QuestionThis is not a specific Subaru question, but a general brake question. I recently had an incident where my brakes failed after I noticed my emergency brake was left on for about 3 miles while coming down a hill. My pedal went to the floor and I had no breaks. I had the car towed to a brand named repair shop and they told me that i needed new calipers, new brake pads and new master cylinders and that the hairline cracks in my pads were caused by the excessive heat. I was told by several people that I was ripped off and they should have checked my brake lines instead. I was wondering what or why did my brakes fail? What should they have checked or fixed. And what about hairline cracks in brake pads? If that happens again. Would my brakes still work after they cooled?
AnswerThe first question is, do your brakes work now? My guess, and it is only a guess, is that the more work was done than what was required to fix your problems, but that the work done may have been good to do. Many shops do a terrible job of explaining the difference. My guess is you really did need the pads or shoes replaced that stayed engaged when the emergency brake was on. My guess is your pedal went to the floor because your brake fluid boiled due to the heat generated and that you needed a brake fluid flush, or atleast a good bleed. Calipers and master cylinder? Not so sure on that. Maybe, if you have a car with alot of miles, history of poor maintenance, and a car with a known history of caliper and master cylinder problems, maybe you needed that stuff - but I doubt it. Most likely your brakes will perform a little better now, but most likely, you did not need the calipers and master cylinder.
Finally, yes, your brakes may have worked just fine for a while after they cooled down.
I guess as bad as it is if you got ripped off, if your brakes work now, better safe than sorry. But, next time, I would find someone else to work on my car.
