Thread: Help! questions on the breaking system!

So i have a 2005 GP Base and i just noticed, this started tonight, that my car wouldnt move forward when i let go of the brakes and was hard to move forward when i pushed on the gas. now, ive talked to my boyfriend about it and he thinks its something with my brakes/caliper. so i looked further on the caliper, and now thinking it may be my caliper piston and/or my caliper piston seal. can anyone relate/ know what s going on?

Its very possible that a caliper is frozen and wont release from the rotor.

Also double check that your E-brake is not on.



Or the worst case here is that its actually a internal transmission problem, but not likely. If the rpms rise and car wants to move forward and its trying hard but not moving with ease then its the brakes.

Well I'd jack it up and see what wheel won't move. If both rears will not, check the parking brake. The cable may be stuck, and applying it. Usually it's because one of the caliper pistons locked up, and it will not retract. There are very few cases where a brake hose is deteriorated and acting as a one way valve, but that can be tested when the wheel is off. Just loosen the bleeder screw and see if it releases. But that rarely happens.

If you find that a caliper is locked up on its own, replace them in pairs. The two fronts will wear nearly the same. The rears don't usually have problems as soon as the fronts.

parking brake is out of the question. i checked that like 5 times. and its not the transmission. cause it will move but only if i give it a little. if i have it in drive and let it sit it wont move. ill touch the gas and get it to move a little but it just stops right away so i know its the brakes.

So one or more are just not fully retracting. Time to check them all, and replace as needed.
I'll be replacing mine because they're not retracting like they would when new, but not to the point where I'd ever notice. I can still roll forever in neutral. It's good for gas mileage and brake life to replace them even if they're just a little sticky.

$59 for 1 new caliper on rockauto.com. know of any good sites for cheap product?

Rockauto is usually the cheapest place to get parts, but when it comes to shipping, amazon is usually cheaper since it's free over $25. I'll take a look.

Here's rockauto, idk what brand you were looking at, but these are good. Reman seems to me to be just as good as new, since they basically are new after what they do with them

Thanks 02NavyBlue. thats where i usually get my parts but i didnt know if there was another place out there.

alright boys. i found the caliper thats causing it. .... its my rear driver caliper. since its 38 degrees out here, you can tell whats warm and whats not. well took it around the block, ,came back, checked driver front; cold, passenger front; cold, passenger back; cold, driver rear; warmth coming off..

That technique does work well, I've used it too. Get's you started in the right direction. I'm a 97-03 guy (since I own one) so I'm not sure if the 04+ style has the integrated parking brake, or the shoes inside the rotor hat style. Either way try to make sure the piston being seized is the cause by making sure the parking brake isn't somehow jammed on from rust, debris, etc. I know you said its out of the question, but that would mean you already took the wheel off and checked.

Unfortunately rear calipers are more expensive. Rockauto shows them to be around $100 each, largely due to the core fee though. I've never done core's on rockauto before so I don't know how it works.

im having my boyfriend come take a look at it since he just got done with his classes at the Tech. im just hoping its an easy fix and wont cost me an arm and a leg.

the e-brake is part of the caliper. This design is notorious for seizing up or the piston not rotating back in. Inspect your pads for cracking due to the heat and the rotors for signs of overheating.

remove the caliper and leave the pads in place on the calilper bracket. spin the rotors to check for drag caused by stuck pads. The pads should easily slide out of the caliper bracket by hand.

04+ non GXP had the brake as part of the caliper.

I'd be looking over the cable and or the caliper. Yes these calipers are more prone to issues based on the ebrake, that happens less often than bearings blow out. So I'll take the no silly horseshoe bracket and dumb rusted M6 screws holding the darn thing together when aiming to change a bearing.

You may not understand. The parking brake consists of two separate mechanisms at both rear wheels. They're activated by one cable, that branches out to two different cables. At any point from the branching point, the cables could bind. Also, each parking brake assembly whether it be the caliper integrated or hub style can also stick, or stay engaged one wheel at a time.

But since you say the caliper piston is hard to compress, in your situation you'd need a new caliper.