I recently had to replace a rear brake caliper because it locked and
wore the pads and then proceded to cause the rotor to be destroyed.

I am wondering if anyone else has had a problem with the brake calipers
locking up like this. The people taking care of the repairs could not
provide a real good explanation of why this would happen and actually
seem mystified by the failure.


I myself am a bit confused. I was in for services 2000 miles ago and
had my state safety inspection performed. They have never been shy
about trying to sell me repairs, so I imagine if it was something
foreseeable they would have tried to push it then; however, the only
problem they mentioned was that I would need new front brakes in the
next 5000 to 7000 miles.

So, I have a few questions:

1) Has anyone else had mysterious/unexplained caliper failures that
resulted in serious damage to their brakes?

2) What causes can cause a caliper failure? How can you prevent these
causes from resulting in failures?

3) Is there anyway to detect a failure before it wears the pad out and
starts grinding the rotor? (I never heard the wear indicators.)


I thank everyone for their help and knowledge in advance. My car
knowledge is limited to the basic tasks (i.e. changing oil, replacing
fluids, etc.)

-J