C5 rear brake problem

antonyash · Post by **antonyash** » 22 May 2010, 15:54

Hi all. I have just brought a 02 reg C5 saloon 2.0hdi LX (90) and last week the rear brakes seemed to be playing up. I took it for a run and the rear brakes seemed to be stuck on. At first it was alright but after a few miles it felt like the rear brakes were stuck on as the car was juddering and a pull was felt at the rear. Took it back to garage and the fixed the pulling feeling but now when i brake there is a grating noise from the rear. Also when i took the rear whell off the handbrake was on but the wheel still rotated on both sides

When i dropped the car back down the handbrake seems to hold. Is the two related ? Also the mpg aint great at the moment about 30mpg. I know that this is a good car but is this all related ?
I hope some one can help me out there please

Post by **myglaren** » 22 May 2010, 16:08

C5s and Xantias have a recognised fault with the rear calipers - corrosion occurs in the interface between the caliper and the radius arm and pushes the caliper out of alignment causing rapid and uneven wear of the pads and the disk,

There are several threads detailing the remedy - basically remove th caliper, clean the corrosion of the caliper and radius arm and refit with either a thin gasket to prevent contact between the two or grease the surfaces for the same effect. New pads will be needed if they are worn, possibly discs too.
They can be very difficult to remove!
Take the wheels off and check the pads for wearing in a wedge-shape.

C5 handbrake operates on the front wheels, not the rears.

Your MPG is poor, mine is crap at 32mpg round town, about 45 on longish runs (just done 599 miles average 42.5 mpg.)
Don't rely on the onboard computer, they are inaccurate and generally optimistic - mine doesn't work at all

Welcome to the forums, hope we can help you with your C5

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 22 May 2010, 16:12

Your C5s handbrake works on the front brakes not the rears.

C5s can have a problem with the rear calipers twisting causing the pads to wear wedge shaped and quickly, but the calliper can also come into contact with the rear wheels if its left too long, especially on cars with steel wheels.

The grinding noise might be a problem with the rear callipers or pads, having a quick look at those might be a good idea.

MPG does seem very low for a diesel. Has it got a good history record? Recently serviced including all of the filters (air & fuel)? Are the tyres correctly inflated?

If the above is all fine then it might be a sensor amiss somewhere. Only way to tell for sure is have it put on a Lexia code reader and see if it has any fault codes stored.

antonyash · Post by **antonyash** » 22 May 2010, 16:24

Thanks to Citroenmad and Myglaren. You have given me something to think about with your replies. I will be following up with your advise.

dnsey · Post by **dnsey** » 22 May 2010, 17:07

Until you've sorted the brakes, there's no point in worrying about the MPG. Binding brakes can consume a lot of fuel!

bencowell · Post by **bencowell** » 23 May 2010, 07:23

Don't forget that driving style has a lot to do with fuel economy.

It takes time to get used to Diesels, so if you're new to them, you won't get the best economy.