4th generation caliper problem?
 

It's been awhile guys. In short, a few days ago I was coming back home to NY and I was stuck in traffic and I noticed this sound coming from my brakes. In fact, I had new rotors and brakes put in about 4000 miles (5 months) ago.

Here is the problem: I have noticed it for a few days now. When I bring the car to a complete stop (say in traffic) and let go of the brakes to let it start rolling there is this (groaning = mmmhmmm) noise/sound that comes from the brakes. It doesn't happen any other time not when I am decelerating. It sounds like a caliper is stuck.

So, I took it back to the place where I had gotten the brakes the guy tells me that it is a sticky caliper and that I would need to change the caliper (total is $275 with labor and parts). He says that is a common problem with 4generation Maxima's. Has anyone else have this problem? with similar noises when they start accelerating? otherwise no other noises...hmmm...baffles me. I also took it into another shop and they couldn't find any problems...

any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. :eek:

Just had the same problem, the rear brakes were making noise - thought that they just needed new rotors & pads. But after closer inspection had to replace the right rear caliper - frozen solid. Mine were all original - know the original owner of the car and have all the maintenance records. $275? are you going to a dealership?

yea...I had a similar problem with my front left caliper . But i went ahead and replaced it. I dont know if its a problem....but i had a similar problem with mine.

the $275 was at a usual automotive repair place --they do have very high end stuff like benz and bimmers. But they also take my car. heheh...but how much did you pay for it?
I was just wondering--they couldn't "fix" anything with the caliper but had to replace the whole thing huh? I am going to go away this weekend...and I was wondering--when you guys had your problem did you notice anything when you were braking (like pulling to one side) or it was hard to accelerate?

I honestly think it must have been a maintenance issue with the calipers in the life of the car.

I have 225,000 miles on my car, and I bought it new, and I have never turned the brake rotors, let alone had a problem with the calipers.

I flush the brake fluid every year, and I have probably gone thru maybe six sets of Nissan OEM brake pads (organic, that conform to the imperfections of the rotor).

I can still hit the brakes on the off ramp from the highway without any pull at all.

I might also add that I have always used Meguiar's Rubber and Vinyl Treatment on all of the rubber parts on the brakes (and CV boots, too) including the rubber boot surrounding the piston of the caliper.

No Joke!

My 2 cents worth.

White96MaxSE

I 2nd the maintenance issue theory.

Humaras,
To be honest I am not 100% sure, I had all the belts replaced, the new rotors & pads, the new caliper & an oil change for $330. My mechanic just takes care of the care puts everything he does down and gives me a price - if it is one or two items he always gives me a price up front or calls me. (and he always keeps the old/defective parts to show me).

But yeah it is a maintenance issue - my car has 197000 miles on it so for 1 to go - I am not that ****ed off - btw the list for a caliper is around $180

I agree that maintenace is a must and it is really important. I can't say I abuse my car. I do take pretty decent care of it in regards to maintenace issues. I also live in NYC and there are just lots of really poor roads--talking about pot holes the size of wheels and can lose car parts in there if you are not careful. Most of the traffic I sit through are stop and go, stop and go...and more stop and go traffic. It really isn't great for the car...
But it is amazing...six sets of brakes and still original rotors...wow...I am on my second set and my car on has barely 60k miles on it...

One of my front calipers was sticking. Ended up warping a relatively new rotor in no time. Autozone has reman calipers for $40 each (with core). No reason not to do this yourself as it's an easy DIY job. I got Raybestos QuietstopQS pads and AIMCO rotors at the same time and have been very pleased with the combo. You can easily get pads/rotors/calipers and a lot of beer for $275!

komodo,
just wondering...you are listed in NYC? just wondering who you go to to have your car serviced? would you recommend him?
I would be interested in bringing my car to him to have a look. The $330 sounds like a very fair price...since I need to have my belts replaced soon as well.
thanks so much. :)

I'm hearing and having the same problem with my right rear caliper. I completly disconnected the hand brake and it is okay, but I think the caliper is bad. The left rear does the same very slightly, even with hand brake disconnected. I will replace both soon. Let us know how you make out.

my back left did the same -frozen shut

just wondering, the handbrake that is in the Maxima is attached to a cable (I took apart the mid section to take a look) and I was wondering when we pull that sucker up (the hand brake)--does it activate the calipers in anyway or is it an entirely separate mechanism?
I have always used the handbrake when i park...I am not sure if that is a bad thing, but I have done that with all my cars and nothing has ever happened.

any quotes from anyone who has had this work done?

btw, the noise is coming from the rear right brake--only when I am at a complete stop and start rolling again...but once the car picks up speed, the noise disappears...so i assume you guys are having the same problem.

