[Sup3rhank]

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for some advice and feedback on a minor issue that I'm having with my Focus ST.
A few weeks ago, I let a friend take my 2015 Focus St out for a spin (never doing that again) and he accidentally drove it for like 100 - 200 yards with the E-brake on.
Saying that I was upset is an understatement.

The car did not appear to suffer any damage outside of this awful burnt smell. The first week it was almost unbearable, I had to immediately wash my clothes after driving from work.

Most of the smell is gone, but it is still there. Should I be concern? will this smell eventually go away?

 

[dwizum]

Not a problem. You've burned off some of your brake pads. Unless you notice an obvious issue with braking performance (ie vibration, longer stopping distance) you're fine. Think of it this way - if you had 20k miles left on your brakes, you might only have 19k left now.

 

[mmlehcim]

Its nothing to be concerned about. He/she just burnt your pads/rotors and a little bit more gas than needed. Unless you feel something unusual when using the breaks, it shouldn't be a problem with your car.

 

[Fixter]

I agree with dwizum above, if the smell persists i would recommend first taking off the wheel and cleaning the brake caliper and rotor with some brake cleaner, just to get off any burnt residue. That and a good wash and you should be good to go. However if the smell is still there, i would hold out and drive it a little bit more. When it was driven with the E-Brake on it burned off the face of the pad, when you drive it enough just to take off the first layer of the pad the smell will go away
(If you really want the smell of burnt brake bad to go away quick, just replace the rear pads )

 

[Sup3rhank]

Thanks everyone, that puts me at ease. the car drives as it should; I'll wait it out.

 

[CaliJoe]

That far, you shouldn't have a problem. Here's a bonehead move I did last year. I have know idea why I'm sharing my stupidness with you but. Camping last year, towing a Kia Soul on a tow dolly behind MH. Load up first thing in the morning, before coffee, forgot to release PB, drove a couple of miles till I noticed the smoke :shocked: Pulled over and ran back there to the rear brakes on fire, I was able to blow it out but it scared the crap out of me. I was so mad at myself :furious: Yes it took a few days for the smell to go away and luckily it didn't melt the seals (surprised) the pedal felt a little squishy with the first few applications but all seemed to get back to normal after some driving. All is well cause I traded it for a ST a few months later :big smile:

Oh, chilled out, drank some coffee and away we went.

 

[lug]

Your friend has professionally leveled your brakes.

 

[brian60]

Your friend has professionally leveled your brakes.

Choked on my Southern Comfort reading this haha

 

[justindeboosted]

Yeah I had the same thing happen to me. Except I was shipping my car and the driver drove it around my house to straighten it on the ramp. And then drove it up the ramp. Realizing after that he left the e break on the whole time. Mind you my car barely had 1500 miles at the time.


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