Rear Brakes locked up after sitting for short period

BobEarle · Post by **BobEarle** » 17 Apr 2010, 12:37

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum. What a great site! I did a quick search to see if i could find any info on this but I couldn't find anything..

I just got back from a 3 month trip in Puerto Rico and my 2005 V70's rear brakes have locked up.

Is anyone familiar with this problem? How do I loosen them up so i can get my car out of the garage?

Any info/help is GREATLY appreciated.

Best,
Bob

Post by **E170_Driver** » 17 Apr 2010, 13:26

I have noticed that my 2001 wagon does that when it sits outside for a couple of days with the parking brake engaged; I just don't use the parking brake anymore...when I start driving out of the parking position it takes a little more power than usual, but it pops and the wheels start moving again.

Jan

BobEarle · Post by **BobEarle** » 17 Apr 2010, 13:32

We parked it without the parking break engaged this year as last year the same thing happened. Last year when it happened, when it was put on a lift at the garage to investigate the parking break "popped" and release and the car was all set. This year no parking brake and it still seized up. Theres no motion with rocking it forward and back.

Post by **vegasjetskier** » 17 Apr 2010, 17:45

BobEarle wrote:We parked it without the parking break engaged this year as last year the same thing happened. Last year when it happened, when it was put on a lift at the garage to investigate the parking break "popped" and release and the car was all set. This year no parking brake and it still seized up. Theres no motion with rocking it forward and back.

Just a wild guess on my part, but maybe the auto-adjust mechanism is malfunctioning? On most cars these normally operate when you back up and apply the brakes. They have an arm that tries to turn a wheel connected to a screw that pushes the shoes further apart. Could this be rusted or damaged so that it's holding the shoes apart even when they should be released? Did you do a lot of backing on your trip? Once you get the car moving again, I'd have a mechanic take the back rotors off and inspect the mechanism to make sure it's OK. (I believe that your car has drum parking brakes, even though the main rear brake is disc. It looks like a disc brake, but there is a "hat" inside it housing the drum parking brake. Please correct me if I'm wrong.).

FYI, on my wife's PT Cruiser we have had one of the rear brakes get stuck a few times. It always happens after we set the parking brake and the car sits for a while, however. The shoes rust to the backing plate and do not return to the normal position when the brake handle is released. It only happens on the passenger's side. As E 170 Driver stated, we don't use the parking brake any more unless we absolutely have to on a steep hill.

Post by **JRL** » 19 Apr 2010, 15:34

There's no auto adjust feature
Your parking brake shoes or the cables are rusted and need to be replaced
Just rock the car hard, it will break free
Meanwhile do NOT use the E brake until repaired