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

[bigdude2468]

passenger side is the curb side which tends to get more moisture when it rains. If the corrosion is pushing the clips I would clean the area and apply a corrosion resistant coating /paint instead of grease. While the grease would work short term I doubt it would last more than a few months before the moisture / salt in northern climates would render it useless.

 

[Readmeli]

My BF took a look at all of the brakes today and says they all look normal ( except the rear right) for 30,000 miles and as much as we use it. He thinks it's not right to be happening like this. Makes no sense and I had better not have to pay for this, which seems to be an obvious flaw not normal wear and tear.

We shall see how it goes when they see it this week!

 

[MJN]

I believe there are many threads that have discussed this issue over the last couple years. Both my rear brakes seized while driving down the road which destroyed the brake pads and rotors on my 2011 Explorer at around 30,000k.
I work with someone who lost one rear and one front on his 2012.

If the clips accumulate corrosion and eventually become misaligned that causes them to bind then the instruction video make sense. Although it has also been suggested to grease the sliders as well.

At the time I blamed it on the 20 inch rims giving more exposure to the weather but not sure about that anymore.

 

[VinceL]

I would think a materials or engineering choice is more to blame.

 

[JDraper]

My drivers side rear caliper hung tonight. Guess I'll be tearing it apart.....

 

[JDraper]

Go check your brakes!!!

I would HIGHLY recommend that all 11 and up owners check their rear brakes for this. I just pulled my brakes off, and at 41k miles my brakes are as bad as the ones in the video. However, my driver's side was far worse than my passengers side. I surmise that it is because I see almost all country and highway driving, so oncoming traffic throws more garbage from the road at that side.

Well, 2 hours and $150 dollars later I have good rear brakes once again. I ended up replacing my brakes, rotors and rattle clips.

Crystal, if you're reading this, Ford really needs to address it. To me, this is a significant safety concern since the pad erosion can happen very quickly once the caliper jams, and it could also potentially overheat the hub causing bearing failure.

 

[plumbago]

I would HIGHLY recommend that all 11 and up owners check their rear brakes for this. I just pulled my brakes off, and at 41k miles my brakes are as bad as the ones in the video. However, my driver's side was far worse than my passengers side. I surmise that it is because I see almost all country and highway driving, so oncoming traffic throws more garbage from the road at that side.

Well, 2 hours and $150 dollars later I have good rear brakes once again. I ended up replacing my brakes, rotors and rattle clips.

Crystal, if you're reading this, Ford really needs to address it. To me, this is a significant safety concern since the pad erosion can happen very quickly once the caliper jams, and it could also potentially overheat the hub causing bearing failure.

Perhaps you and others should report this problem to NHTSA

 

[makuloco2000]

Does this happen to the fronts as well?

No the fronts are not a problem.

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?

The water and salt get trapped behind the clip, causing rust to build up and seize the pad in the bracket by pressure. The cleaned up bracket and grease prevent this.

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.

Yes as a dual dealer we see this all the time on the rears of the Chrysler van too.

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.

Absolutely the special nickel based grease prevents this from happening in the first place.

 

[Fla_15_XLT]

Interesting video - and another 'vote' that this isn't confined to Ford, but a feature of that type of caliper/pad design.

I had a problem of that sort on our '05 Honda Odyssey- in FL, of all places where we don't have road salt. Well, except for the beach communities after a hurricane .

The symptom in my case was the outer (opposite to piston) rear pad wear - it was down to <1 mm, while the inner had 4+ mm. Now, I got my money's worth out of the pads - the car had close to 100K on original brakes - but still, had the pads worn evenly, the rears would have lasted to well over 140.

My 'cure' for our new Explorer will be to add 'pad ear greasing' as a 2-3 year maintenance activity. I'd include pin boot inspection/greasing/replacement as well as pad sliding surface cleaning and lube. Likely coincident with brake fluid flush - FL has high humidity, and since brake fluid sucks up moisture...

 

[makuloco2000]

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

Nope that's the curb side i.e. slop side of the road.

 

[gatzdon]

My explorer was in for the power steering recall and now they are asking for $180 for the rear brakes.

This vehicle only has 39,000 miles on it. They also seem to be 'unaware' of the free brake pads from Ford. I need to find the link for that so I can print it off and bring it in, but really, why should I be going through this hassle.

 

[adamjeeps]

My explorer was in for the power steering recall and now they are asking for $180 for the rear brakes.

This vehicle only has 39,000 miles on it. They also seem to be 'unaware' of the free brake pads from Ford. I need to find the link for that so I can print it off and bring it in, but really, why should I be going through this hassle.

Pretty sure that only covers pads purchased after 7/1/14. Don't think it covers original pads.

 

[gatzdon]

Well now I have pads purchased after 7/1/14. I went from 90% brake lining at 28,786 to needing new brakes within 10,000 miles. Dealer claims this is normal.

 

[peterk9]

My explorer was in for the power steering recall and now they are asking for $180 for the rear brakes.

This vehicle only has 39,000 miles on it. They also seem to be 'unaware' of the free brake pads from Ford. I need to find the link for that so I can print it off and bring it in, but really, why should I be going through this hassle.

The link is in the 'Stickies' and was right under this thread.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=412591&highlight=free+pads

Peter

 

[Axl Van Halen]

I have a 2014 with 7,200 miles and my mpg never goes above 20 when on the highway. Could the brakes dragging cause a couple of mpg's? I assume so but curious. Will check brakes tonight. Would a good test be to jack the vehicle up and see if I can turn the back wheels by hand?

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Axl Van Halen.:wavey:
There are a few things that affect gas mileage and on the highway, the speed you travel at is likely the biggest factor. Usually the optimum speed for mileage is said to be around 55 or 60 mph. As you increase that speed the mileage drops off considerably.
It would also help for future posts if you added the model of your Explorer to your profile so it always show in the margin. I'm assuming you have the regular 3.5L V6 engine and not the 2.0L or 3.5L Ecoboost.
I don't know if the rear wheels are cable of 'free spinning' with the rear end off the ground or not. I'm sure some members will have that answer. There is also a 17 page thread on poor gas mileage you may want to read;
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=341371&highlight=mileage

Peter

 

[keithw1975]

What causes this on certain vehicles? Our previous Hyundai Santa Fes, which had 60K and 40K miles on them when traded, never had any brake issues. We never even needed to replace them, and at 60K miles they were only about 2/3 gone.

So what is it that makes the difference?

Also, why not make the problem parts out of stainless?

 

[bunty27]

Also, make sure you bleed brake oil from that caliper until you see new oil comes out of pipe line (keep filling up oil in the hood, dont let the tank empty). I had the same problem with my both rear wheels. Bleeding does help.

 

[kfd217]

Hey everyone! I had the same problem on the right rear of my 2012 Explorer with 30 something thousand miles. I put new pads and a rotor on and cleaned the slides a couple time and the problem got better but would still happen intermittingly. I had enough, so I replaced the whole caliper today!

 

[wisconsinF]

Thanks Much..
Just purchased a low miles 2013 and experienced this problem on the way home from the dealer. I fixed it myself and the dealer is reimbursing me for the parts and my time!
Had I not joined this form and read about this problem I would have had to replace rotors etc. One pad was so stuck it hadn't seen the rotor for a long time! Others were basically just crap!
Hope to use this form as a great source to solve problems.