Michellemybell19

I know you are all going to think I'm a complete moron, so I'm just coming clean at the beginning. I don't know anything about cars. I'm a girl (that's what I try to use as an excuse) and I bought a 2000 Mustang GT less than a year ago, and I've had the worst brake problems with it.

I think Pepboys is trying to rip me off so I wanted to ask everyone's opinion. Basically about 2 months ago (8 months after I bought the car) my rear brakes were making really loud grinding noises so I took it in and they said one rear caliper was stuck and the other was sticking, making my brakes wear down every time I drive on it, which is all the time because I have to go to work! They quoted me nearly $500 to fix it, which seems ridiculous.

I took the car back to the dealership and they "hooked me up," replacing everything supposedly, and I only paid the $50 warranty deductible. Everything was fine & dandy. Until about 2 days later when I started noticing a funny smell, and of course I ignored it. Then came the grinding noise again, then a squealing, until finally my brakes are metal to metal right now, and I've been driving on them for a while so my wheels are covered in metal dust. Obviously they either didn't fix the problem or didn't know about the real problem.

I guess I'm asking whether I should 1)take the car to Pepboys and have them fix it; Problem: I don't really have the money

2)take it back to the dealership and ask them to fix it again; Problem: I'm pretty sure they find junk cars and fix them up and sell them because they have a huge junkyard behind the dealership....I'm not sure if I trust them to "fix" it again. I definitely wouldn't have to pay as much, but what if its a crapass job again? I already called the mechanic they have on staff that fixed it the first time, and all I said was "Hi, I brought my mustang in a little while ago to have the brakes fixed and now they're grinding again," and he said "Oh yea, the silver mustang right?" That makes me think that he probably knew I'd be back, right??

3)Buy the parts myself and have a friend fix it...Problem: well obviously I don't want them to **** up my car. And what if the metal is welded to the other metal? Is that a possible problem?

So by now I'm sure you're laughing but I really need some help with this. I have to keep driving it until I get it fixed and I'm afraid my brakes are going to fail one day.

Please help!!!

hookandpull

First question , what type of warranty do you have?

If you can try to take your mustang to a blue oval certified Ford dealership they have at least a little credability. And this all depends on your warranty if all else fails take the car back to the original dealership until the problem is corrected. You dont have to worry about the brakes being welded together cause they're two different composites. Dont take it to Pep boys, Its seems to be the original dealerships problem so make them fix it.

hookandpull

by the way you might want to get on the stick with this because your brakes being in the condition that they are can be really dangerous, the sooner the better. also do you use your parking brake alot?

Michellemybell19

Actually I never ever use it because it's an automatic, but sometimes when I let people drive it they put the parking break up and then when I get in I forget about it.

Is it possible for the brakes to just stop working while I'm on the road??

About the warranty-all it really covers relating to brakes are the calipers, but when the dealership first fixed it they didn't charge me for brake pads or anything like that....but I don't know where else I can use the warranty, because its from a private company. The only authorized mechanic for it that I know of is the dealership.

ShadowDrake

It's just the rear brakes, she says... so if they fail she will still have adequate stopping power, not that that is reason to put off on the repair...

The brake system is designed to be as redundant as possible.. short of your master cylinder snapping in two, you should still have some stopping power.

This seems at first like a caliper problem... it's possible they're sticking, if that's the case, ask to have the rear ones replaced... if this problem comes back in the same amount of time, your master cylinder could be faulty and need to be replaced... it'll cost about as much as new calipers do, it's not too outrageous. That's my best guess. I'd say take it back under warranty and have it fixed again, explaining that you already came in and whatever fix they attempted before was only temporary.

On your question of them expecting you back, it's possible... but it's also possible he just remembered your stang

Also, you can swap the rear calipers yourself, it's a very simple job that I think anyone can handle given a few diagrams... if you can unbolt the old, and bolt on the new, you're good to go (two bolts that mount the caliper, and then the banjo bolt for the brake line... that's all, there's only three). The dealership should cover that under warranty though, and you'll get a new caliper(s) for free.

I can't speak for changing the master cylinder because I haven't done it myself, but if it is as simple as the rest of the brake hardware, it can't be too difficult.

Sean97

I remember hearing in auto shop back in high school that cars with drum brakes, the ratio is 80/20 for front brake usage to back brake usage. I assume it is the same or close to it for disc brakes all around. She isn't really in any danger, but should still get it fixed as soon as possible.