I just noticed this today when I got to work. It must have happened in the last day. I think I'm smelling that burnt/rubbing brake smell coming from my driver's side rear wheel. Has anyone ever had this happen recently? I'm wondering if the brake cable got snagged on snow or ice, but at a quick glance it looked ok. Can't be sure just yet. Might have to pull the wheel off when I get home. I'm going to Louisville tomorrow and I want to make sure it's not a stuck caliper or something dragging the whole 2 hour trip!

 

I haven't heard about anyone on here complaining about that. You'll have to pull your wheels to confirm. Pull off the passenger side as well for comparision. Compare rotors and brake pads for signs of uneven wear, etc. make sure you check both outer and inner brake pads.

I had a Sport Trac before this and they were known for calipers sticking. Although you couldn't hear/feel the drag, the inner pads wore down fairly quick compared to the outer brake pads.

 

If you use your emergency brake, the cable may be froze up.

 

Cable's not froze. It releases easy and it's near 50 degrees right now.

I took off the rear wheel where I smelled the smell. The hub moves easily by hand within the limits of the limited-slip, so the brake isn't dragging. I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Brake cable looks to be seated well in place, etc. I wonder maybe if it's just the salt and road grime burning on the brakes of exhaust? I don't know. It's pretty nasty out there now that the snow is melting and the roads are full of salt and sand. Pretty much smelled like a brake dragging burn type of smell to me though. Oh well. Pads look fine too.

 

Not sure which type of parking brake the o4 has. But some vehicles have the small set of drum type pads. The inner portion of the rotor has the drum. Wander if this type, some crude or ice got in causing them to drag.

 

The rear is disk brakes and they looked very clean considering the mess outside. No snow packing in there anyway. Just plain ole dirt on them.

 

I realize the rears are disk, but I believe the emergency brakes are a small set of drum type that fit in the center section of the disk.

See here: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/disc-brake3.htm

 

I seem to recall an issue where one of the holes that the ebrake cable passed through was too small from the factory and caused occasional drag. Try searching for that...

 

I checked the linkage already and it looks to be seated well. I guess I'll just keep an eye on it tomorrow. Kinda hard to do at 80 on the higway though