If you encounter a Nissan Quest/Mercury Villager minivan (up to the 2002 model year) with the left front brake locking up, see if the right rear brake is locking up as well. This vehicle has a component called a “dumping unit” that is screwed into one of the outlet ports of the master cylinder. The brake line for the left front and right rear brakes come out of this dumping unit. It has been common for the dumping unit to prevent brake fluid from returning back into the master cylinder.

Tags: Brakes, Minivan, Service bays, Technicians, Under-car service

From an engineering standpoint, most technicians can see the logic behind module-to-module communication. In theory, it makes sense to have a single input such as a vehicle speed sensor feed just one module, and then have that module share the information over a pair of data bus wires to other modules. Unfortunately for the technicians faced with the challenge of diagnosing and repairing these problems, module-to-module communication often makes our job significantly more difficult.

Tags: Brakes, Service bays, Technicians, Underhood service

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The driver of a Cadillac Escalade, Chevy Avalanche or other GM truck may complain of a “scraping” noise intermittently coming from the rear of the truck while driving. This condition may be due to the parking brake shoe contacting the drum-in-hat rotor without the parking brake being applied, causing premature wear on the shoe lining.

Tags: Brakes, Noise, Vibration, Harshness, NVH