Brakes seem like they lock up without applying them

When driving my 2005 Silverado at 50 to 60 mph on the interstate sometimes the front of the truck starts shaking and when i pull off to the side and get out the truck I smell a strong metallic odor coming from the front wheels. The wheels are also very hot to the touch. After a few minutes of rest the truck starts driving normal again. After taking the wheels off and inspecting the brakes and wheel bearings my mechanic couldnt find any problems. He said he would actually have to see the truck when its acting up to know what the problem is!

Are you saying that this happens to both wheels at once? A stuck caliper is the most common culprit for brakes staying on, but that would normally affect only one wheel.

the odor is strongest from the driver side

I’m assuming there is no ABS on this car. It does from the symptom sound like a brake problem. Often it would be the caliper slides are sticking and need lube or the piston’s are locking up and the whole caliper needs replacement. But it could be something really simple, a collapsed brake hose. If I had this problem, and my mechanic couldn’t see anything wrong, I might just have all the rubber brake hoses affecting the front wheels replaced, see if that solves it. Best of luck.

You have a stuck caliper OR you have a brake hose failure not allowing the release of the brake. I have one of these trucks and its been a problem from 75,000 miles on. I’ve had to replace EVERY one of the 5 rubber brake hoses on this truck, one after another for 3 lines. The 3rd one caused me to replace the rest.

The shaking comes from warping rotors with brake pad deposits on the friction surface as it gets very hot. The rotor may recover once cool.

I have ABS and it has acted up as well. The parking brake hasn’t worked since 20,000 miles and it has 105,000 now.