Driving issues possibley brakes

ashnk

ashnk

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Aug 8, 2021
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Location
New Jersey
2012 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited.
Bought used from small car dealer in 2018 with 95,000 now has 127,000.
Automatic transmission
No major mods except bumpers and leds. Previous owner did put bfg ko2 that are slightly bigger than the stock spare.

Sunday morning: rained overnight maybe 70 degrees. Drove out of parking spot (park to drive) and as I reach about 10mph it gave this jerk like it couldn’t get into the next gear and had a “nnnnn” sound. So I tried to accelerate again and had the same issue. Also while pressing on the brake, the brake pedal shuddered a little bit. So I coasted around the block pulled back into my spot turned it off and got my bf. This time I reversed out of my spot, and when I drove away I had no issues. I drove to work no issues, drove back home from work with no issues except my brake pedal shuddering once.

Monday morning: drove out of my spot again (park to drive) and the issue happened again. When I braked, the brake pedal shuddered again. This time the abs, traction, & downhill assist lights came on. So again I coated around the block, and pulled into my spot and turned it off. I got a ride to work and later we checked the trans fluid and it was a little low so we filled it. Then we took it for a ride, reversing out of my spot and into drive and no issues. The abs traction and downhill lights didn’t come back on.
Tuesday morning: Again pulled out of my spot (park to drive) and issue happened. So then I reverse a few feet in the road, and then drove it and it didn’t happen. However without further risking it, I got a ride to work.

If I reverse and then drive I have no issues. If I drive from park I get the jerk going into second gear.
 
I did just get my oil changed at jeep a week ago, and I previously had conventional oil but they put in full synthetic.
My rotors are pretty rusty, especially the rear ones.
Since I’ve had it I haven't had to replace my brakes yet.
 
ashnk said:
I did just get my oil changed at jeep a week ago, and I previously had conventional oil but they put in full synthetic.
My rotors are pretty rusty, especially the rear ones.
Since I’ve had it I haven't had to replace my brakes yet.
Click to expand...

It could be the brakes sticking.
 
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Were you able to figure out where the 'nnnn' sound was coming from? Specifically if possible, but even general direction can help. I doubt the oil change had anything to do with it, more likely the rain and humidity. Or it was just time for whatever component is sad right now.

Well done on your post by the way. Well written with lots of information. Thank you.

When I bought my 2009, the rear brakes were quite rusty, and I had to replace calipers/ rotors and brakes. This was due to the previous owner never doing anything with the rear brakes, they just didn't work anymore. Braking was night and day better after.

Brakes feels right for this issue, however also check that the ground terminal is tight on the battery. Many times Jeeps doing odd things is because a ground came loose. There are many other grounds that can be checked as well.
 
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I saw the thread title "Driving Issues" and also looked to see you're in NJ.
In my humble opinion and experience, a lot of people in NJ have driving issues.

Seriously, though, it does sound as though you've got a brake/ brake pad issue. I think putting it in reverse is kicking the pad and caliper back out of the way a fraction of an inch (we're not talking big tolerances here) and allows you to go forward. But the first time you use the brakes, it goes right back to the condition you describe, correct?
Also, are you only noticing it when going from 1st to 2nd gear, because that could be having almost the same effect as putting it in reverse- the shift and rpm change at the wheel is kicking the brake/ brake pad loose, therefore you don't feel it through the rest of the gears.
 
I can’t really get it to go past 10mph-ish so I don’t know it it’ll happen going into 3rd gear
MacGuyver said:
Were you able to figure out where the 'nnnn' sound was coming from? Specifically if possible, but even general direction can help. I doubt the oil change had anything to do with it, more likely the rain and humidity. Or it was just time for whatever component is sad right now.

Well done on your post by the way. Well written with lots of information. Thank you.

When I bought my 2009, the rear brakes were quite rusty, and I had to replace calipers/ rotors and brakes. This was due to the previous owner never doing anything with the rear brakes, they just didn't work anymore. Braking was night and day better after.

Brakes feels right for this issue, however also check that the ground terminal is tight on the battery. Many times Jeeps doing odd things is because a ground came loose. There are many other grounds that can be checked as well.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure where the sound is coming from. We’ll be checking the brakes tomorrow but I will check the battery today! Thank you!
 
Anybodyhome said:
I saw the thread title "Driving Issues" and also looked to see you're in NJ.
In my humble opinion and experience, a lot of people in NJ have driving issues.

Seriously, though, it does sound as though you've got a brake/ brake pad issue. I think putting it in reverse is kicking the pad and caliper back out of the way a fraction of an inch (we're not talking big tolerances here) and allows you to go forward. But the first time you use the brakes, it goes right back to the condition you describe, correct?
Also, are you only noticing it when going from 1st to 2nd gear, because that could be having almost the same effect as putting it in reverse- the shift and rpm change at the wheel is kicking the brake/ brake pad loose, therefore you don't feel it through the rest of the gears.
Click to expand...
As someone from NJ I don’t disagree with you lol!

