Please help re: Emergency Brake

[BLITZEN]

Can I please get your wisest opinions on what you think could be going on?

Monday evening I had new EBC Red Stuff pads installed on all four corners (without replacing my rotors). All day Tuesday and Wednesday the brakes worked great, seated in nicely, didn't squeal, and so on. Then last night, my wife took the car to the grocery store, parked on a hillside and used the emergency brake for the first time since the install. After shopping, she released the emergency brake and drove about a mile to get home. But when she got home there was distinct brake smell coming from the rear. Upon my inspection I found both of the rear rotors to be sizzling hot, enough to singe my skin instantly while the fronts were cool enough to hold my finger against them without any burn at all.:vhmmm: The only other circumstance is that on Tuesday and yesterday we had a blizzard pass through the city with snow and cold temps.

Thanks for your help!

[JSRS6]

Any chance she didn't fully release it? I doubt the e-brake spring on each rear caliper would sieze like that...did you drive it since? Does it feel like the e-brake is still on?

[JSRS6]

Did you reset the rear brake pots?

[SAF]

Obvious that the rear brakes didn't release manually if she did disengage them. Could it be that the ebrake was "on" when the rear pads were installed? I've only done my fronts, but would that situation effect the piston positions?

[JSRS6]

If that were the case, he wouldn't have been able to reset the pots. And I highly doubt he would have been able to slide the caliper back over the rotor...Best bet: she accidentally left it on partially, realized it when she got home, fully released the brake, and didn't want to upset you about possibly messing up the beast.

[JSRS6]

No offense!

[4everRS]

after smelling the brakes burning, what made you want to touch the rotors?

[MaxRS6]

after smelling the brakes burning, what made you want to touch the rotors?

+1- ???????? (8 limit)

[BLITZEN]

Any chance she didn't fully release it? I doubt the e-brake spring on each rear caliper would sieze like that...did you drive it since? Does it feel like the e-brake is still on?

My guess is that she fully released it. I think the car doesn't really allow for someone to drive with too much brake as I've tried braking with the gas pedal held and the car will only go for a little like that and then the engine shuts down. No, I haven't driven it since because I have other rides and didn't want to risk glazing the new pads. Once I do, I'll report on that.


Did you reset the rear brake pots?

I don't know. I didn't do the pad job. What are "pots", and how are they reset?


after smelling the brakes burning, what made you want to touch the rotors?

I knew they were going to be hot. I just wanted an easy way for me to be able to compare side to side and front to back. I only had to touch them very briefly and didn't really injure myself.

Do any of you think it could have anything to do with the nasty conditions?

[JSRS6]

You can drive it with the e-brake on, as the torque of our cars can easily overpower the e-brake. When you are driving, if you are accelerating and press the gas, the ecu automatically cuts power to assist in braking. It dramatically cuts braking distance. Not the same when the e-brake is on.

[SAF]

I don't know any conditions that would result in this. I tend to believe it was failure to disengage.

[hahnmgh63]

Audi rear brake calipers (aluminum & cast iron) have a reputationd for sticking. Usually caused by corrosion, does your state salt the roads? Another common problem after a few years (and yes, more common in salted states) is that corrosion starts inside the parking brake cables and causes them to stick. The cables themselves are fairly cheap.
These assumptions are all figuring that the parking brake handle was fully released and that she diden't drive with it partially engaged.

[DHall1]

Parking brake system is mechanical. You pull directly on cables that operate the caliper. ECU has no idea the parking brake is applied.

As others have said, check the cables for frozen/rusted/stuck conditions and same with rear calipers...frozen/rusted/stuck conditions.

[BLITZEN]

Update: Today (Friday) I drove it. First I got it to about 10mph and shifted into Neutral. The car coasted like there was no drag at all. So if they were touching the rotors it would be so light that I couldn't tell. So anyway, I then put it in drive and drove it all over the city without any problems or smell. So I have no clue what it could have been other than driver error. I'll forgive her.

[hahnmgh63]

I've seen the stuck caliper stick for a while and then loosen slowly, same goes for the parking brake lines. This happened to me on a UrS6 that I purchased from Pennsylvania (salted roads) and while searching forum archives I discovered this to be a fairly common problem in most Audi's & VW's as the rear caliper design is very similar in all if you look at the way the parking brake cable pulls on the lever and causes the cammin action in the caliper. As I mentioned before, it is much more common in salted states cars than in non-salted. Thankfully my RS6, even though it came from Chicago, wasn't driven in winters and the underside shows it. Modern cars are much more immune to salted roads than the older cars but many bolts, cables, bushings and such are still affected. As soon as I put a car on my lift and look underneath, I can tell within seconds if is came from a salted area. That is why even today, most collector & car buyers will lower the value of cars that come from the salted belt areas.

[JSRS6]

Be careful shifting into neutral when driving, and if you do, make sure to stop before you reengage the transmission into drive...

To err is human, to forgive is divine ;-)

[BLITZEN]

Be careful shifting into neutral when driving, and if you do, make sure to stop before you reengage the transmission into drive...

Why? Doesn't the car figure out where it needs to be to re-engage? I'll confess... There's a big hill here between Park City and Salt Lake. Coming down it I've shifted into neutral because gravity can keep the car up at 80mph. At the bottom of the hill I rev the motor very gently to maybe around 2k and it slips into drive without a blip.

[JSRS6]

On topic: according to the manual, you should let the car coast till the the rpms are at idle before reengaging drive. However, the slower you are going when you do this, the easier it will be on the tranny/tc. That's why I suggested stopping first. Also, coasting down a hill in neutral negates the AWD in the car since you have to reengage it. I wouldn't recommend it.

[JSRS6]

Off topic: I am in the process of converting the owners manual to PDF if anybody is interested. I have the ssp in iBooks on my iPhone, comes in handy sometimes.