I had a shaking in the front end of my 2006 cobalt lt and when i applied the brakes it shook violently,(I got off the highway and was at a stoplight on a hill with the clutch pushed in the car did not roll backwards). got to a friends house and both front brakes were hot and I had only driven about 10 miles on the highway. It appeared the front brakes had been hanging up. Waited about 15 minutes and the front brakes had released. Was wondering if anyone has experienced this or might know what it might be or what I could be checking to find the problem. Thank You Two-dogs

 

either stop riding the brakes or your calipers are locking up. or your brake lines are messed up somewhere.

does it seem to be pulling at all when braking?

 

It could be several things, you could have failing hoses not releasing pressure, you could have calipers seizing internally(piston to body) or seizing to the bracket(slides seizing) or you could have an ABS issue (unlikely but possible)

The brakes need to be disassembled and inspected.

 

Ok here is the deal I can be driving down the road and hit the brakes and both front brakes lock up and don't release. Now if I let it set for about 15 minutes the brakes will release, and all will be well for maybe a day maybe a week. One thing I noticed if the brakes are going to lock up the pedal will be setting higher then normal. Ok now I had a problem with my wiring under the dash, I had a wire rub on the radio mount and short out. Now the symptoms were the passive thief lock came on the dash, lost a/c and no cruise, and power steering was gone. I got under there and repaired the wiring and all the problems were repaired. Is there any way that it might be an electrical problem? It is hard for me to believe that could be the problem, I wouldn't think that GM would use an electrical malfunction to lock up your brakes. I unhooked the abs just to see if I still had the problem, and I did. So I am not riding the brakes and it is not just one side, and the back brakes are ok. So guys I am not stupid I was a mechanic for 30 years and maintained 30 trucks in my fleet. So is there any experts that could tell me what is happening here.............thanks.........two-dogs

 

I already made my recommendation. The front brakes need to be disassembled and inspected.

Check for proper lube/movement on the caliper guide pins, make sure the pads arent wedged in the caliper bracket somehow, make sure the pistons can be pushed back into the bore with appropriate force, make sure the brake hoses arent twisted or otherwise damaged or showing signs of failure(splitting, ballooning, collapse)