Both Front Brake Calipers Not Releasing [5 Easy Solutions]

Are both front brake calipers not releasing? Then, frozen-up front brakes, a seized-up front brake caliper, and worn-out brake hoses are the most common caveats that cause your calipers to stick. Therefore, misalignment calipers and defective master cylinders are also responsible for sticking brake calipers. 

Addressing and solving those problems, you can easily unstick the front brake calipers. Fortunately, we will also describe how to deal with those issues and solve them. So, stay in tune with us till the end. 

How To Tell If Brake Caliper Is Locked Up?

Before disclosing what causes the brake calipers to stick, we will describe some common signs that will tell you about a locked-up brake caliper. 

• Your car seems to pull to one side when you apply a hard brake.
• You will hear a grinding noise coming out of the wheels.
• Brake fluids will come out of the calipers. 
• Low fuel economy.
• Smoke will come out of the wheels. 

There are more signs besides these that will tell about a seized-up caliper. So, it would be best to find out the source of the problems. In the next chapter, we will reveal the culprits behind a sticking brake caliper. 

What Causes Are Both Front Brake Calipers Not Releasing?

This chapter will describe the most common reasons that cause your brake calipers to stick. Plus, you will get the way of unsticking the jammed calipers. 

01. Front Brakes May Get Frozen Up

When brake calipers are not released, we mistakenly think that we should replace the calipers. But it’s not the case we think. Sometimes, the front brakes can freeze up on their slides because of the lack of lubrication on the caliper’s slides. In short, frozen-up front brakes are the culprits that cause your front brake calipers to not release. 

Solution:

Lubricating the brake caliper pistons is a simple remedy to this problem. All you need to do is- just partially take apart the front brake caliper assembly and clean it up with spray brake cleaner. You can also use some bronze wool to tidy up it. Then, re-lube the front brakes with high-temp copper grease on the slides. 

You can also use a grease gun to lubricate the front brake calipers. Just grab the grease gun, adapt the grease gun to the bleeder fitting, and start pumping with grease. However, this method may have some downsides, especially if you have an older model car. In this case, you can watch the following tutorial to untick frozen brake calipers.

02. Seized-Up Brake Calipers

A seized-up caliper or brake pad is the main culprit that causes both front brake calipers to not release. 

Generally, brake calipers get jammed if you don’t maintain the pistons found inside your brake calipers. Your vehicle’s brake calipers withstand adverse situations or changes in temperature as you accelerate & brake your car. 

This constant change impacts the pistons adversely and brings them to decay over time. When you leave the cracked pistons for a long time, moisture can easily make its way into your caliper’s pistons, erode them, and lead them to seize up. 

Solution:

The only solution left if the brake calipers get seized up is- to replace them. Now, you may ask- how can I understand I need to replace the front brake calipers or if they get jammed? Simple, When you brake hard, it seems your car pulls to one side if the brake calipers get jammed. 

Unfortunately, you should spend $567 to $904 to replace the brake calipers. However, you can cut down the cost from $132 to $167 if you install the calipers by yourself. However, we recommend you bring your car to a professional if you are not mechanically inclined. 

03. Worn-out Brake Hose

A worn-out brake hose also causes the front brake calipers to stick. Over time, brake hoses can deteriorate or get damaged internally where a hunk of rubber divides into pieces and hangs inside the brake hose. It (the hunk of rubber) may act as a check valve. 

Because of this, when you apply the brake, the pads will clamp the rotors. But when you release the brake, the hunk of rubbers prevents the hydraulic pressure from freeing up the caliper pistons. Consequently, the brake will remain applied without releasing the brake calipers. 

Solution:

You must replace the brake hose if you find it wears out. Just inspect the brake hose. We recommend you pump the brake pedal multiple times and try to turn the tires by hand. 

If you find the tires hard to spin, pump the brake pedal again. Now, crack open the bleeders. Understand there is a problem with brake hoses if the brake fluid squirts out.

 We suggest checking out this tutorial if you don’t know how to replace the brake hose on a car. Alternatively, you can hire a mechanic to do this task for you. 

04. Caliper Misalignment

Correct alignment of the caliper to the rotor is a must to avoid brake drug or front brake caliper issues. Calipers may come out of the alignment over time. If this problem keeps growing severely, brake pads or calipers may remain in contact with the rotor surface. As a result, the calipers will stick with the rotors due to the result of overheating. 

Several reasons are responsible for caliper misalignment. A small bump can even bend the mounting brackets that keep the calipers in their place. Turns out, overheating can warp up the brake pads or calipers and throw the calipers out of alignment. 

Solution:

To fix the misalignment issue of your brake calipers, we recommend you bring your car to a certified car mechanic. An expert can easily catch the problem of caliper misalignment by visually inspecting your brake systems. Then, they will help you to re-center the calipers to get the best output. 

05. Defective Master Cylinder

Sometimes a defective master cylinder can cause the brakes to stick. Most of the time dirty brake fluids are responsible for this issue. 

If the brake or brake calipers get stuck, it’s most likely from a clogged compensating port in the master cylinder. Due to this blocked port, it doesn’t allow the fluid for the disc brakes to return to the master cylinder. Consequently, you will get a stuck-up brake or brake caliper. 

Alternatively, the defective master cylinder gets damaged completely. 

Solution:

Bleeding the master cylinder will be a simple hack to remove brake fluid from the master cylinder. If you don’t know how to bleed the master cylinder, you can watch this video to learn. Otherwise, you should replace the master cylinder. In this case, it will be best to get your car to a mechanic to do this for you. 

FAQs:

Conclusion

A seized-up caliper is the main caveat that causes your front brake calipers to not release. Basically, pistons inside the brake calipers that get damaged are responsible for seizing up the calipers. 

So, we recommend you inspect the pistons and lubricate them. If somehow the pistons get cracked, you should replace the entire caliper assembly. 

Besides, we suggest lubricating the front brakes and brake hoses, and of course, taking care of the master cylinder. All of these tips will help you keep the front brake calipers functional for a long time.