Hvis bremsen føles svag, vil jeg ikke køre længere, før en mekaniker har set på bilen.

Hvis means if. It introduces a condition:

• Hvis bremsen føles svag = If the brake feels weak

This is very similar to English conditional sentences. The rest of the sentence gives the result of that condition:

• vil jeg ikke køre længere = I will not drive any farther / any longer

Bremsen is the definite singular form of bremse:

• en bremse = a brake
• bremsen = the brake

In context, Danish often uses the definite form when referring to a specific thing already understood from the situation. Here, bremsen can mean the brake in a general practical sense, often referring to the braking system as the relevant brake function in the car.

Føles means feels or feels like.

• bremsen føles svag = the brake feels weak

This is the verb føles, which is used for how something seems by touch, sensation, or general impression.

Compare:

• Det føles koldt = It feels cold
• Bremsen føles svag = The brake feels weak

Svag means weak. Here it is used as a predicate adjective after føles.

In Danish, adjectives after verbs like være (to be), blive (to become), and føles (to feel) often stay in the basic form if the noun is common gender singular:

• bremsen is singular and common gender
• so: bremsen føles svag

Compare:

• en motor er stærk = an engine is strong
• et lys er stærkt = a light is strong
• bremserne er svage = the brakes are weak

This is because Danish uses verb-second word order in main clauses.

The sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Hvis bremsen føles svag

After that, the main clause begins, and the finite verb must come first in the main clause structure:

• vil jeg ikke køre længere

So the pattern is:

• subordinate clause + verb
  • subject + rest

That is why you get:

• Hvis ..., vil jeg ...

and not:

• Hvis ..., jeg vil ...

This is one of the most important word-order rules in Danish.

Vil usually means will and is commonly used to talk about the future, but it can also express intention or willingness depending on context.

Here it works naturally as a future/decision meaning:

• vil jeg ikke køre længere = I will not drive any farther / I’m not going to drive any farther

So it is not just a neutral future; it also suggests a decision based on the condition.

Længere here means any longer, any farther, or further.

So:

• jeg vil ikke køre længere = I will not drive any farther / any longer

Because the verb is køre (drive), English may translate længere in two slightly different ways:

• farther/further if you think about distance
• any longer if you think about continuing the action

Both ideas fit the Danish sentence.

Har set på is the present perfect form:

• har set på = has looked at / has checked

After før (before/until) in Danish, it is very common to use the present perfect when you mean that one action must be completed before another situation changes.

Here the meaning is:

• I won’t drive farther until a mechanic has looked at the car

Using har set på emphasizes that the mechanic’s inspection must happen first and be completed.

Se på is a very common verb phrase meaning look at, examine, or check.

• at se = to see
• at se på = to look at

So:

• en mekaniker har set på bilen = a mechanic has looked at the car / checked the car

You cannot say set bilen here with the same meaning.
Se bilen would mean simply see the car, not inspect it.

Bilen means the car:

• en bil = a car
• bilen = the car

The speaker is referring to a specific car already understood in the context, probably their own car or the car they are driving. Danish often uses the definite form in exactly the same places English uses the.

In this sentence, før is most naturally understood as before in form, but in English the best overall translation is often until.

Word-for-word:

• før en mekaniker har set på bilen = before a mechanic has looked at the car

Natural English in the whole sentence:

• I won’t drive any farther until a mechanic has checked the car

So grammatically før means before, but idiomatically the full sentence often sounds better in English with until.

Yes, very possibly.

Even though bremsen is singular and literally looks like the brake, in real usage it can refer to the car’s braking function in a general sense. English also does something similar when someone says the brake feels weak, even though a car has multiple brake components.

So a learner should not always read singular nouns too literally; context matters.

Yes. It sounds natural and practical.

The sentence has a very everyday safety-related structure:

• Hvis ... , vil jeg ikke ... , før ...
• If ..., I won’t ..., until ...

This is a common Danish pattern for making cautious decisions:

• Hvis jeg er træt, vil jeg ikke køre hjem, før jeg har hvilet mig.
  • If I’m tired, I won’t drive home until I’ve rested.

So the original sentence is a good example of normal, idiomatic Danish.