[TRobinson6]

do the rear drum brakes have a self adjuster for when you back up like American cars did?

And, as an average how long do the shoes tend to last?

 

[Miss Mercedes]

Not entirely sure on that first one, I think they do.

We've had some members go over 180k on the original shoes. I'm at 148k with mine and they show no need to be replaced.

 

[jimvw57]

they do have adjusters. rear brakes on a smart car last a long time as there is not much weight on the whole car, and the front brakes do the majority of the braking. My 2009 had over 168K miles and the rear brakes had plenty left on them. It is worth a check to see where they are at and make sure there are no leaks, etc.

 

[sokoloff]

So how do you check the rear brakes? The service sheet says to "check brake lining thickness by means of visual inspection through the inspection holes in the brake carrier plate." Darned if I could find an inspection hole? Service sheet says to check for the first time at 37,500 miles and then every 2 years or 25,000 miles.

Len
2014 EV Coupe 15,500 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 5,500 miles

 

[DreamCarOwner]

I remember looking for that inspection slot when I had my rear axle dropped down and the engine too when I redid my valves. I don't remember finding it. I do remember pulling off the brake drum by removing the set screw though. I cleaned the brake shoes and drum with brakleen and scuffed up the shoe surface a little because when the car is cold and I am first startiing out the rear brakes squeal when you apply them. Going down my driveway you can hear it squealing for a country mile when I'm on the pedal. When I leave work and drive down that alley people stare when I come to a stop. I figured over time the shoes would wear enough they would eventually stop it (no pun intended), but they still do it with no end in sight. Max had 34,700 miles when I got him and he now has 48,000, shoes are good but the squeal is annoying. Does anyone else have squealing rear brakes? DCO

 

[jetfuel]

Rear brakes squeaks or squeals are due to shoe being "glazed" to almost a mirror finish...and lack of lubrication of the shoe point of contact with backing plate...high frequency vibration created by the rolling drum against the shoe is transmitted to the backing plate making it a speaker and amplifying it...
...scoring the shoe a bit and applying some high temp lubricant to the point of shoe/plate contac "should" eliminate the neighborhood wake up call...

Jetfuel....worked for me...

 

[TRobinson6]

something I used to do when the drum or for any other brakes when starting to squeal. It was due to a glaze on the drum/rotors. I would put my foot on the brakes and drag them (really make the car work) forward and reverse for abound 10 seconds each way.

 

[tgikal]

I'm a year late, but here is a video of it's operation:

https://youtu.be/c-QZnKsEx4M

The first three are the parking brake, the second three are the brake pedal.