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Wheel smoking, then metal part fell off

4K views 23 replies 11 participants last post by  eq1 
#1 ·
Hi- 2002 Insight - recent tire rotation done. Otherwise no recent unusual events. Can anyone help me figure out what happened this AM? Front right wheel was smoking- very hot to the touch. I made it to destination but the car dropped cast iron fragments in the parking lot. Photos attached of busted part and wheel. Can someone please tell me what that part is and if the car is driveable? I'm looking for a repair shop within a mile of where I left the car. Sorry for my ignorance but I tried to look up brake/wheel images and can't find anything resembling this part. Any help much appreciated. Thank you.
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#2 · (Edited)
I spoke too soon (thought maybe brake shoes, but it looks more like part of the wheel). I'd get that wheel off and have a look at the back side. What puzzles me are the two bolts through the metal wheel piece, perhaps for attaching a wheel cylinder, but if so, where's the cylinder, brake line, etc.? You'll know more when you get the wheel off.

Braking action OK? No warning lights?
 
#4 ·
Braked OK for the short time I drove it. No warning light, but I don't know if a 2002 would have a sophisticated enough system to warn about something like this. BTW not original rims; got new rims a couple of years ago due to corrosion on the originals.
 
#3 ·
Front wheel? That's not a 2002 Insight wheel. Maybe you picked up something from the road that got stuck in the wheel? Photos with the wheel removed would reveal more.
 
#5 ·
Wheels can get super hot if the brakes get locked on, but that shouldn't throw parts out of the car. I don't recognize these broken pieces, they don't appear to be from the caliper or brake rotor, and there's not a ton of steel parts on the insight as is. It could something from the strut, that's all steel

I'd also take a peek under the hood and make sure everything's where it should be.
 
#8 ·
I think what Jime was saying is to pull the wheel/tire combo off the car. You should be able to look at the brake disc, wheel hub and suspension parts once the entire rim/tire combo is out of the way...

Maybe I misread what you posted, sounded like you're thinking you have to disassemble the rim/tire. I don't think that area is the problem.
 
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#9 ·
You know, after looking at the debris picture again, I wonder if that is part of a small water meter cover casting that you sometimes see in the road. Possibly dislodged somehow and jammed between your wheel and brake caliper.
 
#16 ·
I like that idea bc it might mean the wheel is not trashed. But note that the 2 surviving bolts are on a simple arc (they are 1/2" hex bolts, if it matters) whereas the splash guard bolts are on a pretty convoluted shape. When the tire and rim come off all will be revealed. My poor car.
 
#18 ·
I had this happen on a Plymouth Horizon (aka "Happy Car"), only it took out the brake line, too, and I lost everything except the emergency brake. I discovered that I was willing to drive 15 mph when lacking the ability to stop. That's about 24 kph for those of you in the civilized world and about 21 knots for those of you at sea.
 
#20 ·
I'm troubled by that report. It does not address the metal pieces you found (or the piece that appeared to be wedged between the brake caliper and the rim). The brake caliper may well be stuck in its bore, but where did the extra stuff come from? I'm not convinced the full extent of problems has been discovered.

It also looks to me like the inner rotor shield is present and undamaged....
 
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#21 ·
Sorry to be late to this. I'm relatively new to Insight ownership, but those parts don't look like they came off the car - seems to me either you picked them up on the road and they caused the problem, or they just happened to be already sitting in the car park. Were they hot? If stuck somewhere between wheel or brake disc and brake calliper I would expect there to also be some significant scoring visible.

The brake discs and pads don't look at all bad to me - seems a waste to change everything if it's just one stuck calliper.
 
#22 ·
I agree. Those aren't Insight parts that fell off. I'm not even sure how stuck the caliper is, the pads are pretty evenly worn and they don't look overheated to me.
 
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#23 ·
Now that I looked again, that cast iron broke a while ago, the broken areas are rusty. Are you sure they came from your car, or is it possible you just parked next to them?
 
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#24 ·
I agree with the people who think those aren't Insight parts. They're definitely not the heat shield... Whether or not you have a bonafide stuck caliper, hard to say, you have to take the word of the mechanic if you're not doing your own work. But the pictures the mechanic posted show some pretty crusty brakes in general. If it were my car I'd be overhauling the brakes myself, cleaning them up, new rotors and pads, brake line/hose if it's damaged, the rest just reconditioned. If I had to pay someone to replace calipers/pads/rotors, I think it might be worth... $400.

My guess is that debris came from the road, kicked up into the brake/wheel area and rubbed against stuff. Whether it caused damage, again, who knows. Theoretically the mechanic who looked at it should know, so if you get the brakes replaced that aspect, you'd think, would be 'covered', i.e. you should be good to go and not have to worry about it.
 
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