Replacing brake pads On certain vehicles, there can be some tricky steps that you may need to follow.
If you don't follow those steps, you may damage one of the modules on the vehicle.
One of these is on the Chevy Equinox.
Let's talk through a couple steps that you want to be sure not to miss when you're replacing the brake pads.
All right, So first let's look in the repair information to see what GM has to say about this.
So we'll go into sure track and I already have a parking brake listed up here in my search box on shop key
Now you see there's a TSB right here, very first thing.
So if we go in, there's one TSB that applies to this parking brake.
It says diagnostic aid service brake message, Park brake will not learn and ACL 561 code stored after rear brake service and this applies to 18 and newer Equinox and 18 and newer GMC terrains.
And it says the vehicle may present with code Co 561 symptom bite 43 a service park brake message in the Driver Information Center and the park brake will not learn after a rear brake service was performed.
If the first steps of the rear brake service instructions are not followed this may result.
So this is the important tricky step that you may need to follow.
So the brake fluid level in the master cylinder reservoir must be at half or lower.
That's very important to allow sufficient space for the fluid to return to the reservoir when the rear caliper retract is commanded.
The caliper will retract when commanded, but will stop when the reservoir is full so the piston is not fully retracted in the caliper.
So in other words, it won't go all the way open.
So maybe my pads won't quite fit.
If the piston is then manually pressed the rest of the way so the caliper can be reinstalled, the excess fluid pressure will damage the pressure sensor in the electronic brake control module.
So if you have too much fluid and it's not retracted enough by the scan tool, and then you go to push it in with a standard caliper pressure tool, it's going to blow up the module.
Basically it's going to way too much pressure.
Typically if you look at the park brake data, one or both of the pressure sensors will show the default value of 14,400 Newton meters and the repair in this.
The repair of this is to replace the EBCM, so you have to replace the entire module if that happens.
Due to the nature of the damage, it's also not covered under warranty.
So we need to be sure that the level is below half in order to do this.
So let's follow the instructions go to remove and replace and it says prior to any rear desk brake or parking brake service, a parking brake actuator must be placed in service mode.
So that's the scan tool function, Install scan tool, turn ignition on, release the parking brake, select electronic brake control modules, select control functions and select rear brake caliper piston retract.
We'll see that here again in a second after the repair is complete.
We need to calibrate the parking brake.
OK, so we know that it has to be lower in level.
So let's go over to our scanner real quick and let me back up one.
So we see we have on our service resets and relearns menu here we can go to replace the disc brake pads and we go to functional resets and calibrations and we see rear brake caliper piston retract, piston extend and park brake calibration.
So to start the process we would need to make sure that the reservoir is less than half, half full or less than go to piston retract it will retract it all the way, won't cause any problems.
Do the work as normal and then put it back together.
Go to park brake calibration.
Now they also say if the park brake calibration doesn't work then you could also do the brake caliper piston extend and that'll also bring it back to where it needs to be.
So just a few little caveats there, a few little things that you need to look out for so we don't have any issues with these vehicles.