Scion Rear Brake locking up

[Ron]

My 2011 Scion XB started periodically making a horrible grinding noise during and after braking. I figured i had a bad caliper. With 150,000 miles on the car, I figured I’d just replace everything to get it done completely. I ordered new rotors, pads, and calipers for both rear wheels (fronts are in good shape). Other than the parking brake assembly where the e-cable attaches to the caliper (also came new with the new caliper), it looks like a standard disc braking system. I took everything apart (after watching your videos) and installed the new parts. Everything went well until the test drive. At first, the test drive was good – it stops, starts, no noises going forward or reverse while coasting or when braking. But, the more I drove, the more the vehicle would slow down when coasting to the point where the car would stop by itself (without pressing the brake) and there was smoke and a burning odor coming from the back wheels. I took it all apart (after it cooled down) and checked to make sure the brake fluid was flowing and was bled properly, the pads were installed correctly and moved within the glides, the gasket on the caliper piston was fully in-tact, the slide pins moved easily and were lubricated with silicone paste, and the caliper was installed on the correct side (with bleeder value near top). I opened the caliper piston again by using needle nose pliers and turning it clock-wise to depress the cylinder, re-assembled it and everything seemed good again. I had my son pump the brakes and the more he pumped the brakes, the tighter the caliper got to the point were I could no longer turn the rotors by hand. I’ve repeated this process 3 times now and checked everything I know and researched Google and other forums and have called some DIY’ers and the Scion dealership to try to figure out what I did or did not do correctly and nobody has been able to provide a solution. Do you have any suggestions on what is happening and how to fix it?

Topic

[Dave Tidman]

How are the brake hoses? Sounds like it may be collapsing internally. If you crack the bleeder when the caliper is in the state where the rotor will not turn and fluid comes out (and the caliper releases), it’s likely the hose.

[Ron]

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it, but it did not make a difference. Brake fluid came out, but the piston did not release.

I went back to the old calipers, cleaned them up a bit and reinstalled them as a test and they work correctly. I can only assume there is something wrong with the new calipers. What that is, I don’t know, but I guess I’ll take that up with Centric and see what they have to say about it.

[ed k]

i’m leaning towards the new calipers being defective…… could also be the brake hoses as the other user mentioned or parking brake adjustment

i recently did a brake job on my xB and did have some minor issues with the rear brakes; the boot around the piston was binding up a bit and the inside pads had slightly uneven wear, i think the previous installer didn’t line up the notch on the pad with the dimple in the piston

enjoy your xB they’re great cars

[PaulKim]

Disconnect the hand brake cable at the new caliper and see if it works as intended

[Author]

Replies