2000 Mercedes A-class, currently 190 Km, purchased 7 years ago with 90Km, all maintenance on time, as recommended.
If the car sits a day, no problem. If it sits a few days, then when releasing the brake and trying to move, the car lurches a bit. The longer it sits, the worse it seems.
Is this the back drums, as the dealer tells us, or is something else wrong?
THANK YOU!
It is the rear brake shoes sticking to the drums due to moisture causing rust to form. Perhaps taking it all apart for a good cleaning may help. It will get all the dirt, debris, and grime out of there and that stuff can hold onto water vapor and hence the rust will form. Weak return springs can make this more likely to occur also.
If you haven’t had a rear brake job in a lot of years and km’s all new parts (springs, shoes, drums, hardware) should solve the problem. Me, I’d just not use the parking brake as long as the vehicle isn’t parked on a steep hill.
Many thanks, and right on the money. They cleaned it all and it worked better but there’s still a problem. Unfortunately, we have to park on steep hills about 1/2 the time, and we commute with public transit, so the car sits there for a while - so not getting it fixed is not an option. We’ve done the front brakes already, but nothing in the rear, so we’ll get it done. Car runs like a champ, and we want to keep it as long as possible.
Based on your reputation, I expect no dissenters. Thanks again.