Brake caliper seized

[peterk9]

2011 Explorer with 30,000 km.

Both rear calipers failed which destroyed rotors/pads.

Rear brakes seized on highway while driving, when i stopped the rotors were smoking, i thought they were going to catch on fire.

Dealer says calipers failed. I am waiting for them to tell me what is covered.

M.J.N.

Good luck. I understand brakes are a 'wear' item and are only covered for 20,000 km. It will be interesting to see what the dealer says.

Peter

 

[MJN]

Dealer says that there is some type of pin/bracket inside the caliper that keeps everything aligned. A typical winter will result in salt and grime building up on this pin/bracket causing it to decay or be jammed with dirt so that it becomes misaligned. Once this happens then everything binds up and brakes pads/rotors get toasted. The pin/bracket is a maintenance issue that is required to be cleaned every year after winter (dealer quotes $160 to do this maintenance, take a couple hours) Because the pin/bracket is a maintenance item then absoluteley nohting is covered.

I also called Ford customer service (who called the dealership) and said they would not help.

So basically if you don't spend $160 bucks to maintain your brakes in a Northern climate then you get a $800.00 bill possibly every couple years.


i looked into getting the Heavy duty Interceptor/Sport brake system but dealership said that they have no idea if it will fit a 2011 explorer since it is a 2013 explorer part.

 

[peterk9]

Dealer says that there is some type of pin/bracket inside the caliper that keeps everything aligned. A typical winter will result in salt and grime building up on this pin/bracket causing it to decay or be jammed with dirt so that it becomes misaligned. Once this happens then everything binds up and brakes pads/rotors get toasted. The pin/bracket is a maintenance issue that is required to be cleaned every year after winter (dealer quotes $160 to do this maintenance, take a couple hours) Because the pin/bracket is a maintenance item then absoluteley nohting is covered.

I also called Ford customer service (who called the dealership) and said they would not help.

So basically if you don't spend $160 bucks to maintain your brakes in a Northern climate then you get a $800.00 bill possibly every couple years.


i looked into getting the Heavy duty Interceptor/Sport brake system but dealership said that they have no idea if it will fit a 2011 explorer since it is a 2013 explorer part.

When I went to have my Winter/Summer wheels swapped at the end of March the dealer suggested front and rear brake service. I had it done and it cost me $79.95.

Peter

 

[Sgt1411]

Dealer says that there is some type of pin/bracket inside the caliper that keeps everything aligned. A typical winter will result in salt and grime building up on this pin/bracket causing it to decay or be jammed with dirt so that it becomes misaligned. Once this happens then everything binds up and brakes pads/rotors get toasted. The pin/bracket is a maintenance issue that is required to be cleaned every year after winter (dealer quotes $160 to do this maintenance, take a couple hours) Because the pin/bracket is a maintenance item then absoluteley nohting is covered.

I also called Ford customer service (who called the dealership) and said they would not help.

So basically if you don't spend $160 bucks to maintain your brakes in a Northern climate then you get a $800.00 bill possibly every couple years.


i looked into getting the Heavy duty Interceptor/Sport brake system but dealership said that they have no idea if it will fit a 2011 explorer since it is a 2013 explorer part.

They fit

 

[MJN]

Does anyone know if the Interceptor/Sport brake package will have the same problem or is it a completely new brake design?

The problem seems to be the way the rim and/or undercarriage throws debris into the brake system so the Interceptor/Sport brake package could have the same problem? (Plus a design flaw in Ford brakes. Dealer told this happens all the time with newer ford models and might have something to do with large rim sizes.)

Is it common for a braking system to require yearly maintenance these days? I can't really argue that yearly maintenance is not a good idea, but I have never had a vehicle where the breaking system relied on mandatory cleaning every year. Should I be concerned by this?

 

[Sgt1411]

When you get "The Works" package as your oil change they rotate the tires and do a brake maintenance, and safety inspection of many components. I paid $79 for all that.

What is included in the $160 the dealer is telling you about?

 

[Bryceb]

When you get "The Works" package as your oil change they rotate the tires and do a brake maintenance, and safety inspection of many components. I paid $79 for all that.

What is included in the $160 the dealer is telling you about?

If you're getting "The Works" or any work at the dealer, make sure you sign up for Ford Owner Advantage... you get credit towards other services in the future, I think every 6th oil change is free and coupons... My wife just had the works done on our Edge for $39.95 with a coupon.

http://owner.ford.com

 

[MJN]

I got more detail from my dealer. The service they created for $160 is called a caliper cleaning service. They said its mainly for northern climate dealerships because this is a huge problem with new Ford models. It requires dismantling the entire braking system for cleaning. If you don't do this once a year then you end up with seized brakes.

The specifically told we that The Works package would not include this required cleaning. I'm not sure what The Works does but probably just some exterior inspection when the rim is off.

I looked into this problem a little further and its not really that uncommon for
any truck/SUV that went to rear disc brakes but certain vehicles like the Ford Explorer are just the most susceptible. Maybe that is why some trucks are going back to rear drum brakes?