The hand brake cable activates the caliper piston. My right was dragging a lot before I disconected the cable. After driving a while, see if your wheels are warm or hot, my was burning up. Or jack the car and spin the wheel, there should be little or no drag on the rears.

Billy Bronco, thanks for that info...so in a way, the handbrake does share the caliper piston in that whole mechanical soup back there...
the guy from the second shop I went to did that--or he said he tested it to make sure all the wheels were rotating freely...which is a good sign...

I went for a drive today and it seems the wheel was normal...not bad--only the front wheels were warmer from the braking...hopefully this thing will disappear. heheh.

Anyone in the NY metro area. My friend's shop is the best. Very honest and fair. If you go to him and say you want to get something done he will make sure you need that done before he charges you.

Andy Decime
P&S Shell on hempstead turnpike just off the cross island pkwy
Elmont NY

516 437 4169

Tell him you're a friend of "The Davies" and he'll take care of you. If not he knows whats gonna happen :)

So far i have replaced all 4 calipers..

last year November i was doing my rear breaks and the piston wouldn't screw back in.. i tried to ghetto rig it back in and lost my brake pads on my right rear caliper.. didn't find out till i tried to step on the brakes and had none.. luckly i was driving through town so i compression engine braked all the way.

2 weekends ago i did the front calipers because the spring portion of the caliper that you screw in when replace the brake pads froze.

Seems to be a lot of caliper issues on 4th gens here. Any others have same type of stories?

this is a known problem...I think there is a fsb for it....but noi recall of course....I had it happen to my 95 maxima....the roaning noise is only a noise....there is no damage being done to the car....but to fix it costs about 300.....I think it had something to do with the ebrake. I had the dealer diagnose it like 4 years ago in my 95 max...

Jinxed!!!!

I posted on here and my back caliper froze last night!

Time to get greasy before the hurricane

Hey i am not sure if its my caliper getting stuck or what but here is my problem:

I hear a sqeeling noise ONLY when i am going in reverse and the breaks are cold. It seems to complete go away sometimes while backing up and then come back again as soon as I touch the breaks. I am not sure whats going on either but it seems like rear right wheel is the one making the hoise...what do u guys think? stuck caliper or something else?

Yes its a common problem. My rear drivers side caliper was frozen - the cause: a frozen caliper pin. The grease on the caliper pin dried up. After a lot of wrenching I replaced it with a new pin and grease. Everything works fine now.

Dried grease on a caliper pin?

Pins should be cleaned and regreased everytime you change the pads.

I smell a Maintenance Issue again!

hehe

White96MaxSE

hmm i'll have to check that. I didnt think 2 calipers would go bad at the same time. I did change my brakes recently though

Hey i was wondering if its ok to spray break cleaner on the caliper and pad without disassembeling it?

I was thinking about doing that to remove any dirt or whatever might be making the caliper stick. You guys think its a good idea or is that a bad idea?

My rear locked on me this winter, outta nowhere....while I was driving.

alright folks, since I started this here is what I have found out before.
There could be two issues with the calipers...1. the caliper pin and the lack of lube (grease or oil there) for it to move smoothly when pressure is applied (when we step on the brakes). The second issue is the piston that is hooked up to the calipers. If the piston is not good then the entire caliper needs to be changed at a tune of lots of $$. But if it is the PIN, then changing the pin and lubing it is very inexpensive.
I was talking to a technican who said that I ought to 1. clean it and 2. use wd 40 to see if I can lube it up.
Well, ever since doing that...no noise whatsoever...so I assume that it is the PIN and lube issue. So, I am gonna keep my fingers crossed. In addition, I also had my brakes changed recently...so I assume maybe it was dry in there?

wd40 is a bad lubricant. it is a essentially a solvent, a water disperser, with some lubricating properties. Caliper pins should always be lubricated with silicone based caliper grease, non harmful for rubber components.

I have a 96 I 30 and I had the same problem last year with the original left rear caliper. I ended up going to the parts store and picking up a new caliper for around $80 I think (with the core charge) and replacing it myself. It really was not that hard to do and it sounds like I saved a bunch of money.

The problem I had with my original caliper was that the rubber seal broke or cracker over time on it and let water into the piston area. It rusted solid and would not compress anymore.

After I replaced it, I took the old caliper back to the store where I purchased the new caliper and they gave me the core charge back.

Now everything works great! :)

Hope this helped.

I agree wholeheartedly with White96MaxSE.
The vast majority of all braking system related problems are due to lack of maintenance.

