Brake line blew out during a test drive, customer thought I was drifting

Last Thursday I had a 2011 sedan in for a brake inspection, everything looked fine on the lift. Took it out for a road test on Route 9 near Albany, and about half a mile in the pedal just went soft, then the whole rear line let go with a pop. Fluid sprayed everywhere under the car, and I coasted to a stop in a gas station lot. The owner happened to be waiting there for a coffee, saw me pull in sideways with smoke off the tires from the lockup. He asked if I was practicing for a rally, I told him no, your brake line just tried to commit suicide. Towed it back, replaced both rear lines for about $85 in parts, but I keep thinking about how close I was to a ditch. Has anyone else had a line fail that looked perfectly fine on inspection? What did you do different after that to catch it early?

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wood.andrew1d ago

You ever figure a brake line is good just because it looks clean on the outside? Same thing happened to me once, turned out the inside was rusted out and you couldnt see it until it blew. Now I flex the lines hard during inspection and check the fittings with a light, cause looks can definitely lie.