Alright, so I think I had asked before if anyone had this problem. I went up to the Grand Rod Run in Pigeon Forge, TN Saturday night. Well, by the time I got there, my brakes were locked up so damn bad I had to rev my car to 5500RPM just to get it to move to get across traffic. I've taken it to the dealer once already and they couldnt find a problem. The only time the brakes stick up like that is when it gets hot outside, but lately it's been in the 65 to 75 degree range later in the day, and Saturday night when it happened, it was actually 62 degrees outside. Am I the ONLY person that's had/having this problem. The dealer can't tell me anything, but I can't continue to have to stop and let my car cool down 2 or 3 times before I can get where i'm goin everytime I drive it!! I just called them again and they said they dont know what the problem is so they can't fix it. So I guess if they can't fix it, then what? Push for a new ride? I dont want that, I jsut want the damn thing fixed! Any ideas?

 

Do you have painted Calipers, or custom rotors?
I'm also suspect that you might have a faulty Master Cylinder.

 

I wouldn't drive it that way, it is dangerous. I would MAKE the dealer find out what is wrong with it. If they don't want to look at it and find out what is wrong then call GM and tell them you want it fixed or you want a new car. I am pretty sure they will get someone to figure it out.

 

Similar problem, not to that extent (yet). 3 of my 4 calipers stick. 100% of the time to some degree. Dealer's answer? "Yes, that's completely normal."

So I have 2 rebuild kits and I'm rebuilding my front calipers to see if that fixes the problem.

 

Sounds like maybe a problem with the park brake mechanism on the rear calipers. The cable my be siezed or their may be an issue at the PB mechanism at the rear calipers.
I wouldnt just call them I would take it to a dealer and have the rear calipers checked out and the PB cable checked/adjusted.

Barring an abnormal "mechanical" application of the brakes, there could be a hydraulic issue in the master cylinder I guess, however less likely.
TAKE IT IN ASAP
WopOnTour

 

Good advice. I forgot about checking the parking brake cable....even though that EXACT problem happened to my old truck.

 

ALLEYCAT.... you said 3 of them stick... which one doesnt stick? is it one of the rear ones... because mine just did it again and the only one that wasn't hot was the driver side rear.. so it wasn't sticking... as far as the parking brake issue... it's the front ones that I have more of an issue with.... MONKEIBOY... calipers haven't been touched... completely stock, stock rotors as well... I haven't done anything at all to the brakes... yet. After I get this problem solved i'm gonna upgrade calipers and rotors both, but i'm not gonna do that yet because i dont want the excessive heat to crack new rotors. Master Cylinder was my guess as well... but the service tech. said he would guarantee that it wasn't the problem. So, I guess we'll see because I set up an appt. for it tomorrow.

 

actually I think it's a problem with the lines. One of my friends has an 06 ss/sc and had this exact problem. He took it to the dealer and they replaced all 4 of his calipers and it kept happening. I put on steel braided lines and the problem never came back.

Really I couldn't tell you what the exact problem was. I just know the new lines got rid of it.

 

I dont think the lines could cause this much of a problem, not to say that they aren't, but I just dont see how they could. I've got an appointment at the local Chevrolet dealer first thing thursday morning and hopefully they can figure it out!

 

clogged returns in it?....have you been adding brake fluid any time lately? maybe got sum junk in there?

 

You have part numbers on both front and rear caliper re-build kits? I've got a full set that are ready to go in the oven.....

 

nope... havent added anything at all to it, I have an appointment in the morning... maybe they'll figure it out

 

I say faulty because it sounds like it works fine, it just works TOO fine. I don't think a lack of fluid or a clogged line would cause that. Although if one or two lines were clogged, the cylinder may be overcompensating to push fluid through and that's whats causing the other brakes to squeeze too hard.

 

BINGO, identical to mine. Both front ones stick and the passenger's side rear sticks. Same with yours, the only normal one is the driver's side rear.

Lines really CAN cause that much of a problem, BUT I have stainless lines and you have stock. Sooooooo. Probably not the issue in this case. Keep me updated on what you find, as I should probably do the same thing.

I will get them to you tonight. And get this. There are NO GM rebuild kits for the rear. I guess because they're the screw-in type? I don't know. But according to them you can't rebuild the rears.

