Don't waste your time and money on slotted/drilled rotors. They just may be more trouble than flat rotors. I'd have a good close look at the parking brake if I were you.

 

Jacked up the van. Both tires spun freely with no drag noticed. Both rotors looked OK soIdid not replace or recut. The rear drivers side brakes were worn down to almost the metal. The passengers side pads had about half life remaining.

Pulled off caliber. I was surpprised to find out that the piston has to be rotated to retract. Tryed to find a tool but none of the off the shelf tools seemed to fit. So it was a C-clamp with vice grips. I thought it was difficult to retract the drivers side. Can someone teel me the benefit of having the piston spin as it comes out and retracts.

I lubed the guides as suggested and replaced the PADS with KD ceramic pads. Checked the emercency brakes and worked fine. Hopefully this will get me through the winter.

I am puzzled as to why the one side was worn twice as fast as the other. We will see if the ceramic pads help. Will track MPG and brake wear,

 

The Spin to retract is because the parking brake is a threaded screw inside the piston. When you pull the parking brake, it rotates the screw inside the caliper and force it in and out. But on Normal braking, it is no different than regular caliper. You can rent/borrow these brake caliper tool in your local part store like Autozone.

The problem I see with rear brake is the Brake Pad always gets stuck on the Caliper bracket as corosion builds up. If you want the new pad to last longer, you should lift up Retainer shims on the caliper bracket and grind out all the Rust between the bracket and the Retainer Clip with a Wire brush or die grinder. Make sure Pad slides in and out freely on the bracket.
Also, Resurfacing the rotors improve pad life tremendously.

 

If your drivers side pads are more worn and the same side caliper was tough to move it sounds like your caliper is sticking and not letting the pad pull away from the rotor. Caliper rebuild or replacement.

When it comes to resurfacing rotors I just don't bother. If you reface the rotor because it's warped, it'll just warp again. If the rotor is true with minor grooving, which is rare, then it makes sense to machine them. If you buy the premium grade rotors you'll have a lot less trouble.

 

thanks for all the good info, i was reading about the low MPG and there was a number and a name given to talk to. Mary Beth at 1800 763 8422, a supervisor at dodge. Im getting only maybe 450 km per tank too.. hope it helps.

 

I have had the same problem with only the rear driver side brake.

I have a 2010 Caravan and after 6 months I took it in to a Goodyear shop that just does tires to put on the all season tires (I had winter on since I bought it in the winter). The guy told me that something was wrong with the rear driver side brakes (he said that it looks like they are sticking - pads worn down). Note: The rear driver side always has a lot of black residue around the rim.

I took it into the dealer and told them that there was a problem with the rear driver side brakes and the pads were worn down and I asked if they had previous known problems with brakes on the 2010. They said no and I told them to look at it but don't do anything without my approval.

They came back and said they would replace the calipers free of charge but I needed to replace the pads. After some lengthy discussion they agreed to pay for the pads and then they finally admitted that Chrysler was having problems with the pads. They claimed that their tests showed that whatever is put on the pads to help with noise was causing the pads to stick and therefore cause premature wear. They said they would put on new pads that they have that does not have that coating.

Well I drove it through the summer and now it is the winter and I changed to winter tires. While we had the tires off I checked the brakes and noticed that the inside pad on the rear driver side is worn to half. All other pads are like new.

I am taking it into the dealer in the next week or two and see what they have to say. Will keep you informed.

 

Chrysler just came out with a TSB that requires us to replace the Pad/Caliper Mounting bracket. because the clearance for the brake pad slot is too tight.
I usually just Grind down the old bracket when i do Rear brake on Caravan and Jouney, it helps out a lot.

Another problem I've notice is the Parking Brake cable is too tight and Pushing on the Caliper, the Tension it applys on the Sliding Pin cause the Caliper not to slide back in place. It helps out to Loosen up the Parking brake Cable mounting bracket that's attach to the rear knuckle. and this only happens on the Driver's side, because that's the side the parking brake cable runs along.

 

Do you have the TSB number? Can we view it online in Canada? If not I can take it to my dealership.

My experience with my 2009 SXT was in the fall, the driver's side rear caliper seized and we drove several miles at highway speeds without even knowing.

Even though we are within our 36000/3 year warranty, the dealership would not do anything on warranty. They charged me over 200 bucks to service the brake and replace the pads. They gave me the Chrysler customer number to complain to. I called the number, made my complaint, faxed in my dealer repair bill. A few weeks later I got a letter and a cheque back for the labour. The letter claimed there were no issues with brakes on the van and that they gave me the labour pittance as a good will gesture. That really ticked me off and had the opposite affect.

And now to read there may be a TSB that may apply to my situation, I want the rest of my money back!

 

sorry, my mistake, it wasn't a atual TSB, it was a service tech-tips dealership gets for replacing the bracket if uneven brake wear. rear brake only comes with 12k/1yr waranty.

 

i got a recall letter in mail for 2010 rear brakes. got to find letter to post,