Car will not Move forward when I release the brake

STARSHOTEYES

MEMBER
2008 JEEP COMMANDER
4WD
AUTOMATIC
156,000 MILES

(Update: Uh, funny story, had to go drive not even an hour after I sent this, the problem is completely gone? If this is, should I be concerned about, please let me know, but I think it fixed itself somehow, I don't know)
So, my car is older, I bought it from my parents about 2 months ago since I need to commute to college, but overall, it's worked fine. It's well taken care of; I just recently replaced the battery and got the oil changed. However, I noticed today that whenever I let go of the brake, instead of slowly moving forward (as cars normally do), it just sits until I press the accelerator and even then, it gives a pretty delayed reaction. The brake also feels like it has more give, it's easier to press than normal, which is slightly concerning. I'm not a car person, and I have to drive places every day, so I want to know whether this is a permanent issue, a quick over-the-weekend fix, or if I'll have to find a car to rent for a week or two while I send mine into the shop.

2 Replies

HARRY P

MECHANIC
2,293 POSTS

Hello.

Being an older car, the first thing that comes to mind is that maybe one of the slide pins on a brake caliper was sticking, or perhaps a piston in the caliper was sticking. What this translates to is that the brakes on that wheel would've been partially stuck, keeping the car from lurching when you let off the pedal and usually creating a slightly softer pedal feel. Not the most dangerous problem, especially if it worked itself out, which is common. What I'd do is take it for a ride. Be a little hard on it. Drive it fast a few times and hit the brakes kind of hard. Don't lock them up, but just come to a stop in short order. Do this several times. You'll obviously want to do this when no one is behind you, so as to avoid being rear ended. After you do it a while, get out and compare the temperatures of the wheels. The front wheels should be roughly the same temperature as one another and the rear wheel should be the same as one another, although probably cooler than the front wheels. If there's a serious difference between one front wheel and the other, or one rear wheel and the other, then the hotter wheel has an issue that needs further diagnosis. You'll want to address it sooner rather than later, and we can easily walk you through that process with just a few basic tools.

Since you don't know much about cars and braking systems, here's our guide that'll lay out a bit about brake calipers:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/brake-caliper-replacement

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Tuesday, October 5th, 2021 AT 8:28 PM

SQM

MECHANIC
6,383 POSTS

Hello,

First, did this not moving forward when releasing the brake, issue exist when you first got the vehicle?
Keep in mind that if you are uphill, it will not move forward either.
Another possibility that you have brake pads that are sticking/dragging on the rotors due to having faulty brake calipers.

Also, the delayed reaction for acceleration, was it there since day one?
This vehicle is equipped with a throttle actuator, so when you press the throttle it sends signal to the actuator to amount of throttle that you have input. When this actuator gets dirty it can have a delayed reaction to the throttle input.
Keep in mind that many of these vehicles have delayed throttle input by design. It could be a slight delay, not so long that you start to wonder if it's going to move or not.

Here is a guide of how to clean the actuator:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/throttle-actuator-service

Please let me know little more information of what you have been experiencing.

Thank you.

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