Caliper won't release pressure from the brake caliper rotors

One or both of the brake callpers are not releasing when you release pressure on the brake pedal so you have continued contact between the brake pads and the brake rotor. This will overheat the brake pads and rotors and produce a burning smell and smoke.

If your brakes were working fine before the people you used to fit the new pads and rotors got hold of your car then the most likely cause will be faulty installation. For example if the inner and outer brake pads have been reversed when fitted in the brake caliper this will cause your brakes to bind up as you have described. If the brake caliper slides have not been properly lubricated with the correct product (or not lubricated at all) the calipers can bind up and hold the pads on the brake rotor.

In your case I would suspect the new brake pads have probably been reversed during installation and that is what I would be looking at first. But there are other possibilities that may also need to be checked.

You can take the vehicle back to whoever did the sloppy work and get them to fix it or take it to a competent mechanic very close to home who can check over the installation work. (Those that did the work should have road tested the car before giving it back to you and binding brakes should have been noticed if they were half competent). You don't want to be driving far when your brakes are like this.

2. Your brakes can also bind up as you have described if there is a blockage in one or both of the flexible brake hoses connected to the brake caliper. Usually you won't get two at once though. When this happens the blockage in the line will not allow the brake fluid to flow back up the lines when you release the brakes (and there is no pressure pushing it back) so the brake pads will not release from the brake rotor. The flexible brake lines need to be replaced every 7 -8 years or so as they deteriorate badly from the inside but outside they may look just fine. If one or more of your flexible brake lines were bad before you replaced the brake pads and rotors then fitting the new pads and rotors will really show up the problem.

3. You can also have a brake binding problem if the piston in one or more of your brake calipers is corroded and will not retract back into the bore when brake pressure is released. The piston or pistons in the calipers press on the back of the brake pad unit and force the pad onto the brake rotor. If the pistons are corroded (which will often be the case in old calipers) they can bind up in the caliper bore and not retract back into the bore when the brake pressure is released. If you had this problem before the new pads and rotors were fitted the problem will show up much more now that new pads have been fitted. It is a simple task to check if any of the pistons in any of the brake calipers in your car are binding up and not retracting as it is any of the installation work that has been done.

Some businesses will do very sloppy brake work and not check that everything is freely moving correctly when the brake pedal is applied and released as you need to when replacing brake pads.

An internally collapsed brake line near the caliper, the flexible line, can let the brake fluid pressure go into the caliper but restrict it from returning and releasing the piston in the caliper.

the brake drag could be caused by a brake caliper sticking and not releasing, which means replace both calipers and bleed system, as usually when one goes bad the other is not far behind. another thing is if a brake flex hose has collapsed internally it won`t allow the caliper to be released completely. the name for the bearing is called inner wheel bearing. as far as the rotors if they haven`t been changed or turned and have heated up enough that you could smell brake material then change them in pairs.

sound like you have a brake caliper that has went defective.need to replace this item and should take care of the problem.because when you applied pressure to the brakes the brake caliper started to close so the brakes could tighten against the brake rotor to slow vehicle down and some times these calipers will stick down holding pressure on the wheel disc and cause the wheel to still have the brakes holding down the brake shoes against it not letting pressure to release from rotor and this is what caused it to stay locked up its not releasing to allow to allow wheel to spin free.best bet is to replace the brake caliper.you can pick one up at parts place or local junk yard and are not highly expensive but I would go with new one if possible. to insure this does not happen again this is very dangerous could cause you to have a accident so I would get fixed before driving again.safety first .hope this helps you out so I would replace the brake caliper and also put a new set of brake shoes on it.its not hard to put on easily fixed. thanks 10 zacks

When you say "the wheel bearings are too tight, & there is no play". Is this on the rotor, or axle hub? When you depress your brake pedal, a number of things are in play. The twin pistons, within the Brake master cylinder is pushing hydralic Brake fluid to your caliper, under extreme pressure. When your foot is removed from the pedal, all there is to get that caliper to release, is a clean, wrking piston in the caliper, & THE MOST Mis-Diagnosed problem I have noticed on all makes,brands & models, ever since the inception of disc brakes...........is those "flexible, high pressure brake hoses. As fluid is pushed thru at extreme pressure, & only returning spring, non piston pressure, a "deteriorated hose", will actually work as a one way "check" valve. It will set the caliper, but, not release it. The gop bad at about 75,000 miles & up, depending on conditons the vehicle is used in.

The rubber brake hose may be cracked on the inside causing the pressure to remain on the caliper piston. Replace the hose and bleed the brakes to restore proper pressure to the caliper.

replace the brake hose they get what is called a fissure inside hose and it will act like a check valve you hit brake pedal and when you let off brake pedal the fissure inside hose will hold pressure on caliper i see it all the time next time it locks up open the bleeder screw on caliper and the wheel will free up because you release the pressure that can,t go thru hose

It can be the wheel Hub bearings. The rotors if warped will wear out pads early. Bad calipers are another possibility as well as a bad Master cylinder.

If the Hub bearings are bad your tires will have cupping. If the tires are okay the rotors are warping from contact with the pads. The pads won't release if the calipers are jamming OR the Master Cylinder is keeping pressure to the calipers.

You can get a pressure check done on the Master cylinder to see if the pressure is releasing when your foot is off the brake. If the pressure is releasing then the calipers are probably sticking. Make sure to use new brake hardware and a lubricate for the hardware when you assemble the calipers.

if it is braking normal no drag-shimmy-vibration /ur brakes are seating will smell until pads and rotor settle

the shoes not being adjusted properly or if one shoe has more pad than the other like a primary and secondary them wrong will also create this issue, also brake fluid on drums and shoes.