Morning after a rainy day. Brakes sticking

[TheLocNar]

Anyone else been dealing with this? When putting car in gear then moving, the calipers/pads made a terrible loud noise as they break free from the rotors after the car has been sitting overnight after being driven in the rain.

Surely this can’t be normal. I understand the brakes aren’t used much with regen and all, but this is no way sounds good when it happens.

 

[vjason]

I've seen this with a few of my cars, but usually only those that don't get driven daily. My daily drivers usually stay "unstuck", although I don't live in Chicago.

You have a, err, spirited driving style? Wonder if your pads may be glazed up making them more likely to stick.

 

[bbell]

Anyone else been dealing with this? When putting car in gear then moving, the calipers/pads made a terrible loud noise as they break free from the rotors after the car has been sitting overnight after being driven in the rain.

Surely this can’t be normal. I understand the brakes aren’t used much with regen and all, but this is no way sounds good when it happens.

Haven't had this with the 3 yet, but I do get squeaking under light braking when I back out at first in the morning, which fades after a couple stops if I don't use regen too heavily.

However my old ICE car would do this if I left the parking brake on overnight (it was a manual transmission) -- they would be stuck and make a bang as they broke away after really wet weather.

 

[ngogas]

Haven't noticed it here with the salt and snow on my m3. But our audi q5 does this all the time (we put the emergency brakes on everything it is parked). pulling out of the driveway, it squeaks from the rust the builds over night.

 

[jdcollins5]

To help with sticking and rusty rotors, put your car in neutral just before braking for a stop light. This will disable regen and force the friction brakes. This will help clean the rust off of the rotor surface.

I used to do this about once a month with my Prius or at the first sign of noise.

 

[SSedan]

Most cars are automatic transmission and as such Park is accomplished inside the transmission.
Those here who mentioned they had similar experience with manual transmission cars and parking brakes are dead on correct.

It is because there is a caliper clamped to the rotors overnight.

Not a problem just something those used to automatic transmission haven't experienced before.

 

[TheLocNar]

Most cars are automatic transmission and as such Park is accomplished inside the transmission.
Those here who mentioned they had similar experience with manual transmission cars and parking brakes are dead on correct.

It is because there is a caliper clamped to the rotors overnight.

Not a problem just something those used to automatic transmission haven't experienced before.

Yeah. It's a pretty disconcerting sound. So long as the pads aren't being torn apart like it sounds like they are. lol

 

[Kuhz]

Normal. Before parking for the night dry off the rotors by braking a couple feet. My driveway is sloped down a bit so I ride the brakes before stopping in he garage. Takes care of the problem.

 

[nogassnorlax]

I heard that today and was like wtf was that? Lol
Although mine wasn’t wet though.

 

[Joe F]

Happens on my MS. Riding the brakes does not help as the tires and car body still drips. Worse is if there’s snow on the car which melts overnight.

Worst thing is that summon can not overcome the stuck parking brake, so if you park in a tight garage and use summon, you may not be able to summon out of the garage due to the issue. I now park off center or sideways so I can exit and enter the car.

 

[TheLocNar]

Guess I was lucky this morning when summon busted them loose and still kept going. lol

 

[BlueWRXPride]

This happens to me essentially every day up here in the north. I park in my garage every night, and every morning (unless the roads were totally dry the night before, which is rare), it makes a pretty loud noise when I first move. I figure it's just from the automatic parking brake being applied to the rear wheels so it gets stuck. I drove a manual before this so I always parked with the emergency brake on, and it did the same thing.

 

[Jay-Z]

My M3 does the same thing in similar conditions. I assumed that shifting into park must cause the brake to be applied and the caliper was sticking to the rotor. My automatic transmission ICE would do the same thing but only if it wasn’t driven for a few days.

 

[Ciditad]

My GTI and Cayman both did this.

 

[nvx1977]

huh, this problem is notorious on Model S, including mine after every single rain/snow event. Have never encountered it on my 3, so I assumed they fixed the issue. guess not?

 

[jslewis58]

Anyone else been dealing with this? When putting car in gear then moving, the calipers/pads made a terrible loud noise as they break free from the rotors after the car has been sitting overnight after being driven in the rain.

Surely this can’t be normal. I understand the brakes aren’t used much with regen and all, but this is no way sounds good when it happens.

We are still having this problem over 3 years now....

 

[Jo060]

We are still having this problem over 3 years now....

It's not a problem and is completely normal for any vehicle with brake rotors. When it rains or there is a lot of moisture in the air, the two metallic surfaces will form surface rust and somewhat fuse together.

You may not have noticed this on your previous vehicles as Tesla engages the rear parking brake when placed in Park. When this happens, the brake pad is firmly pressed against the brake rotors.

On some traditional ICE vehicles, once you place it in park, the vehicle is held in place by the transmission.

If you were to engage your parking brake on an ICE vehicle and let it sit in the rain you'd experience the same thing.

 

[Gasaraki]

We are still having this problem over 3 years now....

What problem? Happens to every car that sits for 2 days or more what the moisture outside or the car is high.

 

[ODWms]

I’ve had it happen maybe twice in the 3 years I’ve owned the car, but I can’t remember the exact circumstances. I’d assume it’s normal behavior.