Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums  

Actually, if locked up caliper(s) are the cause of the brake fire Midas is 100% in the right. It is quite common for old brake calipers to seize when new pads are installed because you have to push the piston back in to get the caliper over the new pads, and when you do so you force the rough, corroded piston over the caliper's seal which often causes it to jam. This is not Midas' fault. It is also very unlikely that they didn't refill the master cylinder after swapping it, because if they hadn't, your buddy would not have had any brakes at all, not even when pulling out of the shop. A far more likely scenario is that one of the flex hoses popped with the heat of the locked brakes.

Now, if they replaced the M/C without adjusting the pushrod (or at least checking pushrod clearance) then this would be their fault. If this is the case the calipers should be OK unless your buddy abused them by continuinhg to drive when they were locked up (which appears to be the case, hence the fire). In this case Midas will not pay for the parts because it was abuse that killed them (it would be akin to driving your car with the oil light on - you should know better).

I'm gonna bet that the first scenario (seized calipers) is the more likely...

When something fails on your car it is not automatically the fault of the last guy that worked on it. I have seen far too much of this in my years as a mechanic, much of it completely unrelated to the repair. "You changed my oil, now my transmission slips". "You replaced my brake pads, now my check engine light is on". "You fixed my broken power window, now my brakes grind". "You did an alignment, now my trunk won't open with the remote".

I agree with you on all your points BUT in this case its "You fixed my brakes and my brakes failed "

 Granted it more than likely was the caliper like you said ,but it possibly could have been their fault .

 I think some investigation should be done to verify exactly what happened .

 But with that being said if the dude is still driving it after the aforementioned mishap he may have bigger problems .

There is no real way a shop could mess up installing brake pads and cause the brakes to lock.

Unfortunately, it is reactions like this that cause shops to say that all the parts must be replaced if anything is older than its normal operating life. Of course, had the Midas said that the calipers and hoses all needed to be replaced, people would be attacking them for not "just doing the 'needed' work."

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

Shouldnt they have done a road test with the new brakes before they turn it over to  the customer?  They would have felt the brakes dragging.

There is no real way a shop could mess up installing brake pads and cause the brakes to lock.

Unfortunately, it is reactions like this that cause shops to say that all the parts must be replaced if anything is older than its normal operating life. Of course, had the Midas said that the calipers and hoses all needed to be replaced, people would be attacking them for not "just doing the 'needed' work."

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

There is no real way a shop could mess up installing brake pads and cause the brakes to lock.

Unfortunately, it is reactions like this that cause shops to say that all the parts must be replaced if anything is older than its normal operating life. Of course, had the Midas said that the calipers and hoses all needed to be replaced, people would be attacking them for not "just doing the 'needed' work."

Shiny Side Up!
Bill