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I noticed today that the car is displaying symptoms which make me wonder whether there is a problem with the brakes or the wheel. I noticed when in traffic that there was an ever so slight creaking noise when pulling away. A bit later I thought that it seemed as though when I come to a stop, the car seems to 'settle' slightly - it stops ever so slightly more abruptly than usual, and seems less inclined to roll back on slopes. From the feel and the sound, I wondered whether it could be that the rear offside brake might be sticking, or that it might be the wheel bearings. Or like the handbrake's engaged slightly. There's no smoke, noise or (as far as I can tell) excessive heat. Once moving it's imperceptible.
Possibly worth getting checked, I'll keep an eye on it. Just wondered whether anyone recognised the symptoms. Should I be worried?
What car is it?
If it is a brake sticking you should notice it being hotter than the other side after a drive.
It's a Mazda6 2005.
Disk or drum?
Disk.
Hand on the wheel if its hoter on one side than tuther your brakes a binding.
Pretty common with rear disks as in general not alot of force goes through them and they are jammed on for long periods when the car is stationary. With rear disks it is pretty similar to bike disks with sticky pistons. The only complication is that some car rear pistons require a wind back tool to push the piston back in.
If you are car savvy then jack the car up, pop the wheel off and the pads out of the brake. Pump the prake to push the piston out a little and then smear some dot fluid on it and foce back in. Repete this a couple of times to get any build up of crap out and it should sort it out. Two things to look out for 1- a seal may have been blown between the piston and caliper (you would see this trapped between the two bits) 2 - once you have cleaned the piston and put every thing back together remember to pump the breaks before you head off.
Sticking handbrake cable
Wedge front wheels, and jack car up one side at a time, take handbrake off,and spin wheel, pull wheel side to side, to check for bearing failure.
Repeat other side.
Have had this twice now (different cars, front wheel both times). The first time it was very obvious - the alloy wheel was red hot, smelt like the end of the world and the binding affected acceleration.
The local garage had it apart twice, cleaned the whole lot out and declared it was fine. Another garage fitted new pads and declared it good to go. Eventually took it to a Mr Clutch type place who reckoned the caliper needed replacing so I bit the bullet, had the work done and problem solved.
Just had the same thing on my Volvo but nowhere near as severe - just burny smell,wheels warm to touch and other symptoms as above ^^^OP^^^. Didn't want to fanny around wasting cash this time so after the first garage cleaned it all and the problem remained, I told them to just replace the caliper which they did for (IIRC) somewhere around £140. Sorted!
Thanks all.
also check the rear pads can move properly in the carriers..
I had an MR2 where they would bind in the carriers so they would in effect stick on a bit after brakes been applied.
Removed pads and cleaned up (file/wire brush) all mating surfaced - pad backing plate + carriers.
you can test for this by hard appling the brakes then take the caliper off... if the wheel does not spin freely with the caliper off the pads are binding
Just go to somewhere that does MOT tests and get them to put it on their brake rollers. Takes them five minutes, will probably cost you a tenner and you'll know exactly what's sticking.
If you're paying for other peoples labour, stick a recon calliper on.
Could be two things...the handbrake mech return spring on the caliper might have gone weak / mech just seized up. Have a look & there should be a 13mm bolt head, give this a squirt of WD40 along with the spring, then work the bolt a little. This should free it up. If the spring has gone weak its a new caliper. Pretty sure an 05 Mazda will be same as a Ford. Other thing is the sliders that the caliper runs on. They can seize. Take off the caliper & there will be two spring loaded pins, these should be free to move in/out. If seized will need replacing. Some dealers will only sell a caliper mount complete, some will sell the pins.
It will only be dodgy brakes if some things getting hot, if its not then move on and look else where, no need to start taking stuff apart, paying some one to take stuff apart.
If the creak is from the rear- pull the handbrake up 2 notches and drive circa 5mph for 20m's or so.
Fronts- wash the alloys clean. I noticed my alloys picked up alot of brake dust alot quicker.
The ultimate test though is to take it to a garage.