PSA: The day I found 3 seized calipers on one car

Last Tuesday I had a 2012 Escape come in for a brake noise, and I ended up finding all four calipers locked up solid. The pads were welded to the rotors on the rear, took me an extra 2 hours just to get them off. Anybody else seeing a spike in rusty caliper issues with older Fords?

3 comments

3 Comments

amyh129h ago

Hold up, those aren't slide pins they're the actual caliper pistons seizing up.

simon_carr5h ago

Ran into something similar on a 2011 Fusion last winter. The rear caliper on the passenger side was so seized I had to cut the brake line to get the caliper off the bracket. Took me like four hours total because the bleeder screw snapped off clean when I tried to crack it. Ended up replacing both rear calipers and the whole flex line just to be safe. Made me wonder if Ford used some cheap Chinese steel for a while there.

singh.harper10h ago

Buddy of mine who runs a shop over in Jersey was just bitching about this exact thing last week. He said he's pulling seized calipers off 2010-2014 Fords like they're going out of style, especially the Escapes and Fusions. Something about the slide pins just corroding up after a few salty winters and never getting greased from the factory. He even showed me a picture of a rear caliper that basically crumbled when he tried to unbolt it. Makes me wonder if Ford cheaped out on the metal or the coating on those things. You think it's just a regional issue with road salt or have you heard the same from guys in warmer states?