Brake caliper seized

[BobbyTony]

My drivers rear caliper seized up too, of course lazy me waited until 200km out of basic warranty to take it in the shop so I had to pay the extended warranty deductible. This hasn't happened to my 2009 Fusion with rear discs. Just another reason to hate the Explorer. :-(

 

[Tshla]

Hi folks,

followed through this blog as I just had same problem with calipers seizing on rear wheels. Needed new pads and rotors; hefty price tag. Was disappointed as I only have 36,000miles.

Dealer's response somewhat mixed....first started out as wear and tear item plus pads and rotors would not last longer anyway; which caused a big question mark over my head....then, moved on to explain that caliper seized, pads burned white, started cracking...than continued to explain that it would happen "very often" in the midstate / upstate NY area, "due to the salt and prep material" that they put down....Since I lived in the Northeast for the last 11 years and am from Germany originally, I very much struggle with that statement. Never had any brakes seize due to salt / corrosion. I could see that in an old, worn out car, but not in a 2yr, high end SUV...by the way, have 20" turbine design rims.

Dealer claimed it's a wear and tear item, no warranty. So now I'm questioning my choice of cars and if this problem will reoccur during or after the next winter....

On the bright side, dealer asked if there is anything they can do to "ease my pain"; told him I think about it. Not sure what to ask for. Any advice or tips?

MJN, can you specify the $160 maintenance service? Maybe I ask the dealer to do that.

Thanks

 

[peterk9]

Brakes are only covered for 12 months or 12,000 miles.

Peter

 

[bnh1971]

Rear caliper replaced

The right rear caliper in my XLT seized a couple months ago with 30000 miles on the car. The caliper was replaced under warranty including new rear pads, new rotor, and machining of the left rear caliper.

Not sure why there is so much inconsistency between dealers on what they'll cover.

 

[Tshla]

The right rear caliper in my XLT seized a couple months ago with 30000 miles on the car. The caliper was replaced under warranty including new rear pads, new rotor, and machining of the left rear caliper.

Not sure why there is so much inconsistency between dealers on what they'll cover.

Interesting indeed! Are you in or ?

 

[bnh1971]

Seized Caliper

I'm located in USA, Central Massachusetts.

 

[Pete1]

I have 37,000 miles on my 2013 limited and the rear pads are toast. I always go to the dealer for oil change / tire rotation and they alsways tell me my brakes look fine. 4,000 miles after my last oilk change, I started noticing the heat and smell a few weeks ago from the rear wheel. Since I'm out of warranty, I just bought the pads from the dealer and was going to check the calipers myself and replace pads. I caughh it early so my rotors are ok i think.

 

[John Pickard]

Calipers

Sounds like the sliders on the calipers are seizing, If the out side pad is warn more it's usually a slider problem, this is an ongoing concern with most disc brakes, the sliders should be removed and a good lube like silicone lube (which won't hurt the rubber parts ) put on yearly if in bad climate, most emergency brakes now are in the inside of the rotor, My Ford dealer lubes them when I get an oil change, right side seizes up faster than left side because of the curb lane has usually more water and grim most of the time ,

 

[pollito14]

I have a 2013 Limited. I bought it as a CPO in May with 30k miles on it. This is a family car. Some weekend trips. The Mrs takes the kids to school and to run a few errands.

On Jan 30, we got a works oil change service before we headed on a trip to NJ. I drove for a week in snow, salt, etc. When we got back to FL, I ran it through a car wash and had the undercarriage power washed.

2 weeks later, my wife noticed a grinding sound when braking. The sound started at 25mph and slows down as the car slows down further. When she took it in, she mentioned about our trip and the next thing I know they're blaming the winter trip for salt and corrosion causing the calipers not releasing. I explained that it was a short trip and if that was the case, people up north would have to change their brakes every 2 weeks. He proceeded to point out the rust on my exhaust and undercarriage. I went on to explain that I had noticed that rust before I took the trip up north because I had been considering buying a trailer hitch and since I don't drive on the beach in FL, it must've been like this when I bought it. Of course the used car sales manager insists that no car with this type of rust would be sold.

Now I have a $430 estimate for front and rear "brake jobs".