I live up in Canada where they use a lot of salt on the roads in winter. If you don't regrease your slider pins and pad/torque member contact points once a year, you are asking for uneven wearing brake pads.

As for sticking calipers: Take a look at the color of the brake fluid in your master cylinder. It should be clear as water. If it is brown, or has a brownish tinge to it, that is iron oxide (ie. rust). Brake fluid can absorb water right out of the air. It is this water that can start corrosion in your braking system which causes the majority of the cases of sticking/seized calipers.

As White96MaxSE pointed out, flushing your braking system once a year is cheap insurance to avoid costly and time consuming repairs.

It is very unfortunate that a lot of the people on here will lay out thousands of dollars modding their rides but will not spend a small amount every year to carry out basic preventative maintenance.

I do agree with the assessment on the silicone greasing agent as a lubricant. I actually just got some today to use on the calipers again.
I was wondering if you guys know what the cost of the brake system flush is currently? And I was also wondering if our brake system takes generic brake fluid or a special type. The reason for my asking is that I know the power steering can take the Nissan power steering fluid or a Mercon III compatible tranny fluid.

Also in NYC, I think there may be something that eng92 has said, that in the last two winters we have gotten a good amount of snow and salt...but what I try to do every spring is hose down the undercarriage and everything with soap and water.

FSM calls for DOT 3 brake fluid. DOT 3 & 4 are compatible, DOT 4 has a higher boiling point. Do not use DOT 5.

Flushing your brake system is an easy DIY thing. All you need is a quart of brake fluid, some clear plastic tubing and a helper. The procedure is in the FSM.

this caliber problem...is it big enough to have a recall??

I think there should be especially since it deals with saftey

I test drove my max and everything was working fine and I gave my dealer a deposit for it. I picked it up the next day after they supposedly did an inspection and oil change then I got that wonderful brake grone as I left the parking lot. I took it back and dealer got it fixed and sent me a copy of the receipt. $206 for rear driver side caliper. Thank god I didn't have pay for that (that wouldve been my CDT money)

this groan from a standstill you speak of (i get one when stopping from about 4mph to 0mph..) but not when i start out (i do once in awhile if my car has sat for like over 24 hrs and rust has formed on the rotors. but once its off there is no groan)

but, when i ride my clutch in first while on a hill at a stop sign (end of my street) if i do it for more then 2-3 seconds then i get this really loud groaning noise, but its not like a grinding noise, its just pretty high pitch and loud enough that you cant tell where its coming from. only when doing this on inclines does it happen, anyone have any idea?

well speaking of rust...i am fairly certain it has to do with the rust because my car sat over night (since I last lube the caliper with wd40 a week or more ago) and there was a huge rain storm today. Well, the "groan" noise is back. I tried the new lube (silicon spray) as suggested by the fellow Maxima owners. I will report back after a spin if the noise comes back.

I would use something thicker than silicone spray in there. The idea is to keep moisture out so a heavier grease should be used. You can use engine assembly lube (molybdenum fortified grease) or regular high temp brake grease, which is what I use and I've never had pin problems.

Caliper problems.. thats another story. Once you replace the rear calipers and destroy the outer dust boot on the piston like I always do... moisture I guess goes up in there and sooner or later your caliper begins to freeze. Happened to me twice now.

If it keeps happening just replace the calipers. They inevitably seem to fail on these cars anyway.

Sorry I meant when you replace the rear brake pads.

I'm looking for a BMW old school 5 series (1990 to 94) If anyone knows anyone selling one please let me know. It has to be auto :(

AD

yeah, definetely need something thicker that can withstand the water and moisture...the silicon is not good enough. The noise is still there. Surprisingly, when I do use the WD40 again, the noise is gone. So I guess the WD40 provides a bit of better lubrication than the Silicon Spray.
I did also notice that there are two "ridges" on the rotor of the rear brake that is having the "sticky caliper"--hopefully those will wear away (correct me if I am wrong) once these calipers are unstuck.

Depending on how deep the ridges are they wont wear away. Sounds like the problem is your caliper itself and not those pins. I dont know who started the thing with the pins but thats rarely the cause-- at least from what I have learned through the years. Once you get rust inside the caliper piston bore, or any debris, its only a matter of time.

Do yourself a favor and replace the caliper and possibly the slides and mounting bracket too. Its a one of those "have to see it to know if it needs to be replaced" sort of thing.

I see you're in woodside. You can take it to my friend's shop if you dont want to change the caliper yourself. The Shop is in Elmont. Email or PM me for the address