Another brakes question

[kcsun]

Not sure if this is the correct part of the forum but....

After I have washed and dried the car and let it "air dry" for a couple of hours, I then put it in the garage under its cover. It may be a week or more till the car is used and I am finding the brakes are locked on solid. Put the car in drive or reverse, release the handbrake if light is on and the car just will not move. I have to use frighteningly high revs, then a bang and the brakes release, slamming them back on before the car rockets through the back wall of the garage!!!
If car goes out and it is a dry day the brakes are still ok after a couple of weeks in the garage. I believe it is "only" surface rust on the disc but it very worrying that the car may end up under a brick wall, through the garage door or hurtling down the drive.
The wife suggested spraying oil on the discs which i chose to ignore, in the same sentence she asked where the Life insurance policy was??????

Joking aside any suggestions?

kc

 

[whitenemesis]

After washing and drying my car I usually go for a brief spin to dry off the brakes.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Not sure if this is the correct part of the forum but....

After I have washed and dried the car and let it "air dry" for a couple of hours, I then put it in the garage under its cover. It may be a week or more till the car is used and I am finding the brakes are locked on solid. Put the car in drive or reverse, release the handbrake if light is on and the car just will not move. I have to use frighteningly high revs, then a bang and the brakes release, slamming them back on before the car rockets through the back wall of the garage!!!
If car goes out and it is a dry day the brakes are still ok after a couple of weeks in the garage. I believe it is "only" surface rust on the disc but it very worrying that the car may end up under a brick wall, through the garage door or hurtling down the drive.
The wife suggested spraying oil on the discs which i chose to ignore, in the same sentence she asked where the Life insurance policy was??????

Joking aside any suggestions?

kc

When I had a Porsche that I spent more time cleaning than driving, I’d take it for a shortish run after washing it. This served the dual purpose of getting everything up to temperature to make sure the engine had a good coating of oil for its innards and ensured that the brake discs were properly dry. During the drive I’d very gently apply the brakes several times to give them a good clean. Even after a month of sitting in the garage there was no sign of rust on the discs and I could even push the car out of the garage without any problem.

 

[daveenty]

I know exactly what you mean and agree that it's an absolute nightmare listening to the bang as the brakes reluctant;y release themselves. I have visions of the lining material parting from the pads ultimately. Every time I wash mine I do the same as you, letting it dry off on it's own accord after a pat down on the bodywork.

I do however always take it for a "drive round the block", usually around a 3 - 5 mile trip, which seems to have the desired effect of drying the brakes out and, whilst not necessarily eliminating the problem completely, certainly goes some way to alleviating it. I know it seems possibly counter intuitive after you've just cleaned it but it will help to stop them sticking.

Incidentally, it seems to be more noticeable on Mercedes than on any other make of car though this is possibly due to the fact that I've had a good few of them now and tend to clean them more often than my other stuff...

Oh, and don't bother with the oil suggestion, it could end in tears.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

After washing and drying my car I usually go for a brief spin to dry off the brakes.

What do you do if it rains for 2 weeks, park up ?

 

[whitenemesis]

What do you do if it rains for 2 weeks, park up ?

My car sits outside all year and is used most days.
Even after heavy rain, never mind washing, if not used for 24hrs the pads seize on the front but never the rears. The discs rust over within hours!

 

[V6GBJ]

Not sure if this is the correct part of the forum but....

After I have washed and dried the car and let it "air dry" for a couple of hours, I then put it in the garage under its cover. It may be a week or more till the car is used and I am finding the brakes are locked on solid. Put the car in drive or reverse, release the handbrake if light is on and the car just will not move. I have to use frighteningly high revs, then a bang and the brakes release, slamming them back on before the car rockets through the back wall of the garage!!!
If car goes out and it is a dry day the brakes are still ok after a couple of weeks in the garage. I believe it is "only" surface rust on the disc but it very worrying that the car may end up under a brick wall, through the garage door or hurtling down the drive.
The wife suggested spraying oil on the discs which i chose to ignore, in the same sentence she asked where the Life insurance policy was??????

