Can brake pads rust to the rotor?

Mechanic said pads rusted to my rotor. Is that possible?

Yup. How long did the vehcle sit?

The bond is usually not very strong and most of the time they break loose by themselves…The rusty rotors will make the brakes a little touchy and grabby for a few stops… Now if salt water was involved, that’s another story…

Yes. My daughter-in-law left her Malibu sitting in the driveway for several weeks while away at school. When she got back she could not move her vehicle. I moved it by using a little more throttle. A few passes around the block and she was good to go. Like Caddyman said…it was a grabby little beast until the rust came off.

We had a work truck that overnight would exhibit the symptoms of pads rusted to the rotors. Big old clunk after attempting moving the vehicle, a bit of gas was required to make them release. Totally plausible. I had a ford ranger, brakes would not rust shut, but the pedal would pulse due to rust, until 75 or 100 miles put on if left for more than a week.

yes they can if the vehicle was not moved for a longtime and left around salt water or air.

I’ve had this happen many times. It doesn’t take very long at all in some situations. One car I had decided to donate sat for two weeks w/o parking brake on. Semi-metallic pads fused to the rotors. The wrecker dragged the car 10ft and up on the bed with the rear tire scrubbing/squealing all the way. It had gotten rusted to the rotors several times prior but was able to break them loose rocking with the engine. Not the last time.

Drum brakes are more likely to rust in position, locking them…Leaving the parking brake set for long periods is a good way to have this happen…

So, Zeppmo, have you a story to tell us or a question to ask?