rear drum brakes auto adjust??

[flinter]

I own a 2017 Hyundai ELantra Value Edition, with rear drum brakes. Are the rears self adjusting? I heard using the parking park a lot adjusts the breaks and going in reverse and tapping the brake pedal adjust too. Any truth to that, or shouldt hey be manually adjusted by a mechanic every 30K or so?

Thanks
Michael in NJ

 

[pezzy669]

I understand the reversing method is hitting the brakes pretty hard in reverse - not just tapping.

 

[2010Civic]

I'm pretty sure they self adjust. I've owned many Honda's with rear drums and have never adjusted them. Rear brake shoes last a long time so I wouldn't imagine they need adjusting very often.

 

[clinebarger]

I apply the E-brake several times every time I service my wifes Corolla, The rear shoes stay adjusted. I do recommend pulling the drums every 60,000 miles or so & cleaning all the brake dust out.

These car don't use the rear brakes much, 3 sets of front pads & the rear shoes still look new at @150,000 miles.

I don't believe the Back-up & Stab the brake pedal works with Non-Servo brakes like it did with Duo-Servo style.....Could be wrong though.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Good question. I adjusted mine every 30k on my Saturn. It was dealer recommend 30k service for my Saturn. On my 2017 Elantra SE I will pass unless I notice the brake lever gets loose. That was usually a sign the pads needed adjusting. I use my parking brake pretty much 100% of the time since I was told it helps keep the pads adjusted.

I have not seen Hyundai recommending adjusting them in the owner's manual and only advertised thing at dealership is replacing brakes per axle for around $250. My rear pads went 150 to 200k before needing replacement on last two car but did have some cleaning of brake dust before then.

 

[Wolf359]

I'd have to look at the design of drum brakes, but never really heard that the parking brake adjusted the rear drums. If you look at the basic design, there's an adjuster wheel and when the shoes rock back and forth, it tightens up the adjuster wheel which is why you need a brake spoon to loosen that wheel to get the drums off. When they're tight, there's no rocking so it doesn't tighten up anymore. You do have to hit the brakes harder in reverse so you can rock the brake shoes back and forth for it to move the adjuster wheel. If you don't do it enough, you can always manually adjust that wheel with a brake spoon. The parking brake cable was usually just attached to a lever and that didn't really rock the shoes. But I suppose maybe there's some other design where it did that.

 

[CharBaby]

Originally Posted by flinter
I own a 2017 Hyundai ELantra Value Edition, with rear drum brakes. Are the rears self adjusting? I heard using the parking park a lot adjusts the breaks and going in reverse and tapping the brake pedal adjust too. Any truth to that, or shouldt hey be manually adjusted by a mechanic every 30K or so?

Thanks
Michael in NJ


What you're saying is correct and the way rear drum brakes should & do work. However, I have seen rear drum brakes that, although they have a manual adjuster(which they should), some that I've seen DO NOT(can't remember the car) have the adjustment lever which clicks the adjusting sprocket. This make these brakes manual adjusting ONLY. IDK which your Elantra has.

 

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by flinter
I own a 2017 Hyundai ELantra Value Edition, with rear drum brakes. Are the rears self adjusting? I heard using the parking park a lot adjusts the breaks and going in reverse and tapping the brake pedal adjust too. Any truth to that, or shouldt hey be manually adjusted by a mechanic every 30K or so?

Thanks
Michael in NJ


It's a very safe bet the brakes self adjust. Self adjusting drum brakes were pretty-much universal since the late 1950's. Activating the parking brake and/or pressing the brake while driving in reverse activates the self-adjuster mechanism. If driving in reverse, you don't need to come to a full stop; just press the brakes firmly enough to make the suspension rock.

Ray

 

[Pelican]

Originally Posted by flinter
I own a 2017 Hyundai ELantra Value Edition, with rear drum brakes. Are the rears self adjusting? I heard using the parking park a lot adjusts the breaks and going in reverse and tapping the brake pedal adjust too. Any truth to that, or shouldt hey be manually adjusted by a mechanic every 30K or so?
Thanks
Michael in NJ


As Pezzy said you must hit the brakes HARD several time to be sure that they adjust; the handbrake won't do a thing in that regard

 

[WyrTwister]

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/hyundai,2017,elantra,2.0l+l4,3393930,brake+&+wheel+hub,drum+brake+self+adjuster+repair+kit,1904

RA shows self adjusters , which have a different catalog # for left and right .

I always considered they worked every time you backed up & applied the brakes .

When my wife started driving FWD vehicles , I figured the car would need front tires and pads every 30,000 miles and rear tires and brakes every 60,000 miles .

Either the brakes are getting better or she is driving better . Our 2015 Chevy Sonic has a little over 60,000 miles on it and still the original brakes . She is on the first set of replacement tires .

I never replace discs or drums unless they are thin or grooved . When I need to do a brake job on it , I hope it will not need discs or drums .

As far as the OP , I would not worry about the rear brakes , unless you observe , hear or feel something out of the ordinary .

 

[slug_bug]

Perhaps designs have changed on more modern cars, but, back in my old autoshop class days we were taught that braking in reverse is what caused drum brakes to adjust. The normal stopping you do when reversing out of a parking space or driveway should do it. Unless you are one of THOSE people that doesn't come to a complete stop while reversing and shifts the transmission into drive while still rolling backwards.

 

[Rolla07]

Nearing 170k miles on my Corolla and have not even touched the drums. I checked them about 20k miles ago and are probably due to be replaced soon but no issues at all with them.

 

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted by slug_bug
Perhaps designs have changed on more modern cars, but, back in my old auto shop class days we were taught that braking in reverse is what caused drum brakes to adjust. The normal stopping you do when reversing out of a parking space or driveway should do it.


Same here .

 

[javacontour]

As long as everything is clean and working, coming to a full stop in reverse will adjust the rear drums.

I could tell oilBabe and her kids didn't do this in our 2002 Camry as the rear brakes would barely work.

I'd take it to an empty parking lot and do 10 or so full stops in reverse and things would be better.

Most people just reverse and drop it into drive before coming to a complete stop, meaning they don't take advantage of the self adjusters. Not to mention whatever stress they put on the transmission...

 

[DGXR]

Of course new drums/shoes need to be manually adjusted but after that they are self-adjusting. Sometimes the self-adjust requires using the main brakes in reverse. Every car I've owned with rear drums will self-adjust by applying the parking brake while moving forward. You can tell when self-adjustment is taking place -- the effectiveness of the main brakes will increase noticeably because the rear brakes are biting harder. Just my experience, hope it helps you.

 

[eljefino]

Get in your brakes with a screwdriver/ spoon and click the adjuster once. Pretty stiff, huh? Now click it again. Easier! They sieze, or partially sieze, a lot of the time.

There are a few tweaks to the self-adjusting mechanism-- I assume to avoid a patent, and/or is just how one of the several (not many) OE brake suppliers does it

It's not uncalled for to yank your drums every year, and bang the dust out. Might as well take care of any corrosion on the hub surfaces while you're in there.