Het all!
On my 2010 after replacing the front and rear pads (wagner ceramic), rear rotors (brakebest OEM) Rubber brake lines all around (Brakebest) I am noticing there seems to be a slight drag when driving, I can put it in neutral and push it with eas though. The calipers all seemed to be freely collapsing and I did not notice this issue prior to changing things out. The pads were worn down almost all the way before I changed them so the pistons were out quite a but. This is my second pad change since owning it as well. I also flushed the system out with new fluid, it was quite dirty and black in the lines. I cannot tell is either the rear or front is what's dragging, it doesn't pull left or right when braking. I pulled the pads again and moved all the pistons in and out on the calipers and they seemed to move ok before this last trip this weekend. At first, everything seemed really good, I had an increase in MPG as well, was thinking maybe things have been dragging slightly for a while and I never noticed it. We drove for about 3 hours and everything seemed great. Left on Sunday and started home and it felt like it was dragging again all the way home and my MPG was back to what it has been for the last couple years, about a 2-3 MPG drop. I am thinking the calipers may need to be replaced but hate to do it and it still not fix the issue. Any suggestions as to where I can look next? The new pads all seemed to move freely as well and I cleaned all the sliding surfaces when I replaced them. Could the master cylinder be going bad? Any way I can test it?
I have read through multiple threads on here talking about seized calipers but they all seemed to be very obvious and had one side or the other seized and hotter than the rest. I saw one thread talk about pads having an indie and outside orientation but my pads seem to be universal. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Not sure since you checked the first thing that I would check is the movement of the brake pistons.

The next time you drive it any reasonable amount of distance check the amount of heat coming off of each wheel by putting your hand close to the wheel or on it if it’s not to hot. If one seems hotter than the other then I would start there.


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10 bucks will get you a laser thermometer off amazon too

Yeah, I was going to say if you have one of those it would make it a little easier to notice the difference.

Good old hand check works pretty good though. This was how I caught mine (4th gen), plus the extra brake dust buildup on that wheel.


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I have been doing this and I am not feeling a ton of difference between all 4 rotors. Maybe more in the rear than the front. I have used a IR thermometer and it doesn't have much variance either but seems to have trouble with shiny surfaces.

I have been using one to test, bought it quite a few years ago. It may not be terribly accurate and need to be replaced though.

Maybe I need to clean the wheels off and see which one is dusty, the old pads were cheap and they added dust all over all the rims. I am bad about cleaning it up since we drive on dirt a lot and it never stays clean.

did you adjust your ebrake?
It's a bear to make adjustments when removing the rear DS rotor.

In addition to cleaning things, did you grease the slide pins, add anti-squeal to the rear of the pad shims, and confirm that anti-rattle springs were replaced and working proper (no need to deform/adjust the wire)?

just spitballing here-- good luck!

I did adjust the E-Brake but have backed it off for testing and not reset it. I did grease the pins but did not add anti-squeal to the pad shims. The rattle springs were replaced as well. I am gonna go over the rears again and make sure the slide area is as clean as can be as well. I am thinking of just buying calipers and hoping for the best. As dirty as the fluid was I am sure there is some corrosion inside them. It may be a heat issue causing them to seize some.

Were the old pads worn evenly (front L to R and back L to R)? Also, if you coast at low speed, does the vehicle pull one way or the other?

Pads were worm perfectly even in front from left to right, the backs were working evenly between sides as well, but worn more than the fronts. , and when coasting I get no pulling either direction. I am gonna do some more testing on the rear calipers here in a bit again I think.

You could have a bad master cylinder, bad wheel bearing, or excessive run-out on the disc or hubs, or a combination of run-out on both disc and hub, etc. If run-out is your issue, try indexing the rotor in one direction one stud at a time. Dial run out indicators are free as loaner tools at some parts stores I believe. Good luck!

Yeah, if the rear is getting warmer than the front, then that’s where I would look.

Maybe the parking brake needs backed off more or a cable is sticking somewhere if possible.

I found this thread with parking brake info for the 5th gen.

Parking Brake


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Take off the rear wheel and see if you can turn the rotor by hand (release parking brake first). Maybe the Parking Brake adjuster needs to be let out a click or two.

Ok, been working on this off an on for a while now. I have 4 reman'd calipers on now. All new rubber hoses, new pads. I have bled 2 bottles of fluid through the system. My right front and both rear calipers are still dragging. It's a very slight drag, the rotors are not getting very hot, they are around 200-225 degrees after a long drive.
I pulled the original calipers off and blew the pistons out. They were dirty but not rusty so I am not sure if the calipers really were bad or not.
I am looking towards the master cylinder I think.
Is there any specific part of the master cylinder that would hold minimal pressure in the system? Also, the left front wheel works perfectly. Brake grabs great and releases perfectly and the wheel spins like no one's business at the same time the other 3 spin but not as easy.
I am open to all ideas, tips, tricks to try before trying to buy a master and then crawl in the corner and cry.
Thanks