Brakes sticking on parked up car

[slipstream 1985]

I blew a tyre trying to free a front brake that had jammed on. cost me £250 to replace... move the car often

[gazza285]

22Rgt said:

gazza285 said:

Vipers said:

This cost me a grand on the Volvo. The shoes used to be riveted on, (apparantly), now they are glued. One of mine came off and jammed on top of the other one.

This scored the inside of the drum. Not being into DIY, took it in for repair, just a tad over a grand.

Not sure if it's the same problem as yours.

Pants down there, £150 tops for genuine Volvo bits and an hours work. Scored drums don't matter on a Volvo, they are only used for the handbrake, a quick cleanup and they would be ok to use again.

Pulled all the way down, shafted and then wedgied more like. £30 from ECP and an hours labour. £920 too much..

I was being generous and priced up a new set of discs as well, if it was my own motor then new shoes only...

[lostmotel]

The sticking rear brakes is one of those "they all do that sir" things with Clio 197s and 200s - my 197's rear brakes stick when its cold and/or damp, especially when (as mentioned) it's been washed. It's well documented over on clio197.net. The advice is leave it in gear, which to me is a little unsatisfying but aside from fitting different callipers I haven't seen any other solution.

[imagineifyeswill]

It used to be very common on Renaults with drum brakes for them to seize on when parked and when attempting to drive would shear the friction material of the backing shoe and jam the brake solid to the extent off sometimes having to cut the drum off. Unfortunately it can also happen with disc brakes especialy in cold wet weather. In days past brake friction material was made off asbetos until it was realised how dangerous the fibres are, friction materials changed to being made up of an amalgamation of various powdered material including some metal all mixed up with resins then cast as brake linings, during use when the brakes get hot minute traces of the resin leaches from linings and when it comes in contact with dampness turns to very efficient glue and when you pull on the handrake your effectively clamping the adhesive coated linings to the drum/discs.

[Who me ?]

Parking a car up for some time- NEVER leave the handbrake on. Two things can happen on drum braked rear brakes.

1) - Moisture on rear shoes gets shoes glued to to drums.
2) - Any pivot joins on shoes WILL seize up and lock shoes to drum.

[PhillipM]

tumble dryer said:

That's not right.

Think about it, your brake pads shouldn't be in contact with the discs when the car is stationary and no forces applied.

Dealer / warranty visit required.

They should and they are, no dealer visit required.
More research perhaps required before advising others, mind...

Anyway, if it's just sticking it could well be worth reversing before setting off, especially if your handbrake is drum based, as usually they're self servoing hence the locked wheel. A good check over would defaintely be an idea though, as others have said, things like that can make the friction material shear off, as can rust under the bond line from being stood.

Chances are, a sound thrashing to clean everything up will sort it, but best check them over before giving them some stick

Edited by PhillipM on Saturday 24th January 23:15

[Vipers]

PhillipM said:

tumble dryer said:

That's not right.

Think about it, your brake pads shouldn't be in contact with the discs when the car is stationary and no forces applied.

Dealer / warranty visit required.

They should and they are, no dealer visit required.
More research perhaps required before advising others, mind...

Anyway, if it's just sticking it could well be worth reversing before setting off, especially if your handbrake is drum based, as usually they're self servoing hence the locked wheel. A good check over would defaintely be an idea though, as others have said, things like that can make the friction material shear off, as can rust under the bond line from being stood.

Chances are, a sound thrashing to clean everything up will sort it, but best check them over before giving them some stick

Edited by PhillipM on Saturday 24th January 23:15

He said he parks with the handbrake OFF. Or I misreading it, in which case I apologise.

[tumble dryer]

Vipers said:

PhillipM said:

tumble dryer said:

That's not right.

Think about it, your brake pads shouldn't be in contact with the discs when the car is stationary and no forces applied.

Dealer / warranty visit required.

They should and they are, no dealer visit required.
More research perhaps required before advising others, mind...

Anyway, if it's just sticking it could well be worth reversing before setting off, especially if your handbrake is drum based, as usually they're self servoing hence the locked wheel. A good check over would defaintely be an idea though, as others have said, things like that can make the friction material shear off, as can rust under the bond line from being stood.

Chances are, a sound thrashing to clean everything up will sort it, but best check them over before giving them some stick

Edited by PhillipM on Saturday 24th January 23:15

He said he parks with the handbrake OFF. Or I misreading it, in which case I apologise.

You're not.

But PhillipM is.

Wheels should run free if brakes have no input force.

It's not rocket science.

[TheEnd]

tumble dryer said:

TheEnd said:

They do stay in contact, but only just touching them, without having any pressure clamping them.

