It is really colder then normal hear tonight in Boston and the wind chill is really bad. I have not drove my car in a day and i noticed that I had a lot of drag and that my rear were frozen. Also my Ebrake cable did not seem to release fully and it had a lot of loose tention on it almost half way though. I knew if I kept driving they could heat up and get better and release and they did to an extent. They are a lot better now but it took at least an half an hour of driving and pulling up the ebrake every now and to stop at a stop light so they get nice and hot. This seemed to be the remedy but I believe there is still some drag and the Ebrake is not perfect.

IS there anything you think I can do to prevent this in the future? Or should I just replace the rears in the spring. They are also all brand new brembo brakes with Axxis pads I did this summer and they been fantastic besides a little squeak sound wen I apply light pressure after a fews month with them so I think the rear cailpers are either bad or bend.

happened to me, and it's apparently common? I had to cut off the passenger side ebrake cable after the rotor turned bright red. *warming up* didn't do it.

Ye idunno about this one, i mean it happened to me last winter so i figured time for new calipers. Replaced both rears over the summer and now its happening again. Best advise is park it in first with no ebrake. Dont worry the car aint going anywhere.

^ yea I was thinking of that just keeping the car in gear and keeping the ebrake down. I am gonna try that next time. I would never keep the car out of anything though... lol yikes.. ahhh my cars running away?! lol @ picturing that...

But u replaced both rears and it is doing to you again? Thats weird. I bet you have a bad knuckle (I forgot the name of it. It is the the area that holds the whole caliper.)

I just changed both my rear calipers as my gas mileage shot down to 15 mpg over the last few weeks. They are $80-100 per caliper at Autozone + a $62 core charge. Not cheap but they offer a lifetime warantee.

15mpg dayum... lol... I am getting prob 17-19mpg if I am lucky. With this EGR issue I been having I bet It has been burning more. It is really the only issue I had with the car that is not an easy fix. Not to mention with my upgraded exhaust I am running much more lean. So I guess I save a little there.. :-P I need a tune.

you may try to lube the cable before anything else. i use sillicone spray ... at both rear wheels, and at the hand lever.

all tho ... our rear callipers are known for freezing - i just thought it was when the brakes were replaced tho.

cheers

I had to replace my pass side e-brake cable as it was binding like you describe. The cable is also prone to being crushed by bad car lift positioning.

happened to me too, i think its the drivers side, replaced the caliper last year and now its sticking again, the rear calipers on these cars are JUNK

Ye they are, i dont care though because i never have used the ebrake. Maybe 3 times total since driving this car for the past 3 years. After replacing the brakes its not as bad as it was but i still hear some rubbing on initial startup. O well, time for a newer max to start the modding on.

Both of my calipers are frozen and they e-brake goes up 2 clicks and that's it. Time for new calipers ...

I had my rear calipers replaced, and now my front is grinding on and off. Gets slightly better when warmed up. New brake pads too. These maximas eat up cash

Not really, they have some querks but there overall great vehicles. Mines 11 years old and only problems were a CSP sensor and the calipers. Not too many vehicles can say that!!

^ over a year and half hear and only have an EGR clog issue. AC clutch and the rear caliper stuck thing. They seem fine now but the cable seems to get stuck/slow sometimes.

3 years in march and the list of replacement parts is astronomical!!! i replaced the left rear caliper and the right 1 has been sticking a little, but my tech guy says no problems. i can feel it dragging but its gonna wait cause i gotta do the trans soon and i got a new warspeed y and cat and i gotts do rack boots and tie rods too!! whew!!!so much for a vacation this year, i'll be driving it......

+1 max ride 41, same here. But only 1.5 years for me Just recently did the e-brake cables and replaced 1 rear caliper. It seems that i'm developing an exhaust leak. Gonna have to replace that exhaust sooner or later.

I'm actually trying to test my e-brake now, so i leave it up overnight. I can't tell whether mine's okay or not.

rear calipers seizing on me last winter, replaced both calipers this fall, now winter is here, if I engage the ebrake, when I come out after work ( 8-9 hours), when I disengage the ebrake, there is slack on the handle ( from the position when the ebrake is up to the down/resting position)...
cables have been replaced 3 yrs ago with cheapy ones..
OEM are $117+ tax ( CDN) each side...
gonna replace the cables with OEMS and hopefully that will resolve the issue..
if it doesn't, then that means no ebrake parking during winter

Stupid question, can we in fact put another set of front calipers in the rear (completely ignoring the spring mechanism for the ebrake at this point) ?

I guess you could just take the spring out but why would you do that. Fix it or get it fixed. Actually in a 5spd in NY if you remove the ebrake its illegal. Just some food for thought.

you should'nt engage the e-brake in extreme cold anyway. it will lock up and not release properly, causing premature wear and warping of roders. rule of thumb i've gone by with every car i've ever owned. 10 total.

good idea, so what do you do when you own a 5 speed max and have to park on a hill???? That is not an option.

Happened to me and i swapped out the calipers and it works fine now

Just throw 2 new rear calipers on. They only cost about $100 each and take about a half hour each to replace - including bleeding. I'm on my second set (so I know how easy they are to change), but I AM going on 200K miles.

A mechanic once explained to me that cars like ours that use the calipers also for the emergency brake are prone to the pistons freezing up.

And besides losing your E-brake, the front calipers are much larger. I never looked specifically, but I'd guess the mounting holes wouldn't even be close to use the fronts on the rear.

bleed the calipers in the rear (might as well do the whole car) more than likely there is moisture build up in the lines that its freezing on cold days and not warm days. a full bleed should cure the problem

the brake cable do tend to seize up and its a common problem there is a write up in motorvate.

heres the link for the cable http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/303

if not just pull the ebrake a few times and hopefully it loosens up the cable or caliper.

so has anyone figured out a way to completely fix it?

One way to do this Is to use Pb blaster and some seizing compound on the calipers when your doing the brake changes or tire rotation every oil change possible. I had mine right rear caliper seize on me 2 years ago since than no problems and I have been using the e-brake in all condtions.

I think MDeezy is on to something. Wow, so simple yet i never thought of that. Too bad im too lazy to actually take the 30 mins and do this and let you guys know if it works. Maybe i'll spend the 50 bucks and have nissan do it in like a week. Temps have been oddly warm here and i havent had the problem but yet 2 weeks ago when it was like 13 degrees out it was doing it then. This would make perfect sense.

was installing the new wheel studs for the driver side back yesterday..... found out they were stuck as hell and after removing two caliper mounting bolts had to hammer the hell out of it to free from rotor.....

Ye, them rear rotors can be a PITA to get off. Rubber malet can be your best friend for that job. You know how it is with these old cars, sometimes it takes a little ..... extra loving to get things loose.

^^^ LOL SOOOOO True!

Exact same thing happened to me last September. Turned out the the passenger side e-cable got pinched on lift dome time before and tore outer rubber coating. Water gets in there and starts to corode everything. When it got real cold the water would freeze inside and hold cable in place. Bought a new cable at NAPA and replaced it. It was kind of a pain but it got done. Autozone replacements are ng. There are made of a vinyl coating that is prone to splitting... Just my 2 cents worth