum makes it mushy

 

e-brake off? Calipers not frozen? Rotors turn without grinding? How new are pads?

 

mike is correct. the brake booster uses vacuum from the engine crank case to assist with braking. If there is no vacuum, brake assist won't work so you'll need alot more pedal pressure to produce the same braking force. You can prove this to yourself by shutting off the car and keep depressing the brake pedal.. what does it feel like after the first two times? It sure as hell isn't going to feel mushy unless your car has a big problem.

Whats likely happening with OP's car is a small brake booster leak. It won't be noticable while you are driving, but if you let the car sit overnight, all the vacuum leaks out slowly and you will have a very firm pedal in the morning.

 

You totally lost me..loss of vacuum leads to loss of boost (agree), which means you need more pedal pressure/greater pedal travel to stop which equals a firmer pedal ????? Maybe the difference in opinion is just a semantic issue. Either way..I lost my vac assist motor in reverse...and mushy pedal traveled to the floor (where it became firm at the end of its travel) and car continued to travel lazily backwards and up onto a berm...Yay no damage.

Vac assist motor replaced, no more problems. Pedal was like stepping on marshmallows, not on a brick. OP says pedal was firm (at top of travel arc i assume).