Joking aside any suggestions?

kc

If your garage floor is level, why not release the park brake? This is what I do with both the SL and GLE.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

My car sits outside all year and is used most days.
Even after heavy rain, never mind washing, if not used for 24hrs the pads seize on the front but never the rears. The discs rust over within hours!

Do you know the disc brand ?

 

[Rory]

.
The wife suggested spraying oil on the discs which i chose to ignore, in the same sentence she asked where the Life insurance policy was??????

Joking aside any suggestions?

I don't know anything about using them, but there are 'rust stopper' products that the folks who fanatical detailers use - I found this one by Googling: Hyde's Serum Rust Stopper There's another called something lke 'Dry Coat'.

However I do same as others - take the car for a quick spin around our village, with a few decent applications of the brake pedal, after washing. I'm able to roll my car to its parking spot without firm braking so the pads aren't hard against the disc. I also leave it in Park with handbrake off.

 

[kcsun]

Thanks for the quick replies, seems like a cruise round the block is the answer. I never operate the parking brake, the tech in the car seems to apply it whether i want it or not????
The car is a 2019 model, lt still has the original Mb discs as it has only done 3500 miles and the garage floor is level

kc

 

[daveenty]

Thanks for the quick replies, seems like a cruise round the block is the answer. I never operate the parking brake, the tech in the car seems to apply it whether i want it or not????
The car is a 2019 model, lt still has the original Mb discs as it has only done 3500 miles and the garage floor is level

kc

A few replies here don't seem to realise that some of us have no option but to apply the parking brake as it will go on anyway. Mine also automatically applies it as soon as the car is stopped and the door is opened.
Not a lot of choice in the matter really.

 

[optimusprime]

I never leave my service brake on at any time when the car is not used . I have four wooden scotches, i pop them under the wheels ..Water on the brake pads and the drum wall and they will rust in place . So try it scotch your wheels in the garage after use .I am on a drive that slopes down i leave the wooden block on the drive and on return i drive on to the drive put the selector in nutral before i get to the scotch and just coast down ,,then once i am on the scotch i slip it in to P . So try it and if its still the same then its the front or rear calipers sticking on the slide pins. I have have one thing to add to this ..Some time the disc pad material can part company from the back plate .This happens after the pad material rusts on to the disc. and then moves down and get stuck in the caliper and disc this can show up with a very loud bang .

 

[daveenty]

OK, one more time.

The parking brake (electronic) applies automatically, nothing can be done about this. As soon as the door is opened, engine running or not, the brake is on. And my car lives on a scissor lift in the garage so obviously no risk of rolling as it's in the air.

 

[geoffus]

Just ride round the block and give the brakes a few pumps, problem solved.

 

[optimusprime]

I skould have thought about this one first . No good asking old school lke me on this one .. But you need Mercedes to sort this out for you if the hand brake is electronic, then you have no chance of finding the problem .. The more nice electrical gizmos you have ,,then you will have more chances of them going wrong.

 

[whitenemesis]

Do you know the disc brand ?

I asked the question on the Lexus Owners forum and the only suggestion was Textar (TMD)

 

[Muckypaps]

The service brake is the foot brake

 

[Muckypaps]

I never leave my service brake on at any time when the car is not used . I have four wooden scotches, i pop them under the wheels

The service brake is the foot brake

 

[markjay]

Another option is - from time to time - releasing the parking parked, putting the transmission in neutral (with the engine off), then pushing the car a foot or do forward or backwards (if the garage space permits it). It's also good for the tyres....

 

[kcsun]

Another option is - from time to time - releasing the parking parked, putting the transmission in neutral (with the engine off), then pushing the car a foot or do forward or backwards (if the garage space permits it). It's also good for the tyres....

I will give that a try and let you know, I think the parking brake comes on automatically a door is opened, but worth a try

kc