Brake maintenance - How to avoid seized brakes

[goldbrick]

I've found on my ICE cars that taking a quick look around when doing an oil change or swapping summer/winter tires can catch a lot of small problems before they become big problems. Still, it's dry here in CO so corrosion isn't an issue so I'm guessing the brakes on my 2017 Leaf won't need any attention for a few more years at least. I'll probably change the brake fluid this year or next but otherwise, it's still a virtually zero-maintenance car for me.

[estomax]

I put anti brake drag springs on mine a few weeks ago and the sliders were fine.

which springs did you install? i want to inspect my brakes next time i rotate my tires so i may as well do this.

[Nubo]

This is not necessary... The poster's car looks very rusty so maybe he needed to do that.

Those bolts will always be dirty, no matter how new they are. The only time you need to do this is if you are having "seizing" problems already. And even then, you will not notice any "seizing" until the brake pads wear out, and and you will see that the pads have worn unevenly. That is the only symptom of the slide pins.

This is not needed and not dangerous to any car owners. Brakes do not need maintenance, and will last the life of the brake pads.

The idea is that pads on an EV have a significantly longer life. Still short enough to preclude interim maintenance? Maybe but I do know that mine have developed a squeal when backing up that leads me to believe the grease between pads and shims (or perhaps other sliding surfaces) has dried up.
Not that it's dangerous at this point but probably worth my time to get in there and check things out. And if I'm going to remove calipers I might as well do the lot. I guess I could just go ahead and change pads as well but there's still tons of material left and I haven't had anything to complain about the stock pads other than the recent backup squeal.
I did have brakes get stuck once to the point where the fluid boiled. Not a fun day. Those were crappy old drum brakes but it still haunts me.

[estomax]

Nubo mine has started squealing on reverse too. I'm at 75k miles and I'm fairly sure noone has touched the brakes. Going to take then apart and clean/grease things.

[powersurge]

Nubo mine has started squealing on reverse too. I'm at 75k miles and I'm fairly sure noone has touched the brakes. Going to take then apart and clean/grease things.

Ok, since the Leaf can apparently go up to 100K miles before brake pad replacement, I can see that checking the brake slides may be an item.

However, I do not think that a brief squeak in reverse when pulling out of the driveway justifies taking the calipers off....

Also, yes you may want to pull the caliper slide pins off to re-grease them at 50-75K miles, but that is your choice as a home mechanic.

As a Leaf owners forum here, I do not want to concern Leaf owners that this is a problem they need to worry about as a safety issue with the brakes by NOT doing this.

I do not recommend that general (non-mechanical) Leaf owners run to their mechanics and demand to t heir mechanics that they need to re-grease the calipers. Calipers are not delicate, and can go over 100,000 miles or more with no attention.

What I am saying to everyone (including non-mechanics) that doing the re-greasing will be a benefit, but it is not necessary. I see this similar to waxing your car.... If you want to wax your car every weekend, it is good... But not necessary.

[gncndad]

This is a great forum. Lots of useful discussion, and reasonable people willing to listen to each other.

Stay healthy!

[Oilpan4]

I used Raybestos h6016 springs.
I calculated how much power it will save, looks like about 200 to 300 watts at 65mph.
Which works good for me because about 80% of my driving is on the highway.

[estomax]

oilpan, you used these sames ones for front and rear? seems neat, i will order a set and install them when i take the pads off to solve the reverse squeal. thanks!

$8.24 shipped from rockauto. love cheap tinker projects like this

Marko

[Oilpan4]

I think I used the same oneson the front, had to bend and modify them a little to make them fit.

[jim0266]

I managed to perform a brake service on the passenger front and rear so far on my 2014 Leaf. I was having bad squealing from a sticking parking brake when I reversed the car. I found this excellent video on rear brake service including the parking brake: https://youtu.be/3REPy7rm4a8