I've had a persistent problem with my rear brakes. It started when my ABS would randomly engage during highway acceleration. I brought it to the dealer and they changed the rear driver's side wheel hub (apparently to replace a faulty speed sensor). This occurred around 40,000 miles. At a little over 60,000 miles, I started having some "hammering" of the brakes during hard braking. I brought it to the dealer but they said nothing was wrong with the car. Somehow they managed to cut one of my tires during testing so I had to pay them $100+ for diagnostics and then have my car out of service for a couple of weeks (special order tire). The mechanic did tell me that the rear drum brakes appeared to be too tight. Once the new tire came, I removed the drums and adjusted the screw on the rear brakes. This seemed to clear up the problem for a bit. A few months later my ABS totally cut out and the rear brakes failed to work at all. I brought it to my -reputable- mechanic, not the dealer, and they replaced the ABS controller and other related parts -- over $1000 in repair covered by warranty. The rear brakes and ABS began working after this. However starting about a week ago the "hammering" problem has returned -- I may just need to replace the rear drums and shoes. Between the actual repairs and attempted repairs / troubleshooting cost this was probably over $2000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I've had a persistent problem with my rear brakes. It started when my ABS would randomly engage during highway acceleration. I brought it to the dealer and they changed the rear driver's side wheel hub (apparently to replace a faulty speed sensor). This occurred around 40,000 miles. At a little over 60,000 miles, I started having some "hammering" of the brakes during hard braking. I brought it to the dealer but they said nothing was wrong with the car. Somehow they managed to cut one of my tires during testing so I had to pay them $100+ for diagnostics and then have my car out of service for a couple of weeks (special order tire). The mechanic did tell me that the rear drum brakes appeared to be too tight. Once the new tire came, I removed the drums and adjusted the screw on the rear brakes. This seemed to clear up the problem for a bit. A few months later my ABS totally cut out and the rear brakes failed to work at all. I brought it to my -reputable- mechanic, not the dealer, and they replaced the ABS controller and other related parts -- over $1000 in repair covered by warranty. The rear brakes and ABS began working after this. However starting about a week ago the "hammering" problem has returned -- I may just need to replace the rear drums and shoes. Between the actual repairs and attempted repairs / troubleshooting cost this was probably over $2000.
- Kyle K., Carlstadt, NJ, US