A local shop took a GMC Terrain in for a brake job, and days later things took an unexpected turn. The vehicle’s front driver-side brake seized only six days after the repair, leading to a repair bill with questions.
The poster shared the situation on the r/AskMechanics subreddit, where they say their daughter drives a 2014 GMC Terrain with just under 120,000 miles.
Apparently the vehicle had been experiencing brake shuddering and unusual noises for some time, so she took it to a local shop on Oct. 15 for a full brake job. The work included new rotors and pads, an inspection of the caliper pistons and slides, and a brake fluid flush and replacement.
On Oct. 21, six days after the repair, things went wrong when the daughter was driving to dinner and the front driver-side brake seized up and began smoking. According to the post, she pulled over and had the vehicle towed back to the same shop.
$300 for Another Repair
Caliper froze up after brake job…Not covered under warranty?
by
u/Odd_Afternoon1758 in
AskMechanics
According to the post, the mechanic said the caliper had “froze up,” and they agreed to replace the newly damaged brake pad and rotor under the shop’s 12,000-mile warranty.
However, the local shop still wanted to charge another $300 to replace the caliper, explaining that the warranty didn’t cover it.
This decision led the parent to question whether the additional charge was fair. They argued that the caliper had been inspected during the initial brake job, and its failure days later seemed too coincidental.
They also explained the vehicle was still at the shop, leading them to make the post asking for insight from fellow users.
Users Say the Shop Is Being Fair
Most comments sided with the local shop, explaining that calipers can fail around the time of a brake job even when the work was done correctly.
One commenter said this is a common occurrence and suggested the caliper caused the shake. They explained that if they are only charging for the parts and not additional labor, they are taking care of you.
Another commenter explained that when calipers are about to fail, doing a brake job and pushing them in will be the last straw. They say it’s usually caused by not doing regular brake flushes.
A Decision Is Made
After receiving a lot of feedback, the poster updated everyone and thanked them for their detailed responses. They acknowledged that the shop was actually taking care of their daughter, despite their initial suspicion.
The daughter also contacted the shop and asked them to replace the brake hoses while the vehicle was still being worked on.
In the end, the parent said they would pay the charge and thank the owner for addressing the problem.