Yes, after applying the brakes so the sound and halt will stop, if I accelerate again as soon as I hit about 10mph it jerk/ halts and makes a weird almost grinding sound.
I didn’t want to push is past the 10mph so I don’t know if it’ll happen going into third.
it seems once I hit 10 I am almost pushing against or pulling something and I can’t go but I didn’t push the gas any harder for risk of making the situation worse.
 
You mentioned you coasted. Do you actually mean the car is able to coast? This would indicate the pads weren't sticking. One thing to look for in sticking brakes is do the offending wheels get really hot. As in the brakes are being applied on those wheels creating excess heat. Also as mentioned, the parking brakes can rust up if you leave them applied, they get wet and stick to the drum surface. I had to deal with an occasional sticking caliper. I would throw snow on the wheel and it would steam off the snow because it got so hot.
 
Not the best production, but good content on how to adjust your e-brake and maybe get a better look at what's going on down there...

 
ashnk said:
Would this be more of just replacing the pads, or would that include rotors too? I won’t be looking at my brakes until tomorrow morning when it’s cooler out.
Click to expand...
Could go either way, though my guess that at least the rear is going to need new rotors and calipers based solely on your description.

How comfortable are the two of you doing your own vehicle work? None of this is very hard, but not everyone is mechanical, or like getting dirty.

An easy way to check brake functionality is to get each tire off the ground, make sure the vehicle will not roll and then one person apply the brake (this is in neutral and running) and the other rotate the tire that is off the ground. The tire should move freely, and then stop when the brake is applied, then move freely again the moment the brake is released.
 
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My dad helped replace the brakes. It took us a few good hours, hardest part was getting the rotor off. We replaced the rear brake pads and rotors, and the rear driver side caliper bracket, one of the long pins was stuck and ended up snapping while trying to remove. Inside brake pads were worn down the most and the rotors had grooves so they def needed to be changed.

The e-brake pads on the drivers side look like they need to be replaced too. The passenger side weren't as bad, had more pad then the other side. The inside of the rotor on drivers side had some scrapes/grooves from the e-brake we believe. It wasn't too terrible like it was happening for a while, just minor.

Once done the brakes and rotors, we took it for a drive. It seemed to feel like i was slightly dragging, but also that could have just been in my head and we were going up a slight incline. It didn't jerk/seize up at 10mph and shifted into gears fine, BUT i did have to reverse out of my parking spot - which usually helped the issue before.

My dad doesn't believe he'll be able to change the e-brake pads. We watched a few videos and it seems like we could, but might just be easier to pay someone to do it. And it was getting way too hot outside to continue.

Thank you everybody for your advice! I greatly appreciate it.
 
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Well done! Let us know if it pops back up, but I would guess you are good to go now.

I would say there is no rush on the E brake. I use mine quite often, but I have a manual transmission. My previous JK was auto and I never used the ebrake. Honestly, I would probably pay somebody as well, and I put my last lift kit on by myself.
 
The best thing about the e-brake is sometimes the handle stops crap from falling under the seat.

Anyway, let's hope it's resolved and you learned something.
 
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E-brake is old school drum so there are the springs, clips and all that stuff plus adjusting. When I did Drums I always did just one side so I could use the other side as a guide.
Key with calipers is that they can slide side to side on the Pin freely so they can center and not force the inside or outside pad to drag. Before hill assist braking (Manual - Love hate relationship) you use the e brake to keep you from drifting back before engagement. The hill assist take a lot of effort to overcome sometimes.
 
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So unfortunately the issue happened again the next morning, but this time my dad was able to experience it too. It was more of a crunch/grinding noise with a nose dive jolt and I couldn’t go forward more than 3mph, I was able to freely reverse back into my parking spot though. He came to the conclusion that it was the front brakes. The rotors and pads were actually in good condition, but the one caliper was stuck. So we replaced both front calipers, and ended up changing the pads and rotors too since I bought them prior to knowing the condition of the old pads. Bled the brake lines, took it for a drive around the complex and everything seemed fine.

About an hour later I took it out and a slight crunch/grind noise (I don’t think I would’ve heard it if my window was up) and slight jolt (almost like a hiccup) before 5mph, but I was able to keep moving. The abs & traction control lights came on and the downhill assist flashed a few times before going out. I wasn’t going that fast either less than 10. I was going down a slight incline, but so slight a ball wouldn’t really roll down it on its own. The abs and traction control stayed on for about another minute or two before going out. Since I was doing loops around the complex I couldn’t speed more than 15-20.
 
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