I saw a video from Ford Tech on you tube and there was a 2012 model with 29k and the rear calipers had seized up and chewed up the pad already. This is obvious a known issue. Do we not have any type of recourse???

Should I bring up the fact that nothing was pointed out to me when we did the works service?

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum pollito14.:wavey:
Weather conditions shouldn't have anything to do with your issue. If it did, like you said, we here would be in for service every couple of weeks. Did they quote you $$ for rear pads as well? See this thread in the 'Sticky' section;
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=412591
As for the rust, certain parts of the vehicles begin to rust as soon as it leaves the factory. Since my dealer does all the servicing on my vehicles I really can't say what amount is or isn't normal. Good luck.

Peter

 

[FordService]

...When she took it in, she mentioned about our trip and the next thing I know they're blaming the winter trip for salt and corrosion causing the calipers not releasing...

Welcome to the forum, pollito14. I want to escalate this to your regional customer service manager (CSM) so they can help. Send me a private message (PM) with your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, current mileage, and servicing dealership; I'll get this into the hands of your CSM.

Crystal

 

[BobbyTony]

My drivers rear caliper seized up too, of course lazy me waited until 200km out of basic warranty to take it in the shop so I had to pay the extended warranty deductible. This hasn't happened to my 2009 Fusion with rear discs. Just another reason to hate the Explorer. :-(

And now the Fusion caliper is seized! F%&#

 

[tinner]

Anti-corrison of brake calipers is not one of Fords strong suits, been dealing with that issue since '98. Every time I buy a Ford I know that is one issue that will need preventive maintenance.:thumbdwn:It could be worse, seized brakes and the eternal water leaks that many are having.

 

[Kiliona]

To everyone talking about how this shouldn't be such a huge issue and it's absurd these brakes are being destroyed at such low mileage, you are correct. It shouldn't be, and I'd be willing to bet that it isn't... if your vehicle is properly maintained. I'm not talking about getting the 160 dollar yearly brak-take-apart and clean, but what I'm saying is DO NOT LET salt, snow, dirt, mud, or anything else build up in your wheel wells or on your car. I'm pretty sure if you were to keep these areas of your car well maintained (I.E don't let a block of ice stay stuck to your wheel wells or areas all winter) this would be much less of an issue. Thsi seems like a similar issue to the first gens where now most from 91 that you see in northern climates have the metal around the back of the front wheels entirely rusted off, since ice and salt accumulates there and people simply leave it there all winter.

On my 2013 expedition the brakes lasted 80k miles without even the pads being replaced (got done at 80k) much less the calipers or anything else, and that is on a vehicle not only in a northern climate, but where we frequently (in the summer) stick the rear brakes in lakes and resevoirs in order to put boats and jet skiis in the water. If totally submerging our brakes on a regular basis in the summer and winter weather in the winter hasn't caused this issue for us yet, I believe it is totally avoidable.

Simply keep your wheel wells, wheels, brakes and rotors CLEAN. As someone said before me, every so often if there is built up ice/salt and whatnot take it to a car wash or something.

 

[hpad06]

Kiliona

I cannot agree with you. Millions of cars in Canada here experiences severe weather with salt on the road without calliper problem , my 08 fusion parks on the same drive way has no calliper issue at all for past 6 years, while my 3 years old explorer already went through 3 callipers.

Keep it clean might help but explorer is below average for sure in terms of calliper/break quality

 

[Kiliona]

Kiliona

I cannot agree with you. Millions of cars in Canada here experiences severe weather with salt on the road without calliper problem , my 08 fusion parks on the same drive way has no calliper issue at all for past 6 years, while my 3 years old explorer already went through 3 callipers.

Keep it clean might help but explorer is below average for sure in terms of calliper/break quality

Well I can't say that my one experience with my one vehicle is statistically significant and that I am right, but like you said hopefully it'd atleast help. Also keep in mind im in Idaho, not as far north as canada x D.

