GT-S rear brake caliper woes

[daSchtick]

Yesterday, I was driving to work with my window down, and every time I used my brakes, I could hear a squeak starting from my left rear wheel. So last night, I took off the wheel to see what was wrong, and it turned out that the INSIDE pad was completely worn out, to the start of the wear indicator, although the outside was like new. So I checked the slides, and sure enough, the lower one was corroded enough that it did not slide anymore.

So I decided to check the right rear, and the inside pad was a bit more worn than the outside, and one of those slides was getting a little sticky. Ironically, both of the front brakes looked perfect, had lots of pad left of them, and the slides seemed to be working okay. I don't believe that the brake slides should be freezing up on a 18 month old car with only 17,000 miles on it. On a 10 year old car with 100,000+ miles, maybe.

Note: The outside pads on both sides look like new, and the only way you can tell if this may becoming a problem is to remove the wheel and check the inside pad. I have made an appointment at the dealer, but I am not looking forward to it, as they will probably try to wiggle out of a warranty claim as they say "brakes are a wear item".

Has anyone else noticed any similar problems? Also, I looked at the Alldata TSB site, and found nothing. Wasn't there a location on this site that listed TSBs other than the Alldata link? I thought that someone had a complete list somewhere, but I cannot locate it. (I just find it hard to believe that I would be the only person with this issue.)

-Nick

[bagodoosh]

same happened here except that my rear passenger side rotor was damaged. dealer said brakes need to be cleaned (err.. every 15k?). thats for them to clean/lube the slides. since mine was rusted and generaly looked like it had not been cleaned (because it had not) they refused to replace them under warranty.

i think on mine however the outside was the worn side.

[harrison888]

you should bug them to give you a new caliper

[fluids_gts]

I have an 16-month old GTS which had the same problem. I was replacing the brake pads w/ Portefield Rs-4 for an upcoming track event, and all the stock pads had 1mm or less worn from them except for the left rear. I don't remember at the moment which of the pads were worn (inboard or outboard), but the caliper slides were jammed. The seals on the slides were intact, and they looked in reasonable condition, but it was stuck. I freed it up before replacing the pads, but who knows if it will happen again. I plan on rechecking them in a couple weeks to see if they are still loose.

[marcus_GTS]

Hmm. I can't say anything about U.S. maintenance requirements, but here in Canada, lubrication of brake components doesn't show up on the maintenance schedule. The closest they come is "inspection of calipers", which doesn't happen until 2 years/32000 kms (20000 miles). If they try to blame you for the caliper failure based on lack of maintenance, ask them to show you where caliper pin lubrication is shown in the maintenance requirements. If it isn't, then they don't have a leg to stand on. Regardless of what your dealer tells you, failure of caliper components is NOT normal wear and tear.

[daSchtick]

marcus_GTS,

I feel the same way - I checked my maintenance schedule, and it mentioned "inspect brakes" also, but nothing about "brake slide lubrication". I always check my brakes myself, and the pads looked great, and were wearing evenly last fall. I am sure that winter is the culprit of this corrosion. It appears to be a problem with these cars, so I will lubricate the slides everytime I rotate the tires from now on, but for right now, I just hope the will cover me under warranty. Of all of my cars, I've never had the slides freeze up on me like this - especially on a brand NEW car!

-Nick

[daSchtick]

Well, I went to the dealer yesterday (Wilde Toyota - West Allis, WI), and I am extermely satisfied. They took one look at the rear brakes, and said that they would be replacing both rear calipers and pads UNDER WARRANTY! Both slides were sticking pretty good, so instead of just trying to 'patch' it, they decided to fix it properly.

The calipers were not in stock, so they ordered them (due early next week), got the existing slides to work temporarily, and pulled back the wear indicator (there's enough meat left on the worn pad), so that I could drive the car until next week.

They will be receiving a nice complimentary letter from me when this is all said and done. Outstanding dealer sevice, not to mention extended service hours (6am-9pm M-T), are NOT the norm. It is nice to drive a car with a repututation for reliability, and even nicer for the dealership to stand behind it's products 100% with great service.

-Nick

[gts24]

that's nuts that the pads wore out that quickly.... better go check mine out...

[bagodoosh]

you bastard! burn in hell. :D

[Takeoff]

I better check mine too. Does anyone have the problem that when you reverse your brake screach really loud. It only happens in reverse and not on forward braking. Is this a problem.

[fastcelica]

oh crap, I have noticed that my brakes dont seem to be working as well as they used to within the last week or so. Maybe my brake pads are stuck or wearing out improperly. man.... now I got to get that crap looked at.

[daSchtick]

Originally posted by bagodoosh
you bastard! burn in hell. :D

Sorry :)

I think it helped that my front brakes were hardly worn, but only one pad on one rear brake was nearly gone. Needless to say, I will be inspecting and lubricating the slides frequently in the future.

-Nick