Posted: 3/6/2013 11:44:20 AM EDT
So, my day started off fairly well. I found a buyer for my M&P 40 and drove to the bank to use the cash to pay off all but $150 on my credit card. I get to the bank and put the parking brake on ( 2004 Grand Prix ). Quick in and out. On my way home, I notice my car is revving higher than normal and braking is horrible, then my low tire light pops on. I stop in the nearest parking lot to check all the air in my tires( they were fine ), but my back brakes were smoking . I look at both back brakes and the brakes were locked. Needless to say I was pissed and drove it less than a mile to Big O ( not my normal place to go, but it was the only close place ).
Come to find out my parking brake seized when I used it at the bank and fried my back brakes, calipers, rotors, and my brake fluid turned black. In the end, me using my parking brake cost me $771 to fix and still need to replace the barking brake cables. If I didn't have a puppy that was in a kennel for about 2 hours and didn't need immediate attention, I would have tried to shop around. Now I have a larger Credit Card debt then what I started with..... Not too happy now.... 
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Sorry man.
I had that happen once too. It was on a vehicle that I never used the Parking brake. I used it one day on a hill in the winter after it had snowed a few times... and the salt had a chance to speed the rusting... locking the cables up real guud, and it froze and cost me big time too. |
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Was there a reason you used your parking brake? I can see doing this in a manual, but I've never used my parking brake in an auto, unless I am on a really steep hill. Either way, that sucks. Normally at a slight incline and go from park to either reverse or drive the tranny makes a "clunk" sound. No clue why. It shifts perfectly, no leaks, and service is up to date on it. So, I use the P brake to stop it from clunking. Needless to say, I'm not using the park brake anymore, as that's an additional $300 to fix. Oh well, ramen for the next few weeks to get that bill paid down, as I hate keeping a balance on my credit card. |
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Sorry man. I had that happen once too. It was on a vehicle that I never used the Parking brake. I used it one day on a hill in the winter after it had snowed a few times... and the salt had a chance to speed the rusting... locking the cables up real guud, and it froze and cost me big time too. No clue what caused it, as I use it a few times a month. |
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You don't use your parking brake when you park? You know you're putting all the stress on the transmission instead of the brakes. Transmissions repairs make brake repairs look cheap. I have never, ever used my parking brake and I don't know anyone who does. Perhaps on a very steep hill but otherwise? 
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You don't use your parking brake when you park? You know you're putting all the stress on the transmission instead of the brakes. Transmissions repairs make brake repairs look cheap. I have never, ever used my parking brake and I don't know anyone who does. Perhaps on a very steep hill but otherwise?
I guess it's there for show then. |
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You don't use your parking brake when you park? You know you're putting all the stress on the transmission instead of the brakes. Transmissions repairs make brake repairs look cheap. I use the parking brake EVERY time I park for this very reason. And yeah, if you don't use it every time, it will corrode, and eventually stick, like the OP found out. Of course, a bit of common sense should have said to stop and check, as having the parking brakes on will cause a LOT of drag. Lesson learned...the hard way. |
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You don't use your parking brake when you park? You know you're putting all the stress on the transmission instead of the brakes. Transmissions repairs make brake repairs look cheap. I use the parking brake EVERY time I park for this very reason. And yeah, if you don't use it every time, it will corrode, and eventually stick, like the OP found out. Of course, a bit of common sense should have said to stop and check, as having the parking brakes on will cause a LOT of drag. Lesson learned...the hard way. Sadly, I use it every time I'm on a hill or incline ( few times a week ). Car is not exposed to the elements all the time, as it's garaged. So there is not much of a chance of it degrading by elements. Car is thoroughly washed, undercarriage included, after every winter to remove any build up from road salts. On top of that I don't drive much. I only drove 1,100 miles in the last 6 months, 25k miles in the almost 5 years of owning the car. I take excellent care of my vehicle. As for the dragging, it was barely noticeable and I did pull over as soon as I could after I knew something was wrong. Can't pull over going up a hill with no shoulder and cars behind you. |
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You don't use your parking brake when you park? You know you're putting all the stress on the transmission instead of the brakes. Transmissions repairs make brake repairs look cheap. When you pull into a parking spot what is your procedure? Your car is running, in drive, you pull into a parking spot and then what? |
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How the hell dont you notice that your rear brakes are locked up.... Its pretty obvious.... fail on your part. Its real fucking easy to drive a rear DISK brake equipped car with the parking brake on. I figured you would have known that Grand Prix's are rear drive? Since when? |
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How the hell dont you notice that your rear brakes are locked up.... Its pretty obvious.... fail on your part. Its real fucking easy to drive a rear DISK brake equipped car with the parking brake on. I figured you would have known that Grand Prix's are rear drive? Since when? He never said they were RWD, BUT Gunguy is correct, they have 4 wheel DISK brakes. The Parking brake difference between drum and disk brakes is night and day difference. If they were drum, then you would automatically notice. Disk, nowhere near as noticeable. EDIT: Brake differences..In a rear drum situation, the emergency brake cable runs directly to the brake shoes, bypassing the hydraulic brake system. In this simple, mechanical bypass, the emergency brake system requires no extra parts to control the brakes. Cars with rear disc brakes have a more complicated emergency brake system, sometimes requiring an entire drum brake system to be mounted inside of the rear rotor, called an exclusive parking brake or auxiliary drum brake When the vehicle has rear disc brakes without an auxiliary drum brake, a caliper-actuated parking brake system is used. With this system, an additional lever and corkscrew is added to the existing caliper piston. When the emergency brake is pulled, the lever forces the corkscrew against caliper piston, and applies the brakes, again bypassing the hydraulic braking system. |
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Yep...
