Anony Mouse
New member
Hi all
2008 Doblo Multijet Cargo
Back in the cold weather i was having issues with the handbrake not releasing. Mechanic looked at it and said the cable casing was cracked, water getting in and freezing. All fine there. Made perfect sense.
He couldn't get part then to fix it so i took it back and weather was getting warmer so i wasn't too worried. Then the next day, 30 miles or so into a long drive I started hearing a wearing/grinding noise coming from the FRONT LEFT wheel, generally only when turning (to the right i think, but could be wrong). It sounded like the wheel was wearing on the mudguard or something but i couldn't see anything obvious. As the drive went on it got worse and i realised i could feel the vibrations through the handbrake handle itself. It got worse and worse and eventually the handbrake went slack completely, so i had to do the whole drive (500 miles) without it. I could literally feel and hear something had come loose and was jiggling around - I figured the actual handbrake brake pads. At the time my assumption was when they were checking it they hadn't re-attached or tightened them properly. But the confusing thing is it was coming from (I am 95% sure) the FRONT wheel and the handbrake as i understand it operates on the BACK wheels. I didn't know that at the time.
Back home i left it to the mechanic, and told him about this incident. He sort of shrugged about it, said leave it with them. I didn't make a big deal of it. They replaced the handbrake cable and everything has been fine since then.
A couple of days ago i started hearing the same sort of noise from the FRONT RIGHT wheel - again only while turning. I could not feel any vibration through the handle this time, but it was only a very slight wearing sound and i didn't give it a long drive to test it. However, at the same time i noticed the handbrake is not binding very well. I can literally move the van while pushing it with the handbrake on.
Took it to the same mechanic today. He says it (and the previous incident) sounds like a wheel bearing problem. I am very sceptical of this because since the first incident and after the handbrake has been fixed and 1000 miles of driving I have not heard it again. If the wheel bearing on the left front was going surely it would have nothing to do with the handbrake and i would have noticed it.
So my questions:
- In the Doblo are the handbrakes on the front or rear wheels? I am assuming the rear but don't know how to check that myself. It's rare but some cars do have them on the front. I just can't find anything about the Doblo online.
- If it was a handbrake issue (and i feel it was definitely *something* to do with it as i could literally feel it through the handle, and it got worse when the handbrake went slack) why did it affect the front wheels? I am 95% sure it was coming from the front not the rear wheel, though maybe something in the noise/vibrations was misleading me.
- If it is a front wheel bearing issue how is it possible i could hear and feel it while the handbrake cable went slack, but not in the 1000 miles driven since it has been fixed? And how could it go from nothing to really noisy over just a few miles? Sure a wheel bearing issue is more gradual than that and doesn't just go away?
- How do i approach this? I feel it's too much of a coincidence this incident happened literally just after they had checked the handbrake. I feel they might have left it in a dangerous state by not refitting something properly, but don't want to throw around accusations. And now it sounds like a similar issue but on the other side. Now it is booked in again for them to check the handbrake AND wheel bearings but they could tell me anything and i wouldn't have any real argument.
2008 Doblo Multijet Cargo
Back in the cold weather i was having issues with the handbrake not releasing. Mechanic looked at it and said the cable casing was cracked, water getting in and freezing. All fine there. Made perfect sense.
He couldn't get part then to fix it so i took it back and weather was getting warmer so i wasn't too worried. Then the next day, 30 miles or so into a long drive I started hearing a wearing/grinding noise coming from the FRONT LEFT wheel, generally only when turning (to the right i think, but could be wrong). It sounded like the wheel was wearing on the mudguard or something but i couldn't see anything obvious. As the drive went on it got worse and i realised i could feel the vibrations through the handbrake handle itself. It got worse and worse and eventually the handbrake went slack completely, so i had to do the whole drive (500 miles) without it. I could literally feel and hear something had come loose and was jiggling around - I figured the actual handbrake brake pads. At the time my assumption was when they were checking it they hadn't re-attached or tightened them properly. But the confusing thing is it was coming from (I am 95% sure) the FRONT wheel and the handbrake as i understand it operates on the BACK wheels. I didn't know that at the time.
Back home i left it to the mechanic, and told him about this incident. He sort of shrugged about it, said leave it with them. I didn't make a big deal of it. They replaced the handbrake cable and everything has been fine since then.
A couple of days ago i started hearing the same sort of noise from the FRONT RIGHT wheel - again only while turning. I could not feel any vibration through the handle this time, but it was only a very slight wearing sound and i didn't give it a long drive to test it. However, at the same time i noticed the handbrake is not binding very well. I can literally move the van while pushing it with the handbrake on.
Took it to the same mechanic today. He says it (and the previous incident) sounds like a wheel bearing problem. I am very sceptical of this because since the first incident and after the handbrake has been fixed and 1000 miles of driving I have not heard it again. If the wheel bearing on the left front was going surely it would have nothing to do with the handbrake and i would have noticed it.
So my questions:
- In the Doblo are the handbrakes on the front or rear wheels? I am assuming the rear but don't know how to check that myself. It's rare but some cars do have them on the front. I just can't find anything about the Doblo online.
- If it was a handbrake issue (and i feel it was definitely *something* to do with it as i could literally feel it through the handle, and it got worse when the handbrake went slack) why did it affect the front wheels? I am 95% sure it was coming from the front not the rear wheel, though maybe something in the noise/vibrations was misleading me.
- If it is a front wheel bearing issue how is it possible i could hear and feel it while the handbrake cable went slack, but not in the 1000 miles driven since it has been fixed? And how could it go from nothing to really noisy over just a few miles? Sure a wheel bearing issue is more gradual than that and doesn't just go away?
- How do i approach this? I feel it's too much of a coincidence this incident happened literally just after they had checked the handbrake. I feel they might have left it in a dangerous state by not refitting something properly, but don't want to throw around accusations. And now it sounds like a similar issue but on the other side. Now it is booked in again for them to check the handbrake AND wheel bearings but they could tell me anything and i wouldn't have any real argument.