All four wheels lockup at same time

Tiny
CHERYL JOHNSON
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 TOYOTA COROLLA
  • 1.6L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 275,000 MILES
First let me say that the front brake pads have been changed, front passenger side caliper has been changed because it was not the correct size, and the front passenger side CV axle has been replaced. Now after driving for about 5-10 minutes the car slows down to about 10 mph with my foot on the gas the whole time and then completely stops as soon as I take my foot off the gas. The brake pedal is extremely hard and I’m the up position. I get out and look and both front brakes are red hot and smoking and the back brakes are locked up and the wheels won’t even turn. Usually after it sits for awhile they will unlock and be fine the rest of my drive, until last night when I tried to make it home from work and it locked up on me in the middle of the road and thankfully a big truck was able to just push me the rest of the way to my house, which was 4 driveways up from where it stopped and now my radiator is busted. What is going on with this car? I just bought it a month ago and I’m beginning to think he ripped me off. Saw a single female with a little bit of money and just said the heck with it and lied saying the car was in perfect running shape. Any help would be appreciated. I’m kinda mechanically inclined but this is beyond me on why all four lock up.
Friday, July 17th, 2020 AT 10:38 AM

7 Replies

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
This could be a couple of things. It first sounds like an ABS event that is applying brakes since the pedal is hard to press. Do you hear a buzzing or grinding when this is happening?

If not, then I suspect the master cylinder is failed or failing. The fact is that these brakes are locking up and because it is all four I suspect the master cylinder is at fault.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-a-brake-master-cylinder

No matter what this is, I would highly suggest calling this shop back and telling them this is happening since they worked on it. If it is something they caused they would need to fix it. So I would take it back and then let us know what they say it was if they are not going to take care of it and we will let you know if that sounds right.

Thanks
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Friday, July 17th, 2020 AT 12:23 PM
Tiny
CHERYL JOHNSON
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
I did the work myself, but made sure I put everything back the way it came off. I’ve been working on cars since I was little with my dad including pulling engines and dropping transmissions. Even he’s stumped on what’s causing this. There’s no leaking anywhere around the master cylinder and when I pulled the hose off the check valve on the power booster I heard the whoosh of air. Would love he master cylinder go bad without leaking?
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Friday, July 17th, 2020 AT 12:53 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Okay. Are you sure it is all the wheels locking up? Let's try lifting the vehicle off all 4 wheels and try turning each one just to see if all of them are locked up. The only other common cause of this after someone works on it is the flexible brake line is twisted and not allowing the brake fluid to return so when you press the brakes, it pushes the fluid to the calipers but the line is restricted and doesn't allow it to return which holds the brakes applied.

Does that make sense?

As for the master cylinder, that is just the only thing that really makes sense for all 4 to be applied. Once it comes out of the master cylinder, you have individual lines and brake components so it is extremely unlikely for all 4 portions/legs of the system to be locked up the same way.
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Friday, July 17th, 2020 AT 5:48 PM
Tiny
CHERYL JOHNSON
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
I don’t have any way of getting all for 4 wheels off the ground at the same time. I’m just going by what the 2 guys that were thankfully nice enough to stop and push me out of the road said. The right rear tire wouldn’t turn at all, the left rear was barely turning and I’m guessing the front tires were turning but the rotors were red hot and smoking, as if the pads were stuck to the rotors. Someone else has mentioned my ABS sensor or my power brake booster. But nobody seems to think my master cylinder since I’m not leaking fluid at all.
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Friday, July 17th, 2020 AT 8:46 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
So again the master cylinder only makes sense due to it being all four tires locked up all the time, but I think we have enough info to move past that at this point. Also, a master cylinder can fail in other ways then just leaking but again, I think we have another issue at this point. When its an ABS issue normally there is a buzzing or pulsing feeling when using the brakes. Was there any of this?

Lastly if the wheels are still locked up then just lift them one at a time and try to spin it and see which ones are effected.
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Saturday, July 18th, 2020 AT 7:03 PM
Tiny
CHERYL JOHNSON
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Sorry for the delayed response. I don’t have ABS on my car. But I’ve ordered new rotors and pads for front, caliper for drivers side and brake shoes for the rear drum brakes. I’m hoping that this will fix whatever the issue is. If not I’ll order a master cylinder and would it be wise to replace brake booster at the same time? I don’t know if it’s a related issue but I’m also replacing the radiator since it randomly decided to crack on the top when I had to be pushed off the road by a truck that stopped to help me.
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Friday, July 24th, 2020 AT 11:08 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
If it were me, I would just go ahead and do it at the same time. If you don't and it fails in a little while then you will just have to remove the master cylinder again and replace it.

As for the crack in the radiator, that would not be related but clearly a needed repair.
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Saturday, July 25th, 2020 AT 5:24 PM

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