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HELP! - Rear Brake shoe destroyed rear brakes - 2011 2500 CC Hemi

1K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  Shots 
#1 ·
Hi All:

Need some honest advice here.

Recently at 43K miles, while backing down my driveway, one of the brake shoes on my 2011 2500 failed. It apparently separated from the backing, got jammed up into the caliper, and made the truck unmovable.

After a tow to the local dealer, dealer is telling me that the rotor has been damaged beyond repair, and as such, I need new rotors, shoes, calipers, pads, etc... AND... because it is a 2500, the break job requires hubs being removed (i.e..lots of labor).

So...dealer is quoting $1400 to get the truck back in working order. Dealer told me that "brake shoe separation can happen if I don't use the e-brake enough". WTF?! :huh:

Since I have a 7 year/100k Max Care warranty, I called corporate and they are telling me "sorry...can't help you. Brakes aren't covered."

Right now I am livid! Given the history of this truck that I bought new just 4.5 years ago:

a.) Vibrating driveshaft was replaced twice. Still vibrates at 73MPH+. I've given up.
b.) Sticking front caliper replaced at 36K.
c.) Knocking/Vibrating Torque converter replaced at 39K. The replacement still makes noises...factory told me "we can only put in what they give us from the factory in Mexico"...and hence I have also given up on this.
d.) $40 brake shoe causes $1400 in damage.

Suggestions/Advice? Keep in mind that this is a commuter vehicle...and I tow a 5000lb camper about 300 miles/summer. No plowing. No heavy trailers...etc.

Part of me wants to sell this thing. Computer/UConnnect issues...fine. That is high tech.

But driveshafts/torque converter/brakes all before 50k miles on a RAM "Tough" 2500... come on!
 
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#5 ·
For all that at a dealer and considering it is a HD, it might not be far off.

A few years ago I had to have the front calipers, rotors, pads replaced on my '06 1500 at a local shop in the middle of winter and I don't have a garage. Including labor it was just over a grand. Dealer probably would have been around $1200.

If the OP can do it himself he'd probably cut the bill by half.
 
#3 ·
It sounds very high. Have you priced the parts out yourself? Also, I'd inspect what's there or get a second opinion. Why do you need new calipers?

On the other side of the coin, if you can't do the work yourself, you need to pay *someone* to fix it.
 
#4 ·
$1400.00 is way too steep. I question the caliper replacement myself. Pads, rotors and E Brake shoes, yes! I've heard this a lot. The E Brake shoe lining falls right off the shoe for no reason. My 09 1500 did the same thing last year. The lining were in pieces in the bottom of the rotors and had actually got caught and snapped on eof the spring retainers off. I like, "If you don't use them enough." I'm sorry, If I put new tires on my truck but don't drive it, will the tires crumble and fall off. NOT! Maybe there is something to it though. I may have used my E brake twice since I've owned it, and mine fell off. I didn't feel like pulling the axles to replace them so I knocked the rest of the lining off and adjusted them all the way down. I wanted to wait until it was rotor-pad time and do it all at once. Rear diff fluid change, new axle bearings and seals, E brake shoes, new rotors, and pads, and it will take me a couple hours in my driveway. $1,400.00 sounds expensive. Are 2500 rear brakes that much diff than 1/2 tons?
 
#7 · (Edited)
Obviously too late now, but yes the price sounds high. The biggest issue with the cost is that you're paying dealership service rates. Doing it yourself or going to an independent shop would likely have saved you money, but since your truck was unable to be moved (without paying a tow bill), they kinda had you where they want you.

...... I like, "If you don't use them enough." I'm sorry, If I put new tires on my truck but don't drive it, will the tires crumble and fall off.......
Well, actually..... yeah kinda. If you put brand new tires on a truck, and park it they will fail. ← I've had first hand experience with it. They'll dry rot and flat spot. I had a Steeda Mustang that I rarely drove. I replaced more tires due to storage related failure than tread ware. So yeah, they will go bad if you don't use them. Granted they won't crumble and fall off, but they will fail if you don't use them.

As for what caused your E-Brake pad to fail. I actually believe the failure due to not being used (to a point). I have found that if I don't drive my car/truck much the E-brake will build up some minor corrosion/oxidation. This ultimately causes it to rub slightly, even when not in use.
Jumping to a related scenario for a minute. I've dealt with multiple tractor/trailers with fouled brakes. Most semis have drum brakes which works just like the E-brake. Having seen the result first hand, confirming with our specialists, AND with the trucking companies, I have learned that excess heat can cause the pad to separate from the backing. When they do this they crumble and sometimes get jammed between the drum and brake components, just like your E-brake pad did. On the semis, this is often caused when the driver is riding the brake, or isn't using the auto adjusters, and has the manual adjustment improperly set causing the pad to rub the drum while he/she drives.
Coming back to our trucks. If you don't use the E-brake and somehow corrosion builds up, there's a chance it may rub the drum. As noted my previous trucks did this from time to time. I even ended up swapping the brakes on my '07 because the noise from this got to be annoying. After that, I learned to drive the truck at least once a week, and to engage/release the E-brake every now and then. No issues since. With that, I can certainly see HOW it's possible. I find it hard to believe that yours was able to generate enough heat to separate the pad from the backing without the noise driving you nuts first. After all, we're talking about a lot of heat. These are brakes so they obviously can handle heat. It takes a lot to over do it. I have my doubts that, that is what caused your failure, but I'm just pointing out that I can understand some validity in their claim. I suspect more likely, the pad simply failed due to some unseen issue resulting from not being used, similar to the dry rot that tires will display with a lack of use. :dunno: All purely speculation though, as I'm not a mechanic and never was. Just theories tossed out there based on experience. I could be way off base.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the replies everyone.

After trying to discuss this with Ram corporate for over 2 weeks, I have given up on expecting them to help me with what they deem as an "unusual and uncommon premature failure of the brake shoes".

My case manager never called, and his supervisor basically told me "tough luck".

So $1425 later, I have the truck back.

Its going to take many many thousands of trouble-free miles to win confidence back in Ram and Ram as a company. I so really wanted this truck to be everything the company said it was....Ram Tough.
 
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