So I'm driving home from work today and I only live 5 miles from work when my cars really sluggish. So I drive it for another mile to try and figure things out when I realize my brakes are locked up and smoking like crazy. I pull over and once I park the car wouldnt budge. car starts and runs but the front pass. and rear driverside brake are locked up. Dont know what the hell is going on. I look under the car and see a puddle of coolant....How much crap could go wrong at once. I just got the car back and had the whole timing belt job done with all new hoses, both water pumps tensioners....turbos, intercoolers and now this crap. Are the rear brakes electronic? Could it be the E-brake? Guess we'll see where the coolant is coming from tomorrow. How the hell would my brakes just lock up??

 

brakes area big thing from the pedal all the way to the pads. It could be many of things. Mabey a bad abs modual, bad master cylinder, locked up calipers. So you just have to start from point A and work you way through the system. To answer you question about the electronic brakes, the only part elctronic about them is the ABS system. The coolant part, i couldnt tell you. Youve got a big mess good luck

 

How'd you get it home?

 

Well I was going 60mph when it happened and didn't realize what was happening until I was slowing down and down shiffting(1-2 miles) pulled over and called a flat bed to come get me. I will get the final diagnosis tomorrow but I think it was the abs module..Still waiting to hear where this coolant was coming from...

 

if it was the abs module, send yours to mastermodules to have them rebuild it. $250 vs $1000+

 

The shop could have messed up your TB job. there is no reason you should be leaking coolant after they were just in there. Have them check it out again. As for the brakes. I had a similar problem on my drivers side front in my old '99 A6 Avant. The calipers were bad. I felt the dragging slightly but didnt think much of it until I went to wash it and when I hit the brakes with the pressure washer I got loud crackling and steam. obviosly they were hot. Anyway I would have them check out he calipers and see if the hammer on it is returning. If it returns with out the E brake cable the cable is bad. if not. the caliper is bad.

 

Well I got my car back and after driving a few miles my brakes locked up again.... I wanted to kill someone! So now I have no idea what the problem is. After I let the car sit over night I went to try and see if it would move and the brakes were not locked. I was a block away from my house so I got it home. Now it must go back to the shop again... I unhooked the abs module and again the brakes locked up. I'm thinkin I either have a problem with the brake lines or the caliper in the front....

 

Any issues with clutch, just saying because clutch and brakes run off same fluid.

 

Now that you mention it my clutch is brand new and acting funny so I looked in the hydrolic fluid resevior and it was bone dry. Guess the fluid I saw on the gound when my car broke down the first time wasn't coolant..Now I'm totally confused on what's going on. My brake problem is more of a concern due to the fact that my clutch master slave and clutch assembly are brand new and my mechanic will be fixing it for free..