[IceGoaliePaul]

It's -25F / -32C here right now and I'm having issues with the brake pads freezing to the rear rotors. While I've manged to get them unstuck each time it's required giving it some gas and then dumpling the clutch several times to actually get them to release. Has any one experienced this and got any better suggestions on how to get them to release or not freeze up in the first place? I don't like abusing the clutch this much or the loud clunk the brakes make then they finally do let go.

[Gunkk]

I know this is probably not your issue, but brake pads can bond to the rotors when put away wet even in warm weather.

Do you have a way to get them dry prior to parking?

Did you try applying and releasing the parking brake or pumping the brakes hard a few times?


And then when all else fails...

https://www.zoro.com/bernzomatic-tor...00/i/G7598160/

[ctrlz]

I assume you mean the parking brake is sticking, which is a drum brake within the rear rotor. It might be a bit hard to get heat into this assembly to dry it, as has been suggested.
Sounds like you have a manual. Could you leave the car in gear and maybe use wheel chocks?
If it is the actual disc brake pads sticking to the rotors, I would suggest switching from the stock semi-metallic pads to ceramics when you get the chance.

[TJay74]

It doesnt hurt a thing, brakes have done this for ages. Put your foot on the brake pedal firmly once the car is started up. This will break the pads loose from the rotor. Once you start to move the pads will break loose from the rotor as well.

[redcoats1976]

move south...

[ssmofo]

I blow mine off with a leaf blower it dries them fast.

[Rock-It Man]

Hmmm...disk brakes can "freeze" to the rotors when put away wet. It's actually corrosion, not water that causes this phenomenon.

But maybe in the Great White North, the parking brake tends to freeze up due to moisture, because it's a drum brake that is reluctant to dry out. Or maybe the parking brake cable itself is sticking due to frozen moisture. If I lived in Edmonton, which I don't on account of it's too freaking cold, I would stop using the parking brake in Winter.

I survived a winter in Wisconsin. For about a month, the daytime high temp was below zero Fahrenheit, or below about -18 for youse guys. Never again!

[crosive]

Originally Posted by redcoats1976

move south...

mine does this after it rains down here. pretty common on both my camaros, the kia, the hyundai, and the toyota.


nothing to worry about mostly

[Thestormoverkrynn]

So you guys aren't going to believe my luck, 2021 zl1 1le, took the car to the stealership for a completely unrelated issue, covered under warranty, drove the car in the rain, parked it for 2 days in my garage after that front tire wouldn't move. Like you guys i was thinking o brake stuck again, give the gas and dump the clutch, all of a sudden no brakes... take it to the stealership again, they want 4600 for new pads rotors etc not covered under warranty brake pad fused to the rotor. Unremovable, going to ask them for pictures tomorrow when they open... Brakes are oem from factory never replaced. Drive the car once in the rain park it for 2 days and bye bye brakes ? no no this is manufacturer defect not user issue... And now that i see all of you are having the same problems you need to start reporting it to the stealerships and make them fix!!! Arguing now with the warranty peeps, it don't matter if you've raced the car before or what you've done to the brakes before that. If your at the dealership for a completely unrelated issue, currently driving fine, bring it home and pad is now fused to rotor, after parking it once.... This has nothing to do with users... And everything to do with a manufacturer defect, Or its the caliper over tightening, either way, GM should cover this bs ... Car has less than 10k on it

[CalgaryZL1]

When you say no brakes, does that mean lack of hydraulic pressure? Or the Pads are not grabbing the rotor? Fused to the rotor would mean you have no pad left and it’s welded to the rotor metal on metal. The rotors are pretty much bulletproof, even when you track your car on a regular basis.

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

I've had this happen with my ZL1 after washing the car and then not using the brakes. You can see that the rotors get a layer of rust on them from the iron deposits on the surface. My theory is the iron deposits on the pad and rotors rust and seize together, causing the pads to stick to the rotors. A couple of months ago I had to give it gas just to get them to unstick, which caused a fairly substantial thud when it released. My solution which helps significantly is to ride the brake and go forward and back a few times (about 15 yards each direction). It rubs most of the iron particles off the rotors and only sticks slightly. Then when I park it in the garage I push and release the brake pedal a few times before turning the car off.

[Thestormoverkrynn]

Update wrote an open letter to Mary Barra and the general manager of the dealership... (Still haven't received pictures of fused rotor yet from said dealership)...
Also posted on twitter, GM messaged me there and was of no help.


