Our 2016 Fabia developed some offside front brake issues today.  The tyre pressure warning signal came on.  I stopped, checked all the tyres visually, and with no obviously low signs, and as we were just a few miles from home, we continued.

 

Once home, I ran the pressure gauge and gave all wheels/tyres  a check.  All 2.2 bar (hot day/long run) except front offside which was 2.6, and that was obviously too hot to touch! With the amount of pad dust on the alloys it was clear the brake was sticking, causing lots of heat, affecting tyre pressure, caauing it to be higher than the other tyres, and hence the warning.

 

A call to to Skoda Assist (we take this policy out each year), and they gave the option of a general roadside service today or a "specialist" service, but with the latter not until Tuesday.  Opting for the former, we waited.

 

A bloke turned up in a ittle van, from a regional garage.  I described events to him, and after shining a touch onto the pads on each side; and fiddling with a trolley jack, and not being able to readily turn the problem wheel he also diagnosed the obvious.

 

Now, in the past, when we had our old Fabia Scout, with the same issue at Tebay Services, the AA (also through Skoda Assist) - whipped the wheel off; pulled the caliper aways; freed the cylinder; and freed the pads - and we were away, down south and headed for a garage on return for a proper fix.

 

Today however, after much sucking in of air, the lad said - "Can't do brakes on a roadside assist.  Not allowed. You'll need to get a tow truck to the nearest garage next week.  You might be able to drive it, but I can't advise". And with that, off he went.

 

Can't say I was impressed, but maybe 'thems the new H&Saftey rules' and it's a tow truck to a shiny garage as the only option.

 

Is that the 'norm' now"?

Edited 3 September, 20232 yr by Ooopnorth

I mean, if he unstuck it and allowed you to drive off, and you had to hit the brakes hard and the piston didnt push back out, your uneven brakes could possibly cause you to spin out, first thing you would do is blame him.

The other aspect is, its illegal to drive a car that you know is unroadworthy, whether the brakes are unstuck temporarily or not, its not road worthy. 

 

You are left with 2 options that cover both the safe and legal aspect:

-Call a mobile mechanic

-Get it recovered to a garage

 

That is all assuming it is just a stuck piston and not something else like worn pads to the point the back plate is binding in the carrier, cracked disc, warped disc, debris stuck behind pad/carrier. There are lots of options for what it could be. 

1 hour ago, ApertureS said:

I mean, if he unstuck it and allowed you to drive off, and you had to hit the brakes hard and the piston didnt push back out, your uneven brakes could possibly cause you to spin out, first thing you would do is blame him.

The other aspect is, its illegal to drive a car that you know is unroadworthy, whether the brakes are unstuck temporarily or not, its not road worthy. 

 

You are left with 2 options that cover both the safe and legal aspect:

-Call a mobile mechanic

-Get it recovered to a garage

 

That is all assuming it is just a stuck piston and not something else like worn pads to the point the back plate is binding in the carrier, cracked disc, warped disc, debris stuck behind pad/carrier. There are lots of options for what it could be. 

Thank you for your reply.  I understand the points you make, but as stated above, a previous Skoda Assist callout had led to a moble mechanic (RAC) attending and fixing the problem (the slides on the calipers needed greasing), which he found out through a thorough investigation. Likewise, on another occasion when we had a tricky security wheel nut, while I was changing over to winter tyres, they came out, fixed the problem and changed all the wheels/tyres over for me too! Great service.

 

On this occasion my partner, who owns the car, called Skoda Assist again to politely ask why it had been such a cursory visit.  Apparently, the 'mechanic' had cited on his report that the brakes were "too hot" to work on.  This was not true, and at no time did he state this to us,.  Indeed they were cool to the touch after the 3 hours between telephone call and the visit.

 

I was also suspicion when he asked when the car was last serviced and whether the breakpads had been changed.  The last service was in October 2022 (6000 miles ago), and the pads had not been changed as not need (we've used the garage for our Skodas for over 20 years and they're great)  He claimed "pads only last 15,000 miles or so!)  If that were true (and I know it's not), we'd all be changing our pads every service, wih a 10,000 mile service interval.

 

Anyway, Skoda Assist are sending another mechanic out to our home tomorrow morning, so we hope for someone who wants more than to tick off 'job done', on a sunday afternoon (he complained he hadn't had any lunch too, which given his girth may not of been a bad thing for his health, albeit adding to his irksome attitude at the time).

It sounds more like a piston seized than the pads grabbing on the slides, whilst I would try to free it off on my own vehicle I would never do so with a customers car for the reasons eloquently described by Aperture S.

 

And its not just a roadside thing either, most garages would not take the risk of freeing off a stuck (usually corroded) piston when they can have an easier life, make more money and not expose themselves to charges of culpable negligence were the worst to happen by fitting a new or reconditioned caliper.

 

I once spun across the road between 2 oncoming vehicles in my Westfield due to a partially seized caliper that I was aware of and was not causing me any problems, the force reactions were very different that day in a full on emergency stop than they were on controlled braking even during my then normal spirited driving.