So like I said my EXPEDITION has had amazingly reliable brakes... I wonder what the expedition has that the explorer does not? or if the climate is the deciding factor... or if mechanics here in Idaho just use more lube on the slides and such . Who knows *shrug*

 

[dco43054]

Kiliona

I cannot agree with you. Millions of cars in Canada here experiences severe weather with salt on the road without calliper problem , my 08 fusion parks on the same drive way has no calliper issue at all for past 6 years, while my 3 years old explorer already went through 3 callipers.

Keep it clean might help but explorer is below average for sure in terms of calliper/break quality

If your Explorer has gone through 3 calipers, I'd guess you have something else going on. There are many thousands of these vehicles in service and this is not a prevalent issue based on the size of this thread, news accounts, etc.

In Ohio, they use tons of road salt. No huge issue here.

 

[peterk9]

Well I can't say that my one experience with my one vehicle is statistically significant and that I am right, but like you said hopefully it'd atleast help. Also keep in mind im in Idaho, not as far north as canada x D.

So like I said my EXPEDITION has had amazingly reliable brakes... I wonder what the expedition has that the explorer does not? or if the climate is the deciding factor... or if mechanics here in Idaho just use more lube on the slides and such . Who knows *shrug*

Are you referring to the 1992 Explorer that shows in the margin??

Peter

 

[pollito14]

UPDATE: Yesterday I went back to the dealership and pointed that I've found out this is a known issue with numerous Explorer owners and asked him to check for a "TSB" (Technical Service Bulletin) and low and behold there was one!!! He was surprised and couldn't figure out why the tech didn't check for this while the vehicle was in the shop. He printed me a copy of said bulletin

SSM 44564 - 2011-2014 Explorer, Taurus, Flex, Edge, MKT, MKS Workshop Manual Updates for Rear Brake Service

Some 2011-2014MY Explorer/Taurus/Flex/Edge/MKX/MKT/MKS vehicles may exhibit a rear brake drag condition due to corrosion build-up between the brake pad and anchor bracket. Verify that the brake pads and anchor bracket are free from corrosion or debris and that they slide with minimal resistance. Use the Rear Caliper Piston Adjuster tool per Workshop manual section 206-04 to compress the piston and verify it is moving freely and not the cause of the brake drag. A moderate to heavy force the caliper piston must be applied. If sufficient force is not applied, the internal park brake mechanism clutch cone will not engage and the piston will not compress. Make sure the piston notch is aligned with the pad pin, or caliper drag will result. Please reference the online workshop manuals for the latest repair information.​

I'm going to request that they service the front brakes for not doing their job and the inconvenience they've cause me.


Thanks [MENTION=157968]FordService[/MENTION] I appreciate the offer but I think I've got it from here. I'll try to keep everyone updated.

 

[jmr061]

UPDATE: Yesterday I went back to the dealership and pointed that I've found out this is a known issue with numerous Explorer owners and asked him to check for a "TSB" (Technical Service Bulletin) and low and behold there was one!!! He was surprised and couldn't figure out why the tech didn't check for this while the vehicle was in the shop. He printed me a copy of said bulletin

SSM 44564 - 2011-2014 Explorer, Taurus, Flex, Edge, MKT, MKS Workshop Manual Updates for Rear Brake Service

Some 2011-2014MY Explorer/Taurus/Flex/Edge/MKX/MKT/MKS vehicles may exhibit a rear brake drag condition due to corrosion build-up between the brake pad and anchor bracket. Verify that the brake pads and anchor bracket are free from corrosion or debris and that they slide with minimal resistance. Use the Rear Caliper Piston Adjuster tool per Workshop manual section 206-04 to compress the piston and verify it is moving freely and not the cause of the brake drag. A moderate to heavy force the caliper piston must be applied. If sufficient force is not applied, the internal park brake mechanism clutch cone will not engage and the piston will not compress. Make sure the piston notch is aligned with the pad pin, or caliper drag will result. Please reference the online workshop manuals for the latest repair information.​

I'm going to request that they service the front brakes for not doing their job and the inconvenience they've cause me.


Thanks [MENTION=157968]FordService[/MENTION] I appreciate the offer but I think I've got it from here. I'll try to keep everyone updated.

An SSM is NOT a TSB. A SSM basically is a friendly reminder of a common issue and what to check. Basically it is something that should be checked in the troubleshooting to begin with.