Hi Mary,

You don't know me from adam, however if you have a minute i would like to tell you a story about a long standing customer of yours!! ME! I have been a faithful GM owner since the day i bought my first cavalier z22 in 1994. Since then i have owned a grandprix gtp, g6 gxp, camaro ss, camaro zl1 1le, and silverado z71.. Probably not a lot of money to you, or to your corporation in the grand scheme of things. But to me, I have faithfully spent my hard earned money at your establishments since 1994 ... I would estimate almost 400,000$ canadian spent at your facilities over the course of my lifetime. Mary I'm not rich by any means. But i've spent this money on GM products because of reliability first and foremost, second because your stuff is easy to modify, third and i don't know why, but I LOVE GM. I make fun of Ford's daily on the forums, quote from me " Why did ford put handwarmers on their tail lights? So when you're pushing it home u can keep ur hands warm!" Turns out joke was on me... I recently bought a 2021 zl1 1le because i loved my 2019 SS... The car was used but still under warranty. Brought it into 1 of your dealerships... Gateway Chevrolet to be exact for minor warranty issue, seat would not move. They replaced a fuse and sent me on my way. It happened to be raining that day all day, drove the car no more then 10 mins from the dealer ship to my house and parked it for 2 days, i have video time stamped proof. The car sat in the garage for 2 days i didn't touch it. Somehow the brake pad fused to the rotor. Car wouldn't move.. Went on the Camaro6 forums found this https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showt...6#post11418106

Proof that this is an ongoing issue with the camaro 6 and that i'm not the only 1 suffering sticky brakes. Only in my case pad fused to the rotor. How i have no idea. Take the thing to gateway only to be told, brakes were super heated you must've been racing in the rain. Which is complete malarky. Time stamped proof 10 minutes from the dealership to my house... And if the case is the car should not be driven in the rain then why did they not cancel my appointment when they saw it was raining? Mary this is a track car, i'm not going to lie to you, have i been to the track with it ? yes ... Did i race on the day in question? absolutely not. Again i have video proof. So if these brakes were super heated it was not by me or anything unusual i did to the car. Now the dealership or should i say stealership wants to charge me 4700 $ for brake pads and front rotors. Mary they are claiming the price is 1300 a rotor. At this time Mary i'd like to bring your attention to this link https://parts.tubmanchev.com/p/Cadil.../84271643.html 1 of your dealerships... for 1100 cad.... If i look online i can get them anywhere from 700$ ....

Mary help me here I feel like a dealership is scamming 1 of your loyal customers. I feel like this should be covered under warranty due manufacturer defect. Failing that the dealership should cover, because they made the appointment on a day it was raining and failed to advise me of the risks of driving the car in the rain. We are talking about a camaro, that has under 10k kilometers ... You can't say this is excessive driving .. Failing all this, I feel like GM should just cover for the inconvenience for the risk factor, if this had happened while driving, we'd be having another conversation. For the fact that i've spent over 400 000 canadian at your dealerships here in canada over the years.

Mary i can't tell you how upset I am over all of this..

Yours truly

Andrew XXX7
XX XXXXX dr XXXXXXXXX
Your loyal customer since 1994

ps

1 more thing 1 want to add in all of this, because i've heard this excuse before, claiming that a customer spending over 400 000 $ with us is not a reason for us to fix your brakes for free, especially when ur disputing how it happened.... IS also malarky and will only push me to Ford... if only to see how bad their customer experience is...

[Thestormoverkrynn]

But to be totally honest, i think they've already lost me, discontinuing the camaro in favor of a corvette with no manual tremec transmission... thanks but no thanks. They have been making a lot of mistakes, imagine selling all the rights to pontiac and the iconic bandit firebird... For those of you with limited understanding that would be like Disney selling all the rights to Mickey Mouse. Or dodge selling all the rights to the hemi cuda, Ford selling all the rights to the mustang.

[crazedmodder]

So I'm not sure if this will help Thestormoverkrynn since their issue seems a bit more severe, but it might be worth giving it a shot. This should help others who have a less severe sticking issue though.

Backstory:
Since I live in a cold climate, I "store" my car in the winter but it is stored outdoors in my backyard with no cover. I have a lot of steps to prepare for this, but I will only be discussing the relevant ones for sticking brakes. I bought my car last year, so it was the first winter that I stored it.

What happened (my bullet points are in chronological order):

• I did not use the car for a few days.
• I drove to a gas station 10 minutes away, filled up, and then drove home (so no "race" conditions).
• I cleaned the inside and out of the car.
• I left the car for 2-3 days parked until I had to move it onto the street for a gravel delivery.
• The brakes were completely stuck, I did not fully dump the clutch but I tried really hard to get it going, even had someone push the car while I was gassing it, I tried both 1st and reverse also.

My fix:
I wrapped a long (over 1ft, under 1.5ft) flat head screwdriver in a towel (covering the handle to protect the rim) and used it to pry the caliper/pad off the surface (I did not touch the disc in this process). This got it free enough to move.

My future prevention:
When I actually parked the car up I sprayed the discs with Bilt Hamber Atom Mac. Apparently detailers use it to prevent rusty looking brakes when they are done cleaning cars. I cannot say 100% sure if this solves the issue yet, because when I parked my car I also put wheel covers on it for the winter, I only used it once and I have not washed my car again yet. What I can say is that when I moved my car in the spring, there was no issue and the brake discs had very little rust spots on them (5-6 circles about an inch each, vs the brake disc being 100% covered in rust after I washed it).

The more annoying part of this for me is that you have to be predictive in applying it. Applying it after washing the car is easy, but other than that situation I'm not always sure when the next time I am going to use my car is, whether it's going to rain before then, etc, etc. I also don't want to use it every single time I park the car.

Product link:
https://bilthamber.com/product/atom-mac/