2006 Hyundai Santa Fe - how the berkeley do you bleed the brakes?

Seriously? I helped a friend do a brake job on his '06 Santa Fe yesterday(FWD/auto w/ABS). New pads, caliper hardware, and hoses on all-4 corners, plus front rotors. 

We did the standard 2-person bleed, with him in the driver's seat, and me working my way from RR->LR->RF->LF making sure the reservoir never dropped much below full. 

The first time we bled it with the key at "run" so the ABS module had power. The pedal felt firm until the instant he started the car, and it went flat to the floor. We topped off the fluid with it still running - it took almost a cup - but the pedal never can back. 

I went around and bled all-4 corners again - this time with it running. It felt ok afterwards, but he messaged me when he got home saying the pedal is still soft and the brakes aren't grabbing very well. 

So what did I do wrong?

Here's what I do:

Make sure a hose is attached to the bleeder that goes up a few inches then down into a waste container (few inches up means that fluid will be sucked back in not air if a little gets sucked back in on pedal upstroke, but it rarely does). Open the bleeder. Go to driver seat, give 5 full slow strokes on the brake pedal. Go check that fluid coming out is clear. Close bleeder. Next wheel.

Never had an issue (with brakes, clutch is a different story).

In reply to Robbie :

Did that. This seems to be related directly to the ABS, as the pedal was nice & firm until we started it up afterward. 

Can you get a spare reservoir cap and fabricate a pressue bleed setup? Since ABS became the standard I've used nothing else - too many places for air bubbles to get trapped. Failing that, try to gravity bleed; might not work with ABS though.

Can you cycle the abs by either jumpering the abs relay (usually right on the abs unit) or by performing a few emergency stops? 

You would have to bleed again after.

Some ABS systems can be bled by bleeding, driving it on gravel / dirt and triggering the ABS, then bleeding again.  Others truly won't bleed well without going through the scan tool bleed procedure.  

In reply to rslifkin :

There's nothing online indicating any special procedures for bleeding w/ABS, and even bobzilla isn't aware of any. This particular vehicle has had issues with the brakes slowly locking up on occasion, so last night's repairs were an attempt to cure that without replacing the $700 ABS module. Maybe this is another sign that it's failing though. 

The owner is talking about getting a pressure bleeder, so we'll probably try that out next.

ABS is pass-thru during a regular brake bleed.  Air can't get stuck in the ABS unit even if you let the MC run dry.  

Stroking a MC all the way to the floor can damage seals if there's any crud in the bore.  I always gravity bleed with a long piece of clear tubing on the bleeder so I can watch for bubbles.  When I don't see any more bubbles, I close the bleeder and go to the next corner.  After all four corners are gravity-bled, I do a pedal feel check and then drive it.  I haven't done a two-person bleed in years.

There is a special procedure on those hyundais with abs. We have to use the scan tool to operate the abs pump while bleeding the brake. These abs pumps are very bad about getting air trapped it the valves in the abs assembly. 

Ive had luck with gravity bleeding followed by a pressure bleeding. 

Pete,

Might consider seeing if you can get Matt Overbeck from Overbeck Auto on the horn.  He’s a great resource for things like this if all else fails.

In reply to einy :

Thanks, I appreciate the suggestion! The owner decided to take it to Firestone and have them bleed it, so hopefully they have the tools & technique to do it correctly.