Hyundai i10 AT Wheels Locked Up!

[dhoom9]

Just today when I had to go out, out of no where, I found wheels of my i10 locked up. I can start the engine flawlessly in either "P" or "N" position, no lights persistent lit up in dashboard (indicating any system failure in car), can easily gear shift in "D" or "R" position, but in spite revving up engine, wheels doesn't move an inch, front wheels appear to start up, but rear wheels refrain to move even an inch. I can apply & release car brake, & even parking brake with warning light shown up in dashboard when parking brake applied.

Never experienced such situation in same car in past, or in any petrol / diesel car owned in past.

Any clue?

My mechanic (auto engineer running general garage) says its locked up parking brake though not shown in dashboard. He also said it is good practice not to apply parking brakes in monsoon season. He said he will come tomorrow morning with some cooling device & will try to disengage whatever stuck up & then will take to garage for final repair. (We have no Hyundai ASS at present in Bhavnagar, nearest Hyundai ASS is some 200 kms away.)

 

[Akash]

Re: i10 AT wheels locked up...

Your mechanic is right. This happened to me last year during monsoons. I had to a water waded road. After coming back I parked the car, applied the parking brake. I didnt use the car for a day and when next day I tried to move the car, it refused to move an inch.

Remedy: I removed the rear brake assembly and found that the spring attached to the small cylinder was stuck in its position which is why even though the parking brake was released, the brakes were actually still applied to the wheel.

 

[vu2gte]

Re: i10 AT wheels locked up...

Youshould be able to move the car by using excessive power provided it was not left in this condition for too long. Try alternating between drive and reverse and it ought to free up.

 

[kannan]

Re: i10 AT wheels locked up...

Youshould be able to move the car by using excessive power provided it was not left in this condition for too long. Try alternating between drive and reverse and it ought to free up.

I too faced a similar situation in my old car. So i never used parking brakes while @home.
Be careful when applying power to release the brake. I disengaged by revving up and using the same method suggested by vu2gte, But be careful if your parking space is small, you might hit a wall.

 

[TSIVipul]

Re: i10 AT wheels locked up...

@Dhoom9:
Was your car parked for a week or two? Has it been through any washing, rain or water wading since it was last driven(or water waded in last drive)?

 

[dhoom9]

You should be able to move the car by using excessive power provided it was not left in this condition for too long. Try alternating between drive and reverse and it ought to free up.

I disengaged by revving up and using the same method suggested by vu2gte, But be careful if your parking space is small, you might hit a wall.

I am scared of trying excess acceleration, as it car is AT & this might damage engine / gear box / clutch.

@Dhoom9:
Was your car parked for a week or two? Has it been through any washing, rain or water wading since it was last driven(or water waded in last drive)?

It was driven before 2 days, & has not water wading, but was under rain while parked.

Auto mechanic came yesterday, removed both wheels one after another, hammered the part on which wheel is fitted. With 3-4 light strokes of hammer that part was loose & rotating, & hence wheel was applied again. Same thing repeated on another rear wheel. As both wheel were loosened, mechanic took car with him for through washing & service.

Looking at this, I after thought that with engine revving, wheels might have loosened & car would have been movable; but that would have placed too much strain on drive train & might have done more damage. So I am happy I wait for mechanic & watched problem which I have never seen or heard in my >20 years driving life.

 

[TSIVipul]

I am scared of trying excess acceleration, as it car is AT & this might damage engine / gear box / clutch.

You did it right, else you also would have posted a thread reporting the smell of burnt clutch!

It was driven before 2 days, & has not water wading, but was under rain while parked.

It sounds weird, maybe there is some problem with hydraulic cylinders of brake drums, they can get jammed. I mean, in just two days of parking your brakes got jammed, never experienced by me in any drum braked car too. At least a week is required.

I'd suggest you to give a thorough look at the problem and if required then get the cylinders changed(they won't cost anything more than 6-700 each).

 

[kannan]

It sounds weird, maybe there is some problem with hydraulic cylinders of brake drums, they can get jammed. I mean, in just two days of parking your brakes got jammed, never experienced by me in any drum braked car too. At least a week is required.

I'd suggest you to give a thorough look at the problem and if required then get the cylinders changed(they won't cost anything more than 6-700 each).

+1 to that. In my case it was almost 2 weeks with the parking brake (even though it was rainy season, the car was parked safely in porch)
Next week i took it to service and informed the SA about this, he called me back late that day and advised me to replace the cylinders, and i agreed to that.

 

[TSIVipul]

Some days back we made our electric car project and we bought Maruti Omni differential for the same. That also had the same issue of jammed cylinders, although we got them working again by oiling and some more jhol jugaads but finally the rear brakes got back into action perfectly only after we replaced the cylinders.

 

[TSIVipul]

@Dhoom:
Any update on the issue and its rectification?

 

[Adil]

Its due to the brake pads binding to the discs. And can be a common problem particularly if the hand brake is left engaged for long periods especially in damp weather.
Also can happen if the brakes have been heavily used, are hot and then the hand brake engaged for some length of time.
The remedy is simply to put the car in 1st and move off with a bit of power (and if necessary in reverse alternatively).
It won't burnt the clutch, all you will hear is a "clonk" as the bond between the pads and discs breaks!!!
I always prefer to leave the car in gear with a couple of bricks under the wheels as a safety precaution if not driving for some time.

Off Topic:
The wheels too will bind to the hubs over time and can be very difficult to remove eg for a tyre change. Remedy is to apply a small amount of copper grease between the face of the hub and the wheel. CAUTION: do not get any grease onto brake components such as discs, pads and the brake calipers!!!

 

[Adil]

Its due to the brake pads binding to the discs. And can be a common problem particularly if the hand brake is left engaged for long periods especially in damp weather.
Also can happen if the brakes have been heavily used, are hot and then the hand brake engaged for some length of time.
The remedy is simply to put the car in 1st and move off with a bit of power (and if necessary in reverse alternatively).
It won't burnt the clutch, all you will hear is a "clonk" as the bond between the pads and discs breaks!!!
I always prefer to leave the car in gear with a couple of bricks under the wheels as a safety precaution if not driving for some time.

Off Topic:
The wheels too will bind to the hubs over time and can be very difficult to remove eg for a tyre change. Remedy is to apply a small amount of copper grease between the face of the hub and the wheel. CAUTION: do not get any grease onto brake components such as discs, pads and the brake calipers!!!

Forgot to add it could be the brake shoes binding to the brake drum in case the rear braking circuit has this instead of discs. Remedy is the same.
Sometimes a bit of adjustment to the brake shoes may be needed if they bind despite the hand brake being disengaged.
Regards
Adil

 

[dhoom9]

@Dhoom:
Any update on the issue and its rectification?

Autowala has changed the Brake pads + wheel hubs + bearings + all general service, & i10 is in full bloom status. Total Bill had approached approx. 10K.