 

Well I just dropped my car off at the dealer about an hour ago! My brakes were lockin up on me when I pulled in so they were able to see first hand what its doing. Also, they're going to give me a new headlight because the headlights on my car are different. One has the amber color reflector around the turn signal w/ a clear bulb, the other is a chrome reflector w/ an orange bulb. Odd. Anyway, when the tech got in my car to drive it around to the garage, the key wouldnt turn. I've been having problems w/ that. It's like when the steering wheel is locked you have to shake it to make the key turn, but the steering wheel isn't locked. Sometimes it takes forever to get it to release. So, basically, he guaranteed me that everything would be fixed perfectly when I got it back. I hope so. When they fix the brakes i'm goin stage 2 w/ some cooling mods!

 

LOL, when they're done ask them what all they had to do to the brakes!!!!! I have no more warranty so I've gotta either do my own repairs or take it to a mechanic. I'm hoping a good rebuild will fix them, otherwise I'm leaning toward a master cylinder problem

 

Will do, as soon as I get it back, if the problem is fixed, i'll post up everything that was done to the car. Kinda odd how it's the same wheel on both of our cars that's no lockin up. Mine was locked up so bad this morning by the time I got it to the shop that if you stop, you had to rev to at least 6000RPM to get it to move... it's bad

 

Alright, so I just got my car back about an hour ago. They replaced what they called the "brake switch", which if i'm not mistaken is right behind the pedal. Well, needless to say, I dont think that fixed it. I could be wrong, but I dont think that was the problem. I'm gonna drive it over the weekend and if it happens again i'm gonna take it back to them on Monday. As for my headlights bein different, they ordered two new headlights for me. They also fixed my ignition switch problem as well. Not too sure what that was.

 

at work i run trucks that weigh 1.1 million tons.
they often have mechanical issues. but there is 1 rule never broken.

ANY issue with brakes or steering = immediate shutdown.

this is no joke guys. this should be looked at immediately.
if your dealer says anything other than "yep we will get right on it"
call GM directly and let them know that your dealership is happy to send you out with a malfunctioning brake system.

 

It's quite possibble the brake switch was binding up some how and keeping your brakes applied.It's been known to happen, but usually all you needed to do was pull upward on the brake pedal to rectify. Did you ever try this??
Tell me when you had the "lock up" problem, where any of your brake lamps (center high mounted brake lamp OR rear corner brake lamps) coming "ON"??
Regards
Wop

 

See yours is much worse than mine, mine never bind up, so your brake switch could have been part of the issue.

Mine is just a constant dragging, never seizing up. I'd do what an0malous said, the instant you notice another problem, take it in and tell them it's not fixed, you want it fixed immediately, and you will not take the car back until they locate the problem.

Heheheh I got 2 tech's and a service writer fired over mine, they had the nerve to write right on the service ticket under "Customer states that calipers stick" : "Condition is part of normal operation, no need for service" They didn't even look at it.

I've had my personal mechanic check it over twice and there's not a safety issue, it's just a noise/wear issue.

 

alright... so... after driving this weekend in some warmer weather, 90*+.... I quickly found out that the problem is not quite fixed. "WOP".... as far as lights coming on... No they haven't been coming on at all because I checked it. I think the brake switch was a small part of the problem, but not the full problem. Today I noticed that when I have to get on the brakes hard... the back ones were sticking, not the front ones. This is the first time that just the rear stuck. Before they were all sticking. But when just the rear sticks, I can tap the brakes w/ some force, but quickly, just a few times and the rears will release. Make any sense? I guess when I take it in i'm gonna have to have the service manager ride with me so I can show him what it's doing. As far as the ignition problem that I thought was fixed... it's not fixed either. Man this is gettin annoying. Any other ideas based on the new info would be greatly appreciated. I'm still kinda feeling like the brake booster isn't workin quite like it should.. actually... working a little too well would be the case...?

 

my rear driver side locked up tight and would not move, got it replaced then it fell apart so i am on my 4th left rear caliper in 9 months of ownership

 

wow.. that's some great news... I dropped my car back off today, and we've come to the agreement that after this visit, if it's not fixed, they have one more chance to fix it after that. If they can't do it, they've agreed to get me a brand new one.

 

ok... so the dealer called me today and told me it was an ABS module that was going bad.... still dont sound right. Seems to me like they're just trying to find ways to get out of having to put a master cylinder in it... but.. I guess we will see tomorrow