Ford Explorer: Are Your Rear Brakes Dragging... Most Likely Yes! | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Ford Explorer: Are Your Rear Brakes Dragging... Most Likely Yes!

makuloco2000

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Joined
April 23, 2013
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Year, Model & Trim Level
2012 Explorer XLT
While this should be a non issue it is happening to allot of these, many with only 20k miles on them. What is happening is the rear caliper bracket is rusting so bad it wedges the pad and they never release and drag the whole time you are driving. If you have even low miles on your explorer I urge you to take a look, I walk you through the whole process in my video. One thing to note here is brake warranty only goes to about 12k miles not 36k miles as most assume so after the 12/12 period this would not be covered which puts the expense back on you. In this video I also show you how to be proactive and prevent it.

 



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As a matter of fact, I believe this very thing is occurring on our vehicle. The past day or two, the rear brakes have started groaning and sound like they don't release when you lift off of the brakes. Taking it in this week :(

Can anyone in Customer Service give us a hand with this?
 












There was a recent notice Ford was giving Free brake pads but you pay the labor. Wonder if this is part of the reason???
 






I have no issue on mine.. 2015 ex sport
 






Awesome video, thanks!
I'll definitely check my brakes, since I'm replacing the tires soon.
Pretty poor this is happening on couple year old explorers, I remember it happened to me once, but that was a 10 year old passat!
 






... Taking it in this week :(

Can anyone in Customer Service give us a hand with this?

I'll certainly try, VinceL. :D When are you heading in to the dealership? How many miles are on the Gray Ghost these days?

Crystal
 












Great video,

Thats interesting because I had a rear brake sqeal on my almost brand new 14 Sport with 2500 miles and they replaced everything with new upgraded parts.
Pads
Callipers
Rotors
 






Took the Gray Ghost in this morning to get fixed. Picked it up this afternoon and the bad brake is fixed. On our car it was the right rear brake that was not releasing. They replaced the rotor, caliper, and pad. Looks like they cleaned the other side as was mostly shiny, but clearly not new. It was covered by the Premium Care ESP, with only the $50 deductible due.

I would also like to point out that the crew at AutoNation Ford in Frisco took good care of me. It was the best experience yet there and a definite improvement over the previous mediocre service I have received. I am not sure if there is new management or not, but something has changed for the better.

On a side note, I wish Enterprise Rent-A-Car would keep their darned cars clean. Our rental's interior was filthy!!! I ended up cleaning it myself. At least they were nice enough to drop the charges (a little over $4, the rest of the cost was covered by our ESP) to make amends. Nice thing to do, but I would have rather had the car clean. Listen up Ford and Enterprise, clean those cars!!!

I also wanted to thank Crystal for her help (Thanks!) and appreciate the speed with which Jason (the regional CSM) contacted me. Thanks guys for your help in keeping the Gray Ghost safe and on the road.
 






...I also wanted to thank Crystal for her help (Thanks!) and appreciate the speed with which Jason (the regional CSM) contacted me. Thanks guys for your help in keeping the Gray Ghost safe and on the road.

You're very welcome, VinceL! I'm always happy to help. :D

Crystal
 






I came onto the board today to look into something like this happening on my 2013 ex. It has just over 30,000 miles, bought new. About a month ago I started hearing a little bit of squeaking but it wasnt consistent. Then ALL OF A SUDDEN, grind grind grind - rear right only. My boyfriend looked at them today and was like... you shouldnt even be driving! I have an appt. next tuesday and am wondering how much I will have to pay. So strange it is just the right rear and nothing else!!
 






I just watched the video and the "fix" makes no sense to me. I am NOT suggesting that there is not a problem with the rear calipers, pads etc but as per the video the use of grease in the area behind the clips cannot possibly work. The issue as described is that the pads are not releasing and they are dragging. The shiny metal clips once installed do not move, they are locked into place. While grease on the surface behind the clips would help prevent corrosion on the caliper holder how can it have effect on the front of the clip where the tabs from the pads slide?
 






...I have an appt. next tuesday and am wondering how much I will have to pay. So strange it is just the right rear and nothing else!!

