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2002 Hyundai Sonata possible caliper locked ?


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pittguy578
Novice

Nov 28, 2013, 6:16 PM

Post #1 of 4 (2089 views)
2002 Hyundai Sonata possible caliper locked ? Sign In

I have had so many troubles with this car I am ready to get rid of it.
I was coming home with my family from Thanksgiving tonight. My dad was in the front and my wife was in the back with the baby. She said she heard something "pop" but didn't tell me until we got home. When we got home the right rear wheel was really hot and smelled like brakes. What would cause the caliper to lock ? Will I need to replace the brakes or can it just be "unstuck"? If I take it to a repair shop how will I know they are not taking me for a ride ?


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Nov 28, 2013, 6:38 PM

Post #2 of 4 (2083 views)
Re: 2002 Hyundai Sonata possible caliper locked ? Sign In

No, it can't be "unstuck" and the cause could be any number of things. It needs to be inspected by a competent technician to determine what needs to be done to resolve the issue.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



nickwarner
Veteran / Moderator
nickwarner profile image

Nov 30, 2013, 7:55 AM

Post #3 of 4 (2054 views)
Re: 2002 Hyundai Sonata possible caliper locked ? Sign In


In Reply To
If I take it to a repair shop how will I know they are not taking me for a ride ?


You drive an 11 year old car. Things break on them. You know very little about how cars work, so you really wouldn't know if you were getting hosed. But realize that there are very few shops out there hosing people, they just get all the headlines when they get caught. Just like flying in a plane is safer than pretty much anything you can do in life but when one crashes it makes all the headlines.

Mechanics can make plenty of money legally and honestly. As a whole we pride ourselves on professionalism and doing right by our customers at a fair and competetive price for our skills and time. Your car and every other car out on the road will need maintenance and repair its entire life. Its simply the nature of the beast. You have something exposed to all sorts of extremes with a few thousand moving parts and miles of electrical wiring. It weighs thousands of pounds, drives over rough roads, carries you 70mph plus on the freeway in weather ranging from 100 degrees plus with the AC on full blast to the subzero with a foot of snow to try to get through. It does this for a decade or better in its lifetime. Thats a lot to ask of anything.

If we as an industry were trying to rip people off we would quickly be put out of business. Those who do try are not liked by this industry and are quickly weeded out. There is a very good living to be made providing the maintenance needed to your car and repairing things as they break to keep you on the road.

You need a good tech to look at this as HT said. Expect to be replacing calipers, flex hoses, pads and rotors. This must be done on both sides to prevent dangerous uneven braking. Its a common problem that any good tech has seen many times and will quickly diagnose to get you back on the road. The extreme heat generated by a dragging brake may have damaged a wheel bearing, so be prepared for that. If its not bad now, it may fail in the near future.

I don't know the overall shape of this car, but it sounds like you've been putting a good bit of cash in it lately. This car is in its parts-consuming time as many common wear items are ending their service life after over a decade of use. If you buy a different car you may end up replacing the same things with the new one. If you can afford to buy new you'll be paying interest to the bank and eventually still have to do repairs. Why not ask the tech what he thinks of the overall condition of the car, what is worth investing in it and what it needs right now and in the likely near future from what he sees? If you look at a different car to buy, bring it to a shop and pay them to look it over well. That shop has no investment in you buying it and will give you an honest opinion on what they can see at the time. Any seller who objects to that is hiding something and you can walk away from that.


chickenhouse
Enthusiast

Nov 30, 2013, 4:51 PM

Post #4 of 4 (2047 views)
Re: 2002 Hyundai Sonata possible caliper locked ? Sign In

Well written and very true Nick! Cuddos






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