Brakes locked on, car won't move!!

[johntheboy]

Hi,

Picked up my .exeo from a dealership last week. On Saturday morning I took the car for a motorway journey (dead on an hour) to see my folks, just as I was nearing my exit I tapped the brakes very lightly and the pedal was rock hard and felt full of pressure, after this I tried getting up to speed and the car wouldn't go past 60. My first thought was it was going to go into limp mode.

As I pulled off the slip road the car was slowing its self down so was apparent the brakes were binding, the car was getting harder and harder to make accelerate by this point, I pulled over for a few minutes, brake pedal still rock hard to touch.

Somehow managed to get the thing to move to my folks where at the top of the road the brakes just completely jammed on, car wouldn't budge and smoke was pouring on with the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree with warning lights. Had to leave it there for 10 minutes before it would remotely budge and even then it got about 50 yards before it wouldn't move again.

Went spare with the dealer (mainly because outright they point blank refused to pick the car up and a refund outright) who have now reluctantly collected the car but I'm awaiting an outcome.

Quite disappointed because I otherwise really liked the car but it's shaken me up a little as this could have happened in the middle lane of the M1 and I need to rely on the car for work. It's a 2010 car, ex demo originally with 1 owner with just gone 33k on the milage.

Any opinions on what people think might have caused it and whether I should persue a refund I'd really appreciate it.

Many thanks!

 

[asonda]

Sorry to hear that you've had this problem.

The truth of the matter is, that could happen to any car, make or model so don't let it put you off the Exeo all together.

If it was me, I'd definitely be looking to get them to repair the vehicle and also investigate if it's caused further damage anywhere else and have them fix that under whatever warranty you have agreed to when buying the car.

If they aren't going to do that, you have a good case for Trading Standards for them to refund you in whole as they have sold you a car not fit for purpose and won't rectify it.

Don't let the dealer mess you around, state in simple terms this is what you want for the issue to be resolved and if not Trading Standards will be pursued for an acceptable outcome.

Where did you buy the car from? A main dealer? A used car lot?

Kindest Regards

Jamie

 

[johntheboy]

Thanks for your reply. The garage kept stating that they take three attempts to rectify the problem before they're willing to give a refund. Which I know is rubbish and I'm well within my rights for a refund as it's not fit for purpose.

The garage was a seat garage, however the same parent company seems to have garages in the same area for skoda, fiat and ford, so I'm assuming they're not run directly by seat?

My real worry is to why this happened and what caused it. I've not heard of it before, doesn't seem to be a common fault and it's thin on the ground for any cars while searching on the net.

What worries me is that if it gets 'fixed' do I still own what could effectively be a death trap?

 

[asonda]

No Car Manufacturer to my knowledge own or run any Dealerships. Independent companies own the Dealership Franchise and 'Represent' the brand eg SEAT so many have a few dealerships that sell different brands nothing out of the ordinary there.

Regards to it being a Death Trap, I'd wait and see what they say caused it and how they're rectifying it. It's only a few years old, good mileage, I think you have probably just been a bit unlucky to have this happen to you.

I don't know to what extent the issue was, you said it forced the whole car to stop, was it rear brakes binding? was it the front brakes? It's hard to say how much of a problem it is with the car without knowing what specifically was going wrong.

They will isolate the problem, replace the parts needed and it won't happen again.

Personally, I wouldn't be worried it's going to happen again if they prove they have fixed it and replaced parts.

That being said I do know things like this can destroy confidence in a car but hopefully this is a hiccup that you won't have to deal with again.

Best thing to do, wait for their diagnosis, let us know on here and take it from there I think.

Kindest Regards

 

[taffybloke]

I would check the history with them to see if this car has suffered in the past, or check with the previous owner.

What sort of warranty have they given you.

You don't want to find the problem still there when its not covered.

Mike.

 

[PeeJay]

As much as I love my Exeo, I'd agree with the OP, brakes lock and I'd want rid, not to give them 3 goes to fix it - do you assume the ABS still functions? Or will it locking on at 30 mean a less than graceful slide into a ditch?

I'd have any other Exeo, but not that one, faith gone.

 

[johntheboy]

They cover the car for 30 days then I bought a 12 month waranty with them. The front brakes locked and were pouring with smoke, as I say I couldn't shift the car and had to leave it off for a bit to cool before it'd shift at all.

As for checking the history or previous owner, how would I go about doing that?

The day I picked the car up (Friday) some tool in a van in front of me didn't have any working break lights so had to slam in my anchors when he didn't indicate for a turning, abs worked fine then, and that day I didn't have issues. All lights were on when the brakes locked up though.

As for them binding... They must have been on a tiny bit for the whole journey, I was watching my MPG drop from 37 to 31 within around half an hour of consist and speed motorway driving. Which didn't look right, then as I say I braked and the break pedal was rock solid, like when you sit in traffic and pump the brake pedal.

 

[taffybloke]

Previous keeper details will be on your v5 and ask the seat garage for a printout of the service history.

This model has been around for a long time as the Audi a4 before seat used it and this does not sound a common problem so you need to check if this car has any secrets.

Mike

 

[johntheboy]

Unfortunately they didn't give me the full V5, just the green slip for new keeper

 

[asonda]

You'll get the new one hopefully within this week or perhaps next....

You have a good few options to pursue, you just need to decide on which way you want to go really.

It's good they have the car, I take it you've heard nothing today so far? Have you tried ringing them today as you are without your car and need it desperate

 

[johntheboy]

That's the thing, I'm really struggling to decide if I want to keep it or not. Really like the car and the headache of finding another one is a bit much to bear (only just had to return an A4 at the end of jam as that broke down 3 times in 3 weeks so at this stage I'm feeling pretty broken when it comes to cars.

The big question is if I can be happy with it. I'll be asking for compensation, I'll want the waranty extended to two years and for them to pay for an independent assessor (Aa or RAC) to review the car.

Just wish there was an obvious reason as to what caused it.

 

[asonda]

It is a very peculiar issue I'll give you that, I hope for you though that this can be sorted with the least hassle for you as It's not nice to have a new car and get issues with almost straight away, goes from feeling like your new baby to a burden immediately...been there done that.

So have you called them today for an update?

 

[Cornishgreg]

I had a similar feeling when I owned a RenaultSport Megane that got badly crunched in a multi car accident.

When I first got it back it made me shiver every time I drove it, then someone pointed out that it was probably better than new in it's repaired form, with updated but factory parts, worked on to an exacting standard.

I know it's not the same, but goes to show how our relationship with our cars is often far from rational.

In this case, if they can fix the problem to the point where it won't happen again, I think I would be happy to drive it knowing that all was sorted.

Especially if you can get the dealer to pay some compensation and have the independent check, you should feel confident that the car was arguably in a better state then when you purchased it!

Good luck, hope it turns out for the best whatever happens.

 

[johntheboy]

Couldn't agree more, very much over particular with my cars.

Called them for an update, they told me one of their technicians has had a look today and can't find the issue which I'd reported, however he did say the brakes are quite corroded (glad they spotted that when they serviced and MOT'd it ey!!) but he said their 'master technician' (I can only assume he's been trained by some elite squad hidden away in a mountain somewhere) is going to be on with it Wednesday morning so they'll have an update by then. I'm not confident in what they'll find, but if they find nothing or it's inconclusive I'll have to take my money back as I definitely can't rely on it.

 

[kblackburn]

Johntheboy,

any news on the brake situation?