When I got my car a couple months ago, I found a receipt from about 10k miles ago that mentioned the left rear caliper was seized, and that the owner declined repairs. It's not that big of a deal, so I figured I'd change the pads, rotor, and caliper in a month or so when I get some more time.
Today as I was coming to a stoplight I started slowing down as usual, then the pedal dropped to the floor!
I threw it into first and pumped the brakes frantically, ending up just inches from a large pickup truck with a big chrome bumper at about grille/headlight level.
I pulled into a parking lot and saw that the inside of the left rear wheel was soaked with brake fluid. My first thought was that I shouldn't have put off replacing that caliper because it probably blew out the piston seal.
I carefully limped home, staying the heck away from other cars and using lower gears for engine braking. I crawled underneath, and quickly saw the actual cause of the problem. The jackass mechanic who looked at it apparently didn't bother taking the 2 seconds to clip the brake hose in place. It was sitting against the inner lip of the wheel, which had rubbed a hole into it!
I called every parts store in town, and got the same answer--if I had drum brakes I'd be set, but the caliper and disc brake hose are special order items. For the time being I cut the hose, jammed a screw in, and put a hose clamp around it.
I'm going to call the shop that did the work tomorrow. I want to at least give them a piece of my mind, and hopefully get reimbursed for the brake hose as well.
Long story short, don't put off brake problems (I would have spotted the hose well before it almost got me into an accident if I didn't procrastinate), and make damn sure the hoses are clipped in place and routed properly!
