Hi all. I have a 2009 Nissan versa with some weird brake issue. I had slammed on my brakes about 5 days ago and it caused my brakes to lock up. I couldn’t get the pedal to move at all, and it is still extremely stiff. 5-10 minutes later I took it up to 65mph and the car had a hard, weird noisy shake and vibration. I pulled off and it hasn’t done this since. However, the brake issue is affecting the drive ability of the car. Like I said earlier, the brake pedal is stiff and the only thing I can do and was advised to do was to push the pedal up with my foot. It doesn’t fully release the brake either as it goes right back to not being able to push on it. I have noticed the car won’t speed up like normal and is even slowing down on its own even when trying to speed up. Sometimes in drive it won’t move at all even with my foot on the gas. I took it to a mechanic who couldn’t figure out what the problem was but suggested it could be the master cylinder or the brake booster. He was unsure of it and they are expensive to replace and also rarely go bad, so it would be quite unusual for that to be the problem, and I don’t want to dig money into the part if that’s not the problem. Mechanic also noticed my rotors were extremely discolored indicating that there is heat in my brakes but it still doesn’t make sense as to why because there’s nothing visibly abnormally wrong.
I know I’m likely missing some information. But without knowing what the problem is I’m turning to yall who might be able to give some knowledge.
I can imagine that at least one brake caliper has seized up, and not fully released from when you mashed the pedal. Possibly the calipers need to be removed and new pads installed, and be sure the caliper guide pins are cleaned and lubricated. This is owner-serviceable if you’re willing, save a ton of money. Are there any weird smells or sounds? Have you checked the level and color of brake fluid? It should be fairly clear. Brake pads and rotors that are so heat damaged that they are discolored should probably be replaced, as they can only absorb so much heat for so long before they become weakened, and you drove it with them still bound up.
Calipers actually looked good and weren’t hung up. The caliper being hung up was my first initial thought, or that I had air in my line, however it’s neither. I should’ve probably wrote that in my post earlier. Along with this, the brake fluid was fine and normal colored…
Sound wise, the weird thumpy noise it was making when I first drove it at 65mph, but other than that, no. No weird smells, either.