Brake pedal stoppers are small plastic or rubber pads that are located near the brake pedal assembly. The brake pedal arm sits on the pedal stopper when the brake pedal isn’t depressed, providing a platform for the brake pedal arm. This part might seem small and insignificant, but brake pedal stopper pads can actually affect your vehicle if they get lost or worn out. Sometimes the stopper is on the pedal and sometimes it’s on the stop lamp switch bracket.
What is a brake pedal stopper? The brake pedal stopper is a button-shaped piece of rubber that stops the brake pedal’s movement. Aside from providing a cushion for the brake pedal, the stopper also engages the brake pedal position sensor, which is essentially a button pressed by the brake pedal stopper.
The stopper determines the brake pedal’s position when it isn’t engaged and can also dampen any noise created by the pedal once it is released. This is important because you wouldn’t want a brake pedal that persistently makes a noise when disengaged.
Over time, the brake pedal stopper can become brittle because it’s typically made of rubber. The stopper is much like a screw with a flat portion and a longer protruding end. When the stopper’s rubber material becomes brittle, the protruding end can crack and separate, causing the entire stopper to fall off.
When the stopper falls off or gets damaged, the brake pedal position sensor’s button can fully extend, causing the sensor to read the brake pedal’s position as engaged.
If the sensor reads the pedal’s position as engaged, it’ll cause the cruise control to deactivate. The cruise control won’t work as long as you have this issue because cruise control is designed to deactivate once the brake pedal is pressed.
A damaged or lost brake pedal stopper is also going to keep your brake lights on.
Brake pedal stoppers will only require about 10 minutes to install. You’ll only need a flathead screwdriver to do the repair. Brake pedal stopper replacements are also quite cheap.
If your old brake pedal stopper is still in its old location, depress the brake pedal slightly to create some clearance between the stopper and sensor. You won’t be able to remove the stopper if it isn’t depressed because it’ll be resting on the sensor. You can use a weighted object like a brick to do this.
Once pressed, you can remove the old pedal stopper by using a flathead screwdriver. The pedal stopper is simply pushed into a hole, like a push pin. You’ll just need to wedge the screwdriver head onto the side and the stopper should pop out of its hole.
Install the new one by pushing the protruding end into the hole. The stopper should squeeze right in and be held in place. Assuming the stopper has allowed the sensor to press the button appropriately, your cruise control should work properly again.
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