Chumacher

I took my car into a mechanic and he told me I have to change my rear brake pads, rotors, and calipers. I thought I'd post this on CL to get a second opinion. How do I tell if my caliper has seized? My car is 12 yrs old and has 162,000km (101,000miles). Is it common for the mileage and age to have seized calipers? When I drive on the highway and I have to brake hard my car shakes a little. What could be the cause of that? Also I noticed the rear brakes are grinding metal to metal when I apply the brakes and when I accelerate I can hear them but the sound slowly goes away. I've been driving like this for 60km's and I'm wondering if my rotors are still good. If anyone has any advice on what I should change (brake pads and rotors and/or calipers) please let me know. Any advice is welcome. Thank you

baddis es

iTrader: (3)

not to be a d*ck or anything, but u should of addressed this 60km's ago when this came up...probably did more harm by letting it get so far.

you'll probably have to either change or rebuild calipers, new rotors and pads. mite as well upgrade to something while yur at it. could turn out as a good thing in the end if you decide to upgrade.

still qwerks me as to why you'd keep driving and having your brakes in this bad a shape...definitely not the wisest decision

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

Brembo, hawk, Akebono, carbotech, posiquiet, many more.. search and you will find.. GL

shoeshine

iTrader: (3)

if you can still stop when u press the brake, then i would say ur calipers aren't seized. the grinding metal noise while braking is prolly just that, metal on metal. ur pads sound like they're are worn down to the metal. definitely been long overdue for some new pads. the grinding/scraping noise ur hearing while driving, i assume is more noticeable at slower speeds and seems to go away at higher speeds. that most likey it's coming from ur rotor. i had that noise coming from a rear rotor once so i replaced all 4 with r1's and matched em with akebono pads. been a great since.

PushinLEX

iTrader: (9)

I would replace your whole brake assembly with new OEM parts. But that's just me.

BCP43002

If your steering wheel shakes when you brake, your front rotors are warped. If you feel the shakes from your seat, it's the rears. Look for grooves on the outside and inside of the rotors. You could have them cut if they are not that bad or replace them if you are keeping the car a long time.

Look at your brake pads and see if the outside one is worn more or less then the inside one. If a caliper is siezed one side could wear quicker.

fenderzig

iTrader: (2)

^^^^^ Good input!^^^^^

I just upgraded my rotors and pads for under $400 from VIP. They're a vendor on here. I went with the R1 vented Premium rotors and the Axxis Deluxe pads. Since it sounds like you are going to have to fix your rotors and your pads anyway, you might as well upgrade. It's not difficult to install the rotors and pads yourself. Talk to Chris at VIP and see what he can do for you. GL!

KingNasGS4

iTrader: (22)

Ive had a seized caliper before and the car was braking fine, but it was just wearing that brake pad quicker than normal...

and do you guys suggest getting new rotors if they are going bad? or just getting them resurfaced?

shoeshine

iTrader: (3)

just go with new. r1's aren't bad at all as far as quality and price. there's quite a few members that have went with these.

shvc1991

A seized caliper can be seized in the clamping position, not just the open position.

It can cause abnormal and rapid brake wear.

You can easily tell if one of your calipers are seized in the clamping if you see copious amounts of brake dust and excessive heat coming from a tire. It can also cause mild to intense shaking during driving, warped rotors, pulsation during braking, and funky noises (think of driving on a flat).

How do I know? I've gone through 3 calipers.

smawl23

I got a gs400, I got the OEM rotors right now. Im trying to get some new front and rear rotors any suggestions