Not difficult to do when you've got rear discs... Most are basically a really small drum brake setup that handles the parking brake function. Parking brakes these days are honestly pretty much useless... I've seen MANY Brand new cars that can't hold themselves in place on even a SMALL incline with the parking brake. Anyway... Stitches... Next time bro... Just drive it home and call me... I'm close enough and I know what I'm doing. Cost of parts and a beer or two and you'd have been golden. |
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You guys are funny.
In my 20 plus years of wrenching I only saw a couple (if that many) broken auto tranny parking pawls. I saw a whole bunch of seized parking brake cables. I don't use my parking brake on anything (except the quad but that is entirely different). Even on my manual transmissions I use it little as possible. IIRC it went bad in 2001 and I sold it last fall still seized. YMMV |
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How the hell dont you notice that your rear brakes are locked up.... Its pretty obvious.... fail on your part. Its real fucking easy to drive a rear DISK brake equipped car with the parking brake on. I figured you would have known that Grand Prix's are rear drive? Since when? Grand Prix's are front wheel drive but have rear disk brakes. ETA - already answered. I'm too slow... 
Gran Prix, as well as all the other GM "W" body cars, have a notorious reputation for the exact problem that the OP experienced. They're not a bad car in general, but that rear brake problem is fairly common. My best suggestion for prevention would be to have the rear brake caliper slide pins lubed with a quality synthetic caliper grease as well as have new slide pin seals installed. All this can be done during a rear brake service. The added expense is minimal compared to what can happen if the caliper sticks (as pointed out by the OP's repair costs). |
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You guys are funny. In my 20 plus years of wrenching I only saw a couple (if that many) broken auto tranny parking pawls. I saw a whole bunch of seized parking brake cables. I don't use my parking brake on anything (except the quad but that is entirely different). Even on my manual transmissions I use it little as possible. IIRC it went bad in 2001 and I sold it last fall still seized. YMMV This... I've seen ONE... MINE. 8K Pound Truck Loaded with Probably 1K Cargo... and an 18K Loaded Trailer... Parked on a darn decent incline. Luckily I was still in the truck when it let go. |
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Yep... Not difficult to do when you've got rear discs... Most are basically a really small drum brake setup that handles the parking brake function. Parking brakes these days are honestly pretty much useless... I've seen MANY Brand new cars that can't hold themselves in place on even a SMALL incline with the parking brake. Anyway... Stitches... Next time bro... Just drive it home and call me... I'm close enough and I know what I'm doing. Cost of parts and a beer or two and you'd have been golden. Noted, plus I would add dinner for you and your wife.  Hopefully there won't be a next time
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Grand Prix's are front wheel drive but have rear disk brakes. Gran Prix, as well as all the other GM "W" body cars, have a notorious reputation for the exact problem that the OP experienced. They're not a bad car in general, but that rear brake problem is fairly common. My best suggestion for prevention would be to have the rear brake caliper slide pins lubed with a quality synthetic caliper grease as well as have new slide pin seals installed. All this can be done during a rear brake service. The added expense is minimal compared to what can happen if the caliper sticks (as pointed out by the OP's repair costs). Don't forget about Pontiac's other fuck up that should have been a recall, but wasn't. The way the vent in the hood drains rain water right on the damned heater/ac motor and resistor. The problem is solved with a $20.00 part. I paid $650 ish for the motor, resistor, labor, and the plastic part.  Another issue with them is the intake manifold. ( had it replaced before I bought the car ). Other than that, no issues, no leaks, always starts, and gets 30 MPG HWY doing 80
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That sux Mike . The exact same thing happened to my mom not long ago . She never used the EB and did one time and wam ... there she was . Glad you got home OK , it will work itself out man . Glad it happened in town, as I was supposed to go to Columbia today. Big O was nice enough to give me a ride to my house and picked me up when the car was done. |
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You guys are funny. In my 20 plus years of wrenching I only saw a couple (if that many) broken auto tranny parking pawls. I saw a whole bunch of seized parking brake cables. I don't use my parking brake on anything (except the quad but that is entirely different). Even on my manual transmissions I use it little as possible. IIRC it went bad in 2001 and I sold it last fall still seized. YMMV This... I've seen ONE... MINE. 8K Pound Truck Loaded with Probably 1K Cargo... and an 18K Loaded Trailer... Parked on a darn decent incline. Luckily I was still in the truck when it let go. I think I found your problem..... 
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You guys are funny. In my 20 plus years of wrenching I only saw a couple (if that many) broken auto tranny parking pawls. I saw a whole bunch of seized parking brake cables. I don't use my parking brake on anything (except the quad but that is entirely different). Even on my manual transmissions I use it little as possible. IIRC it went bad in 2001 and I sold it last fall still seized. YMMV This... I've seen ONE... MINE. 8K Pound Truck Loaded with Probably 1K Cargo... and an 18K Loaded Trailer... Parked on a darn decent incline. Luckily I was still in the truck when it let go. I think I found your problem.....
LOL... Yep! Dodge 48RE Auto in my Cummins Ram... Interestingly... It wasn't that bad a fix. |
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You don't use your parking brake when you park? You know you're putting all the stress on the transmission instead of the brakes. Transmissions repairs make brake repairs look cheap. When you pull into a parking spot what is your procedure? Your car is running, in drive, you pull into a parking spot and then what? Depends on which vehicle I'm driving, I have one auto and one manual. Manual: 1. Park 2. While holding the brake and clutch down, pull the parking brake. 3. Let off brake and let it rest on the parking brake. 4. Put it in first and turn off the car. 5. Release clutch. Auto: 1. Park 2. While holding the brake down, pull the parking brake. 3. Put the transmission in Park. Let off the brake. |