Close call with the brakes

[sawdust123]

I recently bought the '05 turbo-lite convertible for my wife. It was used but I liked the fact that the front tires and brakes were brand new. I figured the Chrysler dealer where I bought it had done the work. The other day my wife calls me when she was a about 30 miles from home after a 600+ mile trip. She says the front brakes are making a loud noise. She gets towed to our local mechanic who finds that the bolt that holds the caliper on was missing. Thankfully my wife is OK and there was no damage done to the car. My total bill was only $45.

My first thought is the problem was with the stupid mechanic that did the brakes. Unfortunately, I can't prove the dealer did the job and collect on the $45. At least it wasn't more expensive.

My second thought is that maybe there is a design flaw that allows this bolt to work loose unless you're very careful. Perhaps this something I need to check often. Can anyone comment on that?

[SuGamer]

No design flaw. It was the idiot you put them in that screwed up and probably didn't tighten it. I had the dealership rotate my tires (according to their tires for life agreement) and the idiot tech left my front passenger tires' lug nuts on finger tight! I found out after doing 400 miles on the tire because it felt funny. And most of that mileage was high speed highway driving!

[2step]

Long ago, in the dark days before disk brakes, I bought a used car and in a short matter of days, all the brake components came loose inside the right rear drum. I disconected the brake line, bent it over and mashed it flat with a hammer and drove it carefully back to the dealer. I had some kind of 30 day garantee and it was all fixed for no cost.

The mentioned bolt was most likely not tightened down and it worked its way out. It shouldn't happen but it did. Bring it to the attention of the used car dealer. You may even get your $45 back.

Glad your wife is OK. That's the main thing.
Enjoy your new Cruiser.

[Cal Cruzer]

quote:Originally posted by sawdust123

I recently bought the '05 turbo-lite convertible for my wife. It was used but I liked the fact that the front tires and brakes were brand new. I figured the Chrysler dealer where I bought it had done the work. The other day my wife calls me when she was a about 30 miles from home after a 600+ mile trip. She says the front brakes are making a loud noise. She gets towed to our local mechanic who finds that the bolt that holds the caliper on was missing. Thankfully my wife is OK and there was no damage done to the car. My total bill was only $45.

My first thought is the problem was with the stupid mechanic that did the brakes. Unfortunately, I can't prove the dealer did the job and collect on the $45. At least it wasn't more expensive.

My second thought is that maybe there is a design flaw that allows this bolt to work loose unless you're very careful. Perhaps this something I need to check often. Can anyone comment on that?

If you bought it from a dealer, they are supposed to do a safety check that includes the brake system when they sell a car. They should have caught that.

[quicksilverdon]

Find it hard to think of bolt working out - more likely it wasn't put in. There are 2 bolts holding the caliper, they have a lot of fine threads and are quite long.
And SuGamer -
Once I snugged up a wheel while raised and forgot to tighten when I dropped it on the ground - luckily I have learned to always road-test, and I had a wobble, but only after a few miles!
Were the studs okay? It chews them up fast when there's a wobble....

[emr131]

quote:Originally posted by Cal Cruzer
If you bought it from a dealer, they are supposed to do a safety check that includes the brake system when they sell a car. They should have caught that.

Safety check my rear. I took my cruiser in for service due to my fog lights coming on intermittantly. They replaced all the devices on the steering wheel, then failed to test them. I drove off and made it half a block before realizing my turn signals, headlights, and even windshield wipers did not function. Turned around (kind of dangerous on a 4 lane road with no signals) and went into the shop. They did not even offer an apology or an explanation until I asked. It was a 5 minute fix but they sort of missed the crucial last step of troubleshooting: Did the solution fix the problem? Kind of hard to know if they don't test it!

[fritz_t_coyote]

quote:Originally posted by emr131
I took my cruiser in for service due to my fog lights coming on intermittantly. They replaced all the devices on the steering wheel, then failed to test them.

This is a classic form of failed testing.
I bet they tested the fog lights, but didn't test the other stuff.

[sawdust123]

I wrote a letter to the dealer I bought the car from. Two days later I got a call from their service manager. He was empathetic and apologetic and agreed to reimburse my out-of-pocket expenses related to this incident. He even thanked me for how I handled the situation (my letter was polite and made no threats, demands or overblown accusations).