lack of use or design flaw?

 

the design we have is very common for sticking, water dirt and debri get in the lines and if you dont take care of that you will get a stuck ebrake,

our rear calipers have the ebrake built into the caliper and it no longer a favorable design in most cars because it causes issues like this.

right now my one side is disconnected,

either replace the line or clean it out if it is not too bad, i also heard of getting some nice wad of grease on the ends where the dirt and water can get in to keep it out.

 

i had a rear caliper replaced one time because of this, the next morning.... the damn brand new caliper was stuck frozen.....

in hindsight i didnt nead a caliper at all, it was the e-brake line ! sucks. most shops wont think beyond the immediate problem to truly understand the reason the part is failing.

 

Super common issue. I get lifetime calipers from a local parts store. Every few years I have to replace them.

The parking brake cables also sieze.

 

Make sure you go with oem on the ebrake cables. Might seem silly for such a simple part, but unless you want to replace it with an aftermarket cable only to have it seize immediately in the exact same manner, go with oem.

 

It's possible that my experience is an outlier, but the parking brake has never seized, or been stuck on any of my maxima's (and I still use it everyday) and compared to other vehicles I've had, it's been solid.

However as Slamrod how pointed out, non OEM parts can cause more frequent failures. The experience that I've had with other parts matches this. Original parts are for the most part dependable, but when they wear/fail and get replaced by low quality aftermarket, then that part fails much more frequently.

 

so if one was to "build" a max it sounds like a retro fit to different OEM calipers and cable (basically a whole new setup) might be favorable. other wise new OEM lines and a wad of grease and use them daily.

 

I've lucked out with aftermarket cables installed two years ago, but the previous ones failed because of worn exterior housing near where they connect to the calipers allowing water/salt to get in and corrode everything. With that potential flaw and just the rears seizing up prematurely in general now I annually inspect the brakes, re-lube the pins, and check the parking brake cables for any required patching. Hoping that will keep them working for a long time.

 

how expensive are the cables? wonder if i could stock an extra set or 2.

 

this is the preventative answer to all 5th gen sticking e-brakes. grease up that spot where dirt and water can get in on the ends (most common susceptible entry point), and inspect any areas that may need patching in the middle of the lines