Really? (Seriously)

Would that not mean that when actually driving the pads are touching the discs? Doesn't sound right to me - But I'm prepared to stand corrected.....

Yep, they don't move back by themselves, when the pedal is up, the disc pushes them away just so it doesn't grab.
That point is pretty much a featherlight touch just on the disc. If you take a wheel off and spin the hub, you'll usually hear just the very slightest metallic sliding sound.

[PhillipM]

I'm not misreading anything, the brakes would still be up against the disc/drum, so can and do bond themselves together.

[tumble dryer]

PhillipM said:

I'm not misreading anything, the brakes would still be up against the disc/drum, so can and do bond themselves together.

If you say so.

How many of the 32 million vehicles in the UK currently have this problem?

How many people come back from a fortnights holiday to find their brakes 'stuck on'?

The OP has an issue with his pistons not retracting fully. Simples.


But hey, it's not my car.....

[DUMBO100]

I've just returned from a two week holiday and the car is not happy with me, I find the best solution is a 20 minute race, revving and braking in equal measure, it's quite good fun too

[PhillipM]

tumble dryer said:

If you say so.

How many of the 32 million vehicles in the UK currently have this problem?

How many people come back from a fortnights holiday to find their brakes 'stuck on'?

The OP has an issue with his pistons not retracting fully. Simples.


But hey, it's not my car.....

Most of them, mainly due to a light coat of surface rust forming. But as soon as they set off it scrubs off and they never notice. My 306 with rear drums would do the same thing if left for a while and it'd been damp for a days - damned near lock the rear wheels until it unstuck.
Pistons don't 'retract fully' - if they did your bloody brake pedal would hit the floor the first time you pressed it. If anything is likely to be sticking it would be the sliders/pins anyway.

Edited by PhillipM on Sunday 25th January 00:27

[gregf40]

OP - It's a common problem on Clio 197/200's.

The Brembo callipers are prone to sticking.

It probably just needs a brake service (assuming you don't need new disks/pads) - get it to a specialist before the problem gets worse - shouldn't cost too much.

[MGJohn]

I think it's a common problem with many cars of all types which are not in regular use.

EDIT to add @ 01:35

Corrosion/Rust on exposed bores or parts of Slave Cylinders ( Clutch ) and Caliper Pistons can cause all kinds of problems from partial or full seizure ( yes, even with handbrake off ). Even accelerated seal wear when the seals act against those exposed rougher areas of corrosion.

Seen this many times with Pistons in Brake calipers when retracting or rewinding Caliper Pistons back into their housings to enable new thicker brake pads or shoes to be fitted..

I have seen badly fitted new rear pads start smoking on a car soon after fitting as the car drives away. The pistons could not be fully retracted owing to corrosion so seized at almost full retraction. Bang the pads in anyway ... New caliper usually the solution there.

Worst still, when parts of a caliper seize for any reason, lack of use, nil maintenance or simply careless neglect, one of the brake pads can wear down to the bare metal whilst the opposite pad and side of disc is almost unworn. Single piston calipers with sliders are prone to this when neglected. Most production cars have the cheaper single piston calipers. The vehicle user who ignores signs of that and deliberately continues to drive on ~ happens a lot believe it or not ~ can see extreme brake neglect and abuse like this. Worn completely away on one side right through to the ventilation webbing. Not my image but have seen this once or twice when asked.. John my brakes are making a noise! :~

Edited by MGJohn on Sunday 25th January 01:34

Edited by MGJohn on Sunday 25th January 01:35

[stuttgartmetal]

Take your car out and as you see fit, brake hard from 70 to zero three or for times, a couple on maximum pull up.
This will clean your brakes up.
When you park it, don't pull up hard, leave a gap and slowly pull up to a stop. 1MPH oR less.

[cailean]

Normal on the Clio 200 Brembos, just get them cleaned up - should be done annually.

[Chongwong]

tumble dryer said:

PhillipM said:

I'm not misreading anything, the brakes would still be up against the disc/drum, so can and do bond themselves together.

If you say so.

How many of the 32 million vehicles in the UK currently have this problem?

How many people come back from a fortnights holiday to find their brakes 'stuck on'?

The OP has an issue with his pistons not retracting fully. Simples.


But hey, it's not my car.....

Working in a high volume car park (We park vehicles in gear, and do not use the handbrake), and having to free off brakes almost every single day on vehicles parked for 1-2 weeks, i'd think somewhere between 1 in 30, to 1 in 50. Essentially not rare at all. And in may cases not indicative of any real problem.



P.S That is not to say all stuck brakes are fine, that would be stupid.