2007 TL, 163,000mi.
My car has had chronic issues with seized brakes for the past several years. It feels like a caliper craps itself every few months, and yet another crapped itself today. I have had the calipers and brake hoses replaced multiple times by multiple different mechanics and dealerships. Even the brake master cylinder has been replaced.
I learned recently that rusted rotors can cause pads to stick to the rotor. The rotors have only been replaced once like 3 years ago and have never been resurfaced. Rotors are rusty everywhere except where the pads make contact. Could the pads be getting hung up around the edges?

 

When the pads were replaced did the pad springs get replaced or even put back in? They help keep the brakes from sticking by applying outward pressure on the pads. If you’re unsure what I’m talking about they look like this.

 

Is it possible for brake pad springs to look different than that? I do not have OEM calipers. Pad springs are not mentioned anywhere on my maintenance records and I can't see any wires in the caliper assembly, but they could be obscured. I don't have the skill to take apart the caliper to get a better look.
Maybe I should start asking to keep all my old brake parts, then maybe I can divine some common sign from the junk. All those mechanics are definitely missing something.

 

I may have given you bad information. First the proper nomenclature is drag reduction clips. Second, the pads I just pulled off had these clips and the new ones came with them as well. But after reading your response it got me thinking that I don’t remember them being on my last TL. So I went and looked at the OEM IPB for the TL brakes and I don’t see them listed anywhere. Which more than likely means these are not put on factory brakes and are instead an aftermarket thing. So getting a set of pads like this that have drag reduction clips may help but its probably not the root cause of your issue. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.

 

I appreciate your help. Like you said, drag reduction clips might help, and anything that can extend the time between calipers crapping themselves is fantastic. I'll see if I can get the all the calipers serviced, drag reduction clips installed, and all the rotors resurfaced. Maybe the rotors are all warped and have just been hammering the calipers the entire time. I've gone through far more calipers than brake pads- something's not right here.

 

If you haven’t yet, I’d also do a brake flush. Old fluid can cause that problem too…although I’d imagine that every time you’ve had calipers replaced, you at least have some new fluid in there. If you haven’t replaced the rotors, like you mentioned I totally would. When you have a sticking caliper issue it’s best to just replace pads and rotors.

 

I’ve had the braking system flushed a couple times, and brake performance improved for maybe a few days after each one, but then the brakes went right back to the usual crap. I suspect no mechanic I’ve ever been to touches the calipers until there’s a problem. No lubing or cleaning is done unless it’s replaced, not even for a brake job.

The way I drive might have something to do with it as well. My brother, a former mechanic, recently gave me some advice. I brake check the car at least once every time I drive it, but he said to try brake checking in reverse. The stuck brake made a loud crunching noise the first time, but it freed up a little afterwards. Didn’t fix the problem, but there was noticeable improvement. I guess I have something to add to my routine with this car.

 

I have never done that before, but that sounds like good advice if it frees it up. You may have clarified this already, but you’ve done new calipers and hoses right?

 

Managed to find the source of the problem: the backing plate. The passenger rear backing plate/splash guard got bent and was rubbing against the rotor. It took me a while to figure it out because the backing plate is well hidden behind the rotor (my brother also happened to visit). Surprising that it wasn't the brakes this time because it felt EXACTLY like a dragging brake. Easy fix, everything is back to normal.

 

I had a sticky right rear brake caliper.
So I flushed all the brake fluid from end to end and it helped a lot.. but later I replaced that caliper with a used one from eBay and it works fine..
You should get speed bleeder valves. It's the best one man brake bleeding kit ever made.. And you don't have to pump up your brakes like all the bozos do on youtube. Which blows out your master cylinder.
But I would be careful about having someone else bleed the brakes because they might not push out all the old fluid.. They may just squirt it a couple of times and say OK good.. In order to push out all the old fluid there is a lot of pumping you have to do..

 

I had a sticky caliper piston as well. Tore up my rotors when I had to limp home dragging and grinding. In my case I forced the piston out by pumping the brakes with the caliper removed from the hub. Be careful if you do this, because the piston can release with a lot of force! The caliper cylinder was corroded, I scrubbed it and replaced the O-ring on the caliper piston. I reinstalled the piston and bled any air, its fine now.

 

My TL doesnt have any spring like this..