Brakes Stuck?!
 

So - I've been really diligent in washing my car every time before putting the cover on it. After it is washed, I back it up - park it - and cover it.

Last couple times, when I take her out for a drive, a loud breaking sound happens - like the brakes were stuck to the rotors. And the most recent time, there was a grinding sound for the first mile or so of driving.

Am I damaging my ride somehow? Should I be driving around before parking her after a wash? What's going on here?!

Thanks in advance - C

i forget the scientific term, but the parking brakes are designed to ratchet wider as the wheels are turned. the result is that if the car is moved, the brakes are applied harder.

what's probably happening to you is that you're pulling the e-brake lever while the car is still rolling back. this causes the brakes to be applied harder than you actually pulled the lever for (you may pull the lever for four "clicks", but get seven "clicks" worth of braking force). this creates slack in the e-brake cable. when you let the brake off, the shoes are still spread. as you pull forward, they release and take out the cable slack. this is not a problem. if you don't want it to happen, make sure the car is totally still before you apply the parking brake.

I don't think that's it.. This is happening when I am about to drive the vehicle (well after having washed it, and put her away for the rainy days). The e-brake is completely disengaged, and I begin to move forward. That is when I hear the sound (which is one loud popping noise) that comes from the wheel well area. It truly is like the sound of something breaking loose.

Hi,

What you describe sounds like CV Joints to me...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Does it sound like "Grr Grr Grr" as you come to a stop, if so, thats your ABS system kicking in cause since your brakes are wet and the grip isnt really there so the abs will help OR the brakes are wet and your hearing a wet bind noise, sorta like a "slip & grip" motion... You MIGHT hear some squeaking noise but usually not.

Have you checked your brake pads for wear... your brake wear light may not light incase you or the previous owners pulled the brake wear sensor from the pads to save some money and not have to replace the sensor along with the pads.

It's normal. The oxidation of the rotors (the nice rusty layer that forms after you wash the car) is causing the pads to stick to the rotors after it has been parked for a long time. You hear a nice "bang" when the car is moved. Nothing to worry about.

That sometimes happens on my 98 Maxima after I drive it in the rain and leave it parked for the week. During the storm couple of weekends ago, I drove it through some deep messy puddles. The next weekend, when it first started moving, it sounded like the brakes were stuck and got unstuck with a "clunk" sound. After that, for the first 10 minutes of driving I felt periodic rubbing noise -- as if something was rubbing inside the wheel. Then it went away and all was good after that.

My theory was that debris and rust from the water must have entered between the pads and the rotors. First it got baked in between, which made the brakes stuck and then it got rubbed off after few applications of the brake while driving. The periodicity of the rubbing was probably from the rotors being slightly warped by being dipped into high, cold water while hot.

Jim, can you explain why you think it's the CV joints, and is it dangerous in any way?

Thx,
Z.

P.S. I don't use the parking brake.

The rubbing you heard was the pads scrubbing along the rust that had formed on your rotors. It should have gone away after the first brake application.

Again, this is nothing out of the ordinary.

Brakes were just checked - looking good here. The sound only happens after a car wash (which then gets parked immediately afterwards vs. driving around for a while), and after it has sat for an extended period of time. So isn't the ABS or the CV joints.

The rotors certainly show their rust post a good wash - and I thought it was caused by the brakes "rusting" onto the rotors. Just wanted to make sure that I was not doing harm to my ride - or if I should not be parking her immediately after a wash (for whatever reason.....)

Thanks - C

Yep, sounds like some oxidization on the rotors. Happens when I wash my car, but I haven't noticed the breaking free sound. Could be your pads are different than mine, and interact with the oxidization differently.

Overall, I wouldn't worry about it.

Try driving it around the block an hr after the car has dried, this will likely knock off the rust spots as a result of rinsing and the only rust you'll get on the rotors while parked is if anyone wets them again.