Brakes Applied Themselves

Tmac7600

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May 11, 2014
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2006 TB 4x4 4.2L I was coming to a stop a light, and after slowing to a few miles an hour I let off the brake to coast a bit but the brakes still felt engaged. After completely stopped, I could not move the vehicle. The transmision was engaged and trying to move the the vehicle but it could not. I moved the shifter to park, neutral, drive and it did not make a difference. I also switched the from 2wd to auto mode, and back. I think that is what got it going again but not sure. It is back to normal. What system in the vehicle can APPLY THE BRAKES ITSELF? The roll stability control? How can I disable that? Can the transfer case switch get caught between modes and cause this?
 
Welcome!

Stabilitrac can apply the brakes. Or you have sticky caliper pistons. Or broken emergency brake. Or a dying transfer case, but that's more rare. There is no mode of a working transfer case that can cause the behavior you saw.

Did you try reverse in this process?

Can you feel the brakes after a normal drive and see if any of them are hotter than the others?

How many miles, and have you religiously changed the transfer case fluid every 50K?

Ever flushed the brake fluid?
 
Could also be a collapsed brake hose but that's also kinda rare and will show itself by pulling to one side when the brakes are applied.
 
Welcome aboard, you're at the right place for answers.
 
On "feeling the brakes," if you're nervous about that you can get a $20 E-Tek DMM out at Wal-Mart, they come with a thermocouple rated at least high enough to handle checking the temperature as long as it's not glowing hot. And if the brake is glowing hot, there's a definite problem anyway.
 
The_Roadie said:
Welcome!

Stabilitrac can apply the brakes. Or you have sticky caliper pistons. Or broken emergency brake. Or a dying transfer case, but that's more rare. There is no mode of a working transfer case that can cause the behavior you saw.

Did you try reverse in this process?

Can you feel the brakes after a normal drive and see if any of them are hotter than the others?

How many miles, and have you religiously changed the transfer case fluid every 50K?

Ever flushed the brake fluid?
Yes I tried reverse. The vehicle is realatively new to me, about 2 months. It has 84K on it. After the incident which lasted about 2 minutes, it has been COMPLETELY NORMAL. The carfax showed it was a GM certified vehicle when the last owner bought it at 63K. I will check the brake temps to rule that out if I can, I have a little thermal scanner. I found the button to turn off the traction control, how do you turn off the Stabilitrac?
 
I don't have that system in my 2004, but the Owner's Manual should say something. Perhaps the lawyers don't let the driver turn off Stabilitrac?

Anyway, on another subject, GM Certified Vehicle is a marketing term, not a technical one, and we have all read over the years about how some dealers cheat the checklist and don't even crack the fill plugs on the differentials and especially the transfer case. Trust NO ONE. Especially the transfer case, that needs its fluid changed religiously every 50K. If they didn't give you proof it was serviced - do it now.
 
You cannot turn off the stabiltrac. I believe it turns off when in 4lo but I am not 100% sure.
 
djthumper said:
You cannot turn off the stabiltrac. I believe it turns off when in 4lo but I am not 100% sure.
I'm curious as to why there is a "traction control switch" showing in the 2006 anti-lock brakes section (bottom of page 2 of 2). Appears to be a cutoff of the serial data link between the steering wheel speed/position sensor and the EBCM.
 
When I am wheeling across the desert in 4 high and slightly slip sideways I feel the change in power. Even with the traction control turned off. When I am in 4 lo it changes characteristics when slipping sideways.
 
In my 02 duramax it had a slight abs problem where the master cylinder was screwed up and caused the brakes to lock up at the most inconvenient times. After replacing the master cylinder it was fine.

Also with many of my chevys I have had problems with the caliper sliders. $20 part and a 20 min fix. It causes the pads to continuously rub(diagnosis is 1 of 4 rotors being hot after use and/or warping of the rotor) you cold also pull the calipers off and check for grease on the sliders and see if the rubber is still intact.

Just a couple of previous experiences hope this helps"
 
I don't know your truck, but on my 06 Envoy, I turn off Stabilitrak by holding the button to turn off the traction control (I have a thumb button on the shift lever to turn it off. Hold it and it will turn off Stabilitrak). If you have the Driver Information Center (DIC) - the display on the dash will tell you that the traction control is off. Keep holding the button and it will then state that Stabilitrak is off.
 
Years ago I had the same type of problem on a 97 Blazer. Turned out it was something in the transfer case, but unfortunately, I don't remember what it was.
I was pulling a boat out of the water on a slippery ramp, put it in 4WD and it acted like the brakes were applied. After screwing around with the 4WD switch, whatever was holding it back corrected itself. The Blazer was under warranty at the time so I brought it to the dealer and they fixed it.
 
Had a similar problem with an old car that had sat for a long time. One of the pads was sticking on the slider and when the brake were applied it flexed the Backer plate causing the friction material to come of from the leading edge of the pad.
Most of the times when the brakes were applied it worked fine but occasionally when lightly applying the brakes or when releasing them slowly the front edge would catch and act like a wedge pulling the friction material into the disk and locking up the brakes on that wheel. If you put it in park it would roll back just enough that the brake would release again.
When you got it in the air and looked at all the brake parts they looked normal other than the leading edge of that one pad having a little bit of a Bevel worn on it. Couldn't figure it out until I had the vehicle up on stands and watched each wheel while my buddy applied the brakes.
 
I own an 02 with 2wd. I currently have about 53,000 on it. About 15,000 miles ago While waiting to make a left hand turn my brakes locked-up and wouldn't release.
I was able to complete the turn and pull off the road. I checked the brakes (no warning lights), e-brake still off.

I was finally able to put it in reverse and got them to release. No problems since then, but I don't ignore it.

When I check my brakes I pull them apart clean off any rust and make sure everything moves freely. I even use an anti seize .
 

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