Hello,

Last Friday, I started up my car in the morning to go to work (it was about 25°F, snow on the road) my passenger side rear wheel would lock up when I drove on patches of snow/ice (and no, I didn’t forget to pull down my parking brake). I stopped on a slight slope, kept my foot off the brakes, and the car would remain there, it wouldn’t go downhill… After a few miles warming up, the problem disappeared. 6 miles later, I pull on the parking lot of the office, and the rear right wheel was pretty hot (smoke + burning smell). Thinking it’s a seized caliper, I get a new one from Autozone, replaced it and everything was fine after that.

This morning, it’s 25°F again, and same problem. It also disappears after driving a few miles.

Note that, when the car is cold, I can pull the parking brake up and hear 5 clicks before I can feel it engaging. When the car is warmed up, and the problem is gone, I can pull up my parking brake and hear only 3 clicks before I can feel it engaging.

What could it be?

Thanks,

 

Edit. I read it wrong.

It is either the parking brake cable or the caliper.
Was the one you bought a remanufactured unit?

 

Bad Emergency brake cable its common on our car and always the pass side rear.

 

Sounds like your parking brake cable is sticking. Try going under the car (with the wheels chocked) and looking at the travel of the levers on the back of the calipers. While your having this the sticking problem you should be able to tap the levers on the calipers towards the release position, you will be able to see if the parking cable is holding them or not.

 

The new caliper came with new parking brake lever/spring assembly so I doubt the problem comes from the new caliper.

It normally returns to the full release position when the parking brake is released.

It was a brand new caliper

 

If you have time unhook the cable from the car completly and soak it in wd40 then oil it real good then reinstall it.check the end boot of the cable on the caliper side make sure its sealing and no signs of rust and water in it.

 

^Then you shouldn't have that "dead" travel when you first pull the hand brake.

 

hmm...interesting. i'm having a similar issue, while my rear pass wheel/hub doesnt 'seize', the park brake does the same thing. no tension until about 5-6 clicks AND i can def feel it only engaging the drv rear when i let off the brake.

a week ago i pulled the rear wheel and it seems the mechanical/sprung lever on the caliper is not releasing-the cable seems to be fine. i had to bang the lever back to 'start/off' position and it was fine for a few days then came right back. i feel i'll need to replace the caliper to get the ebrake component back to normal.

 

Yuuuuup, replace the parking brake cable.

 

So this is the part I would need to replace?

 

Depending on cost, i'd do both sides. Unless one looks like it's already been replaced.
Replacing the front doesn't have to be done with the rear because it will take quite a while longer to collect rust and cause an issue. But the rear cables usually go bad within a comparable time frame due to their locations.

If you plan on keeping the car for quite some time, and can justify the added up front cost, Replace both rear cables.

 

What's the price on these? Any idea? Can I get it from anywhere else than the dealership?

Edit: Nevermind, I found some on www.autopartswarehouse.com for about $30 each

 

I have a new OEM Hub (43200-2Y000) if you need one! Sold my Gen 5 for a Gen 6.

 

Cheap design on these cars! I've never seen this level of issues on the third gen!!
I'd personally try to oil the one you got before dumping $30 into replacing it.
I've been thinking maybe the powdered graphite would do better at loosening and keeping these cables working than the oils (d40 or pb).

 

For $30 its easier to replace with new part than try to fix the old damaged part mainly due to the difficulty of getting the can in and out. If your fix doesn't work then you're back to square one and quite a bit of time lost. Also, the 10 mm bolts usually snap and break off so putting in a new cable makes most sense.

This is not just a 5th gen issue. 4th gens are notorious to having seized brake cables. I have done a few of these on the 4th gens. Actually, I just did one yesterday but it was a buick. These things just go bad when the outer jacket or insulator get damaged due to age or getting hit.

 

I have the cable already and will replace it next week. I'll update this thread to let everyone know if it worked... I'll just need another night with temperatures below 32 to confirm it fixed the problem.

 

I'll also need a new brake rotor now. Last time it seized, I drove it about a mile to the store, by the time I got there, it was glowing red... Sooo pretty!

 

Fail. Month old thread.

In the future please just PM the poster if you actually are trying to help.