The question is why is it more susceptible? Would putting a smaller rim size on and running different tires in the winter solve the problem or is salt/debris going to be thrown up into the brakes regardless of the rim?

M.J.N.

 

[LukerDooker]

..it seems like any car with disc brakes would need this?

...never heard of needing to break down disc brakes yearly for thorough cleaning....

possibly in winter, trying to clean the caliper area with the water sprayer at the manual car wash may help stop buildup that eventually causes braking issues.
have to do an undercarriage wash anyway when the streets clear up,...

ugh winter, dont want to think about it...

 

[peterk9]

I got more detail from my dealer. The service they created for $160 is called a caliper cleaning service. They said its mainly for northern climate dealerships because this is a huge problem with new Ford models. It requires dismantling the entire braking system for cleaning. If you don't do this once a year then you end up with seized brakes.

The specifically told we that The Works package would not include this required cleaning. I'm not sure what The Works does but probably just some exterior inspection when the rim is off.

I looked into this problem a little further and its not really that uncommon for
any truck/SUV that went to rear disc brakes but certain vehicles like the Ford Explorer are just the most susceptible. Maybe that is why some trucks are going back to rear drum brakes?

The question is why is it more susceptible? Would putting a smaller rim size on and running different tires in the winter solve the problem or is salt/debris going to be thrown up into the brakes regardless of the rim?

M.J.N.

When I put the Base model 17" steel wheels on in the Winter, there is much less exposure of the brakes, at least looking at them from the side. Unlike my 20" wheels where you can see the brakes easily, with the 17" ones they are almost completely hidden from view. I'm not sure if that translates to better overall protection to the brake parts or not.

Peter

 

[Bryceb]

..it seems like any car with disc brakes would need this?

...never heard of needing to break down disc brakes yearly for thorough cleaning....

possibly in winter, trying to clean the caliper area with the water sprayer at the manual car wash may help stop buildup that eventually causes braking issues.
have to do an undercarriage wash anyway when the streets clear up,...

ugh winter, dont want to think about it...

Glad I live in the south with mild winters on no dang salt on the roads.

I guess I'm not surprised at this needing to be done having grown up in the rust belt (SE Wisconsin) and seeing what I does to vehicles, but you'd think that they could figure out a way to not have this happen.

I will say that even in the south, I've had to replace caliper slide pins because they were corroded.

 

[LukerDooker]

lets hear it for those red caliper covers! yeah!

 

[strike]

Me too.... close to $900 to replace 4 discs and 4 pads as they had seized on the right side - They left the old calipers in place so I guess this will reoccur. I live in Northern climate but have never had this happen on any of my previous non-Ford cars. I had about 25K miles when this occurred last month and the dealer said no to warranty and blamed me for not getting my brakes checked regularly (although they checked them about 10K back for squealing and polished the discs then).

 

[MJN]

If this happened to you can you post your rim size/type?

I have the 20" polished aluminum.

 

[strike]

If this happened to you can you post your rim size/type?

I have the 20" polished aluminum.

I have the 20" polished aluminum as well.

 

[hpad06]

My 2011 explorer base model (30k km) rear caliper just got replaced under warranty

Parts replaced:brcf-277 (housing)
Brf-37 (pad)

They also replaced the pad and machined the rotor for free

It took a month to get this resolved as my caliper gets sticky only when it's parked for over 2 days and then drive over 40 minutes

I think both calipers are bad but they said they only found the left one with issues

I will have to try and see if the other one is ok

 

[skripo]

Mine just failed but didn't seize. I was on my way to Ohio from Montreal. I will bring it in and see what they say.

It is ridiculous to think that brakes need special servicing to survive in Canada. I have had many cars and never had any kind of issue other than replacing pads and rotors when it was time.

 

[Black Bengal]

I had the rear breakes seize up on my 1992 Lumina & they had to be replaced. There was a class action suit against GM. I filled out a form to join & ended up getting about $74.00 USD about a year later. Oh well...

A mechanic later told me that setting the emergency brake once per week will go a long way toward keeping the rear brakes from seizing. I've taken that advice for all 8 cars we've owned since then & have had no rear brake issues with any of them. I don't know how much this will help folks up north but it would be worth a try. The mechanic said that most people driving automatic transmission vehicles never or seldom set their emergency brakes even in hilly areas.

 

[skripo]

Well it turns out that Ford changed both rear calipers under warranty. The interesting thing is that it was upgraded to a new part number, that I do not have at this time.

The other interesting thing is that another customer had the same problem on his explorer the day before me and was REFUSED warranty service then ACCEPTED the day after.

It looks like Ford has recognized some kind of issue in very specific Canadian models.

 

[hpad06]

Well it turns out that Ford changed both rear calipers under warranty. The interesting thing is that it was upgraded to a new part number, that I do not have at this time.

The other interesting thing is that another customer had the same problem on his explorer the day before me and was REFUSED warranty service then ACCEPTED the day after.

It looks like Ford has recognized some kind of issue in very specific Canadian models.

My right rear caliper seized 2013, now the left rear caliper seized this year. Luckly this time the dealer fix it rather quickly.