brake fade

American  

noun

Automotive.

1. a gradual loss of braking power resulting from decreased friction between the lining and the drum or disc of the brake and usually caused by overheating.

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brake-fade British  

noun

1. the decrease in efficiency of braking of a motor vehicle due to overheating of the brakes

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Example Sentences

Here’s Car and Driver magazine on the Hummer EV’s capacity for abatement: “Slowing the massive machine to a stop from 70 mph took an extra-long 211 feet, and repeated runs resulted in noticeable brake fade. Yikes.”

From Slate

In regular recuperative braking mode, the i4 never suffered from brake fade, even after multiple high-speed stops.

From The Verge

Much of the overlapping suspense and foreshadowing about the car’s “brake fade” issue is also true to life, as is the pit crew’s unorthodox strategy of replacing the entirety of the front brake rotors—to the shock of French racing officials but seemingly not the vocal objections of Ferrari’s own pit crew that are depicted in the film.

From Slate