Volvos are great cars, but like every car there are some special service points which require attention. All too often these items are overlooked by general repair shops, the old adage “Jack of all trades, master of none.” applies here. One problem on the later Volvos is delaminating of the parking brake (handbrake) shoes. The friction material is glued, rather than riveted, onto the metal structure of the parking brake shoes. After time the adhesive holding the shoe onto the metal fails. This is often manifested by a “scrapping” or rubbing noise in the rear brake area. All too often this is ignored, or dismissed as simply rust on the brake rotors, when in fact it can be a danger sign.
Rust does occur on Volvo rotors, as it does on all cars. The only way to be certain if the parking brake system is OK is to remove both rear brake rotors and visually inspect the parking brake shoes. At any sign of delaminating, the shoes must be replaced before catastrophic failure occurs. When the friction material completely disbonds from the metal plate, it frequently gets wedged between the brake rotor and the metal backing plate, doing a tremendous amount of damage. The simple replacement of parking brake shoes, while adjusting and servicing the parking brake system may cost $130-170, but in the event of a catastrophic failure and subsequent damage to the wheel spindle and backing plate, the service cost can easily exceed $1500. As a general guideline, any car over 4 years of age, or with more than 50,000 miles on the odometer, should be carefully inspected for this problem.
