2005 grand caravan brake problem

[HEMIDAZE]

A friend of mine has a 2005 grand caravan that has wore out one left front brake pad twice in 26000 miles (the same pad). In my opinion (without seeing it) it needs a new caliper. The dealer tells her it is normal wear and they won't do anything. Does anyone know of a service bullitin or something that makes reference to a problem on this vehicle?

[RIP]

Yup could be a caliper if it's the inboard pad thats wearing down. Probably have a piston that's not retracting. However, if it's the outboard pad thats wearing fast, I would look at the slider pins. Either have to be relubed or replaced.

Just so you know, it's normal for the inboard pads to wear slightly faster than the outboards. More pressure is applied via the piston to the inboard than via the sliders on the outboard. But, the left and right brakes as a set should wear at the same rate. What you're seeing IS NOT NORMAL AND THE PINHEADS AT THE DEALER KNOW IT!!! It's unfortunate but, the only way you're going to get them to move is to be persistant and don't quit. Get a district manager involved if need be.

There's a safety recal on certain master cylinders that are leaking. Is she getting a spongy pedal and brake caution light? There's a service bulletin concering rear brake drums. Check it out at the NHTSA site.

[vipergg]

The dealer is full of it unless you are constantly riding the brakes or all your stops are at the last minute where you hit the brakes hard the pads should last 30-40000 miles ..... Have a 2004 and just replaced the pads at almost 40000 miles.

[DoctorS]

I to own an 05' Caravan and had a similar brake problem. At 19 months / 12,000 miles, my brakes began to pulsate. A sure sign a rotor is wearing incorrectly, or is out of parallelism, or other problems. I took it to my mechanic (Not the dealer) who disassembled everything and discovered that the calipers were all gunked up & corroded. The pads were not sliding at all because of the corrosion, and were hanging 'against' the rotors. This helped wear away some extra brake pad, and the extra heat was ruining the rotors. They cleaned everything up, turned the rotors, and re-assembled the pads onto the sliders with 2500 degree lube. Haven't had a problem since and the van now has 14,600 miles on it. My mechanic told me that I should have gone back to the dealer and fought with them, even though it was past the 12/12000 warranty, I told him it would be a waste of time and energy. The time and energy would be better spent elsewhere. It only cost me $125 because I caught it and had it repaired quickly, or else I probably would have had to replace the pads and the rotors. This is my last Chrysler & my last American made vehicle. Looking @ Lexus now. Doctor S

[JDW]

I have an 89 grand voyager and had similar problems on right front brake. Assumed it was caliper and replaced it. Year or so later did it again. Caliper can't be wore out yet. Long story short - the flexible rubber brake line was colapsing inside - could not see it from out side. Fellow at the brake shop put me on to this. It lets the brake fluid through when you step on the brake, but colapses so that it doesn't go back to the master cyclinder when you let off the petal, or it goes slowly back and in the mean time wears out the pad. Should not think a 2005 would have that problem yet, but hey, it's possible. 235,000 - 3rd transmission but still running and smoking a bit!

[01GrandES]

I have an 01' Grand Caravan with 75k miles on it. I have had ongoing problems with my brakes, after the wheel sensor failed and was replaced. Initially, I was warping a rotor on the driver's side front every 6 months. Finally got the mechanic to do some additional checking, and after bleeding the brakes, that has stopped that problem. I still have an ongoing problem with them though. My brakes are either spongy with an increased stopping distance, or the ABS light comes on and they are hard as a rock. And if I dare try to go anywhere that is uphill, (like mountains) on the way down they overheat and fail within a couple of minutes of coming back down the hill. I don't ride them, and coming downhill I always use my autostick to downshift and minimize braking. I am at a loss...the entire system has been gone through now and nothing resolves it. The only thing left is the proportioning valve...could that be the problem??
Any help is GREATLY appreciated!