Thread: Trust this shops opinion?

I took my car to a local shop and just wanted to check if you agree with diagnosis. I've always done my own repairs since my first car in 2002, but due to recent circumstances I can't do this one.

My passenger rear brake pad fell out and the caliper started grinding on the rotor. Car seemed to drive and brake fine so i let it go on for about 1k miles. Then the other day i push in the brake pedal and it goes to the floor! Thats when i figure out it needs to get fixed asap.

Repair shop tells me the about the brake pad falling off and that the piston popped out of the caliper causing loss of brake pressure. They also say that the other rear caliper was over worked from this and has now stopped working.

They want to replace both rotors, both calipers, and of course brake pads. Reasonable or unneccesary?

Thx for help.

Completely reasonable and the only way I would fix a car that came in to me with that problem. A brake pad fell out and you drove the care for 1k miles after without doing anything? WTF did you think was going to happen?

If you are in a pinch... replace the caliper that had the piston fall out and that rotor and see what happens. You shouldn't have kept driving with a brake pad out! he is right though the piston will fall out. Take the rear caliper off and check it yourself.

your lucky to say the least sir

You're lucky you don't need a new master cylinder as well.

Reasonable diagnosis, but it's going to cost you a small fortune to have a shop do that. You would save several hundred dollars doing it yourself.

^^x2.

i really dont mean to be an ass hole but. if you knowingly let such an incredibly dangerous problem go..........and for 1k miles at that!? the other side may very well be ok.......but at the same time, it could have over heated quite bad, meaning the other side may lock up. but my question is this......the only way for a pad to fall out would have to be that it was worn on the backing plate for AWHILE! you didnt hear that?

There is no way the pad fell out and he heard nothing for at least a few thousand miles before. When the pads are worn enough to let the pad pop out, there is literally no friction material left at all. I would do both rear calipers even if only 1 was bad. Like Ben said, you are lucky that you don't need more work than you do. That being said...it is a costly job to have a shop do, but if you can't fix it yourself, you are stuck. Without looking up parts I would say anything under $700 is a deal.

Although I dont think the other caliper died from overheating, it's dead as well and should be changed.

As for your pad, I'd like to know how it foudn the space to fall out! lol