I'm glad you're having your dealership check this out, Readmeli. The service manager at your dealership will be in the best position to provide you with a repair estimate/warranty determination. Come back and tell us how things go on Tuesday; I'll be here if you need my help after your appointment. :thumbsup:

Crystal
 






A little over two weeks ago while while test driving our potential explorer purchase i noticed the rear rotors with deep grooves in them. We agreed at the dealership that they would turn the rotors when we brought it in. I'm wondering if this is a related issue with the caliper sticking. They did turn the rotors but put the same pads back on and with me being a mechanic I know this is not a good choice. The mechanic that did the work disagreed and said why should the pads be replaced and acted like i was crazy for questioning him. The drive home braking seemed allot less sensitive probably because the flat rotors grinding off the ridges on the new pads. Guess I'll be working on the brakes way sooner then i expected because I cant afford for my wife to have problems on the long trips she has to drive.
 






This is an issue that's been going on for a few years since 2009. How do I know?
Because it happened to my 2010 flex at 29,000 miles I didn't know what the problem was took it in and stealership told me I needed new brakes charge me 400.00 when all it need it was some lubricant so the pads will slide back now same thing happens to my explorer at 18000 miles what I do? I just spray some lithium grease to the sliders and problem went away and I been doing the same to my flex now at 60000 miles and its been fine, so even if you think you don't have this problems I suggest you do the same it's cheaper than new brakes.
 






A little over two weeks ago while while test driving our potential explorer purchase i noticed the rear rotors with deep grooves in them. We agreed at the dealership that they would turn the rotors when we brought it in. I'm wondering if this is a related issue with the caliper sticking. They did turn the rotors but put the same pads back on and with me being a mechanic I know this is not a good choice. The mechanic that did the work disagreed and said why should the pads be replaced and acted like i was crazy for questioning him. The drive home braking seemed allot less sensitive probably because the flat rotors grinding off the ridges on the new pads. Guess I'll be working on the brakes way sooner then i expected because I cant afford for my wife to have problems on the long trips she has to drive.

I agree with you that this is BS. Pads are cheap, really cheap. It makes no sense to pull them off and reinstall old ones when the labor is the same either way.
 






As a Chrysler master tech I've seen this issue since 08 on the Minivan platform. Now you'll ask what does this have to do with anything? The rear caliper adaptor and caliper style is from the same supplier as Ford. Chrysler recently within the last year released a redesigned adaptor that has a different clip program and larger area for the pad to slide.
After a year of using the new adaptors I've seen the same failures. Its in all a piss poor design and rust belt states will deal with this forever. Clean your caliper adaptors every 20k and you wont have problems.

My 2011 Ex limited had 44k when the rear started dragging and smoking. That's when I found the similarity between Ford and Chrysler design. I cleaned my adaptors and performed the brake job as normal.
 






I just watched the video and the "fix" makes no sense to me. I am NOT suggesting that there is not a problem with the rear calipers, pads etc but as per the video the use of grease in the area behind the clips cannot possibly work. The issue as described is that the pads are not releasing and they are dragging. The shiny metal clips once installed do not move, they are locked into place. While grease on the surface behind the clips would help prevent corrosion on the caliper holder how can it have effect on the front of the clip where the tabs from the pads slide?

What I gathered from the video and just random stuff I know... is that the corrosion (rust when it forms takes up more room, simply put) on the caliper under the clip would cause the clip to be pushed outward which would then bind the pad. The grease is there to prevent the corrosion and keep the clip fitting snugly to the caliper. I could be wrong, but that it what made sense to me.
 



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I came onto the board today to look into something like this happening on my 2013 ex. It has just over 30,000 miles, bought new. About a month ago I started hearing a little bit of squeaking but it wasnt consistent. Then ALL OF A SUDDEN, grind grind grind - rear right only. My boyfriend looked at them today and was like... you shouldnt even be driving! I have an appt. next tuesday and am wondering how much I will have to pay. So strange it is just the right rear and nothing else!!

Ours was the right rear also. Strange! Are the parts different from left to right?
 






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