Brakes Lock and Won't Let Go, 94 Grand Voyager - Help before they get me killed.
From : jim ashburn
Q: on wet days the rear brakes will make a loud clunk sound and lock up the first few times they are applied. when the brakes lock of course i instinctively release the pedal but the brakes remain locked until the van comes to a complete stop. sometimes they release immediately upon coming to a stop. other times they wont let go for upwards of 30 seconds. i bought the van used and was told that the abs pump had been out for years. the abs fuse had also been pulled. however the dealer says the abs system cannot be fully disabled whatever that means. everything i have read says that the first time the brakes are applied the abs system does a self test which may be accompanied by a clunk sound and can disable itself if the test isnt nominal thereafter working as a conventional brake system. if the abs system can disable itself why can it not be permanently disabled if in fact it is disabled then why dont the brakes release the dealer attributed it to the front springs and something in the abs system whatever that means. ive seen the following causes of brakes locking on this and related vehicles including the dodge caravan... 1 sticky calipers 2 sticky pistons 3 sticky master cylinder 4 some kind of restriction in the brake fluid lines 5 sticky abs relay anyone seen these symptoms before or have any ideas by the way the occurence appears to have more to do with wet roads that any moisture in the system since it is independent of whether or not the van was in the garage or left outside but i could be wrong on this. maybe its both. thanks. .
Replies:
From : james1549
my 93 caravan had 120k on it when the abs pump failed. the dealer paid for everything. it took them about 3 days to get the parts. the service manager claims if the mastercylinder goes bad it takes about 30 days to get those but it would be covered as well. it is a safety issue dodge has agreed to pay for. james .
From : james1549
i owned a 93 caravan w/abs. when the abs pumped failed twice you were not able to drive the vehicle. i know i learned this the hard way. once the pump quits you only have so many stops to make and the brake pedal will not move. it is like you have a rock stuck under the pedal. i heard they changed systems sometime after 93 but not sure when. james .
From : 93grandcaravan
jim take this van to the dealer. that abs system has a lifetime warranty. my dealer replaced the abs pump and some other thing accumulator maybe to my 93 grand caravan with over 200k miles. this was a thousand dollar repair job that kept this van from going to the scrap yard. .
From : deadbeat
colorado. it will need some work to move it. tires are rotten from setting so long. wheels are split rim and not easy to find tires and mounting. jim..... .
From : cbhvac
jim take this van to the dealer. that abs system has a lifetime warranty. my dealer replaced the abs pump and some other thing accumulator maybe to my 93 grand caravan with over 200k miles. this was a thousand dollar repair job that kept this van from going to the scrap yard. umm...no..it does not.... sorry. some iirc had a recall..but no freaking lifetime warranty.. .