Causes of Locked Car Tires and Their Solutions

In the rainy season like this, there are quite a few incidents of car wheels locking by themselves. This can be quite panic-inducing. You can imagine if you need to rush to a place using your car, suddenly the car wheel locks. Often, this incident occurs when you park the car in the garage and the next day the wheel is locked. Or when you park the car while shopping at the mall, when you want to go home and start the car, suddenly the wheel locks.

Locked car wheels are a fairly common occurrence when someone parks their car in an uneven place and uses the hand brake while the car has been drenched in rainwater or after being washed. However, car wheels can also lock for other reasons.

Causes of Locked Car Wheels

There are several causes of locked car wheels that are difficult to move. Here are the causes.

1. Brake System That Is Rarely Cleaned

Some people are less concerned about their car's brake system. In fact, this can be fatal. Like other parts of the car, the brake system also needs to be kept clean. You can clean this brake system periodically. Especially during the rainy season, the brake system is often filled with mud from puddles on the road.

2. Using Handbrake When the Car Is Wet

When you use the handbrake while the car is wet, the brake pads will stick to the disc. When dry, the pads will stick to the disc and cause the car wheels to lock.

3. Parking on an Incline

Parking on an incline will automatically make you use the brake so that the car wheels do not roll. However, this condition also triggers the pads to stick to the disc because the pads receive hard pressure from the disc.

Solutions for Locked Car Wheels

If you find your car wheels locked, one thing you can do is to move the car back and forth. Some people use the shock method repeatedly. This method will allow the wheels to move even if just a little. When you find the wheels moving slightly even though it's a bit heavy, you can continue to move back and forth until the pads are no longer stuck to the disc.

So, what if it still doesn't work? You can open the car's brake system and clean it. There may be a lot of dried mud that makes the disc and pads difficult to move.

What if you can't clean the brake system yourself? You can call a mechanic to help you clean it.

Prevention to Avoid Locked Car Wheels

There are several preventive steps you can take to avoid locked car wheels. Here are the steps.

1. Do not use the handbrake to stop the car when it is wet. For example, after being drenched in rain or after the car has been washed.
2. Do not activate the brake when putting the car in the garage after washing the car. In the morning, this often causes the car wheels to lock.
3. Do not park on an incline forward or backward. Parking on an incline will cause the pads to stick tightly to the car disc. Thus, it is not uncommon for the car wheels to lock.
4. Clean the car's brake system periodically. Often, a brake system that is not maintained periodically will lead to many problems. Starting from several parts rusting and full of mud that causes the car wheels to lock.

Those are some causes, solutions, and prevention for locked car wheels. I hope this information is useful for you.

Author: Iskael