[Closed] Car brakes - can they freeze on?

Yes but they'll free within a few feet.

Could be the handbrake cable or the handbrake mechanisms sticking.It should not be your brake fluid.

Sounds like a mechanical fault, if brakes where hot that would melt any ice PDA. Lack off lube on a pivot or a return spring fault,

As said above, probably hand brake cable or mechanism on the rear calipers.
If both back brakes were hot then its almost certainly the handbrake cable. If just one back brake was hot then it could be either the mechanism or the section of cable (it splits like a Y) to that particular caliper.

Some Alfas are bad for it and doubtless others too. Handbrake cables wear, water gets trapped, it freezes and prevents the handbrake releasing properly. Replacing the cables is the only effective fix.

As I recall, some brake design/materials can jam in cold weather (differential expansion, cold bits and hot bits), which is one reason that a lot of simple materials and designs (ie old/dated) were used on Ladas. However I think this only makes a difference in Russian winter type cold conditions.

Please note this is a hazy memory and may well be wrong.

Some Astra based Vauxhalls are prone to this. Water dribbles down the exposed section of the handbrake cable and freezes. From memory it only affects vehicles with rear disc brakes.
Hth
Marko

Used to get this on the old MR2, the handbrake cables would get water in and then freeze. A lot of owners don't use the handbrake in cold weather as it seems to take an age to defrost.

Sure it's rear discs? Not drums? I know that sort of thing used to happen a lot in old minis with drums at the back. Has happened to a couple of focuses (focui??) as well with drums at the back... Just sometimes seize in the on position..
The cure on the mini used to just be a whack on the drum with a rubber mallet.. When it happened on my focus it released after a few feet with a twang..

This happened to me on Saturday morning. I have a Vauxhall Combo with disc's on the rear. The hand brake was stuck on. I'm no mechanic hence I have breakdown cover, so I called them out. He just started the van and rocked it forward and back in gear and an released it's self. 🙁 He said 'you just need to jolt the van' Felt a bit of a numpty but that's why I have the breakdown cover.

We had this on a Saab 9-5 last winter. One of the pistons on one rear caliper stuck on in cold weather after the handbrake was released. They will release themselves after a few metres with a usually-quite-worrying-but-it-isn't-really bang as the force of the movement frees up all the stuck/ frozen bits.

Better than my car not starting this morning (I think that was not pre-heating it enough as it's a diesel, but difficult to say that to my wife via email during the event).

My mum used to drive army lorries in the 50s. They were taught to park in gear, handbrake off in freezing conditions for just this reason.

Sadly, she still drives as if she's in a 4 ton truck 🙂

Of course, brakes can stick at any time, doesn't have to be because of cold weather.

Just had great fun with two delaminated drum shoes jamming the other halfs rear brakes on full, I hate drum brakes!

Thanks. It's definitely discs at the back. It's a Zafira which is an Astra chassis, so Marko's theory/ieeosg's problem sound like that might be it.

EDIT: too slow, that does seem strange with disc brakes.

Echoing the comments above, assuming it rear drum brake the old solution used to be to so a quick reverse (when possible), & then drive forward maybe a couple of times. This used to knock the pads out of there locked position.

Yep.. used to happen to my mk2 golf gti. Rear calipers would freeze on

Happened to me once on Skye. Local friendly mechanic put a piece of wood across width of back wheel and smacked it with a hammer on both rear wheels. Hey presto release sticking handbrake. Worth a try.

(I think that was not pre-heating it enough as it's a diesel, but difficult to say that to my wife via email during the event).

Are you posting from the 1980s?

Nope, just from a late 90s VM engine.

Thanks for asking though.

I had a fiat grande punto and the gear linkages would freeze!

It left me stuck at home on more than one occasion

Eh drac my 06 peugeot needs preheating too 10 seconds and itll start on the button . Turning without heating results in about 20 seconds turning over till it fires - and its normal for this engine ..... My mid 80s landys got worn piston rings - even with 30!second on the heaters it takes 10 seconds turning over to fire !

Happened occasionally with my Multipla. Driving off normally frees it, but not when the roads are completely iced over. Cue the amazing Fiat front-wheel drive sledge.....

Saab 9-5 has mini drums inside the rear discs for the handbrake, vw use the disk pads with a mechanical lever for the handbrake.

When there is a big freeze and whenever you have been driving in snow/slush you should park in gear and leave the handbrake off , if you do not then you risk frozen hand brake cable or mechanism that operates the brake. Automatics should be left in park, handbrake off.
Not sure that there is any option are when you have one of those electric
handbrakes.

For the OP , if your rear brakes were recently worked on then I would get them checked , just in case there is a problem related to the work done.

Happpened on my Multipla too, to the extent that when it was consistently below freezing according to the weather types, I didn't park with the handbrake on.

The cause is apparently water in the handbrake cable itself, which never gets warm, so sticks on. Hot water applied by hose pipe, or by squirting the cable with water from t'kettle fixed it.

could be rust in the brake cables or a combination of rusty cables and freezing water making the problem worse.

The inner rusts (just like cheap gear cables) and they can stick on.

Also as above with liners falling off and jamming on drums or sticking pistons/mechanisms on discs.

If they have not free'd up in a few metres then likely to be something wrong mechanically and not just ice.

If your handbrake feels a bit draggy and elastic when pulling up then likely to be cables.

Does this on my motorbike if its been wet and the temp drops. A quick smack with a hammer on the caliper and the pistons are back to working normally.

Drove back to the garage the next morning and asked the mechanic what he thought. He reckoned it could be the caliper, or could just be a one off due to the cold. No damage to the disc as far as he could see. He gave the same advice about leaving it in gear with the handbrake off in cold weather.