1997 neon 227,000 miles
SOHC
breaks have plenty of wear on them 3/4 plus

So I haven't really had any problems whatsoever with my neon in a long while. Now, all of the sudden my driver side brakes seem to be dragging to the point of smoking. I just drove it home then let it sit, sprayed some brake cleaner on them then forgot about it for a couple days... Things were fine. for about 2-3 weeks.

Now, I was driving along a highway (65-70mph) and I had to stop at a tollbooth and then as I was leaving the tollbooth I noticed I couldn't go any faster than 55. My breaks were sticking and I drove about another mile and they were not releasing. So I stopped on the side and for the hell of it i drove back and forth in reverse/drive about 20 feet each way a couple times.

The brakes seemed to release and I was on my merry way. Then as I was getting off my exit I had to brake a little hard and it seemed as if my car was steering back and forth while my wheel was straight so IDK whats going on with my breaks.

If anyone has any ideas on what it could be or any input please let me know.

It only seems to really affect the braking on hot days it was over 85-90ish when it seemed to happen. Or when I pushed down on the brake pedal further than normal as opposed to about 1/2 way to slow down for traffic stop light etc...

 

The piston is probably locking up on you at times. Check your fluid level, if all is good. The brake calipers are decent quality but with 200,000 + miles on them, may be time to change them out.

 

I was a little low on brake fluid, i filled to the full line and It seems to be doing ok for now, will repost if there's any further problems.