FIRST - I pre-apologize for the narrative. If you only want the basics, just skip to the bold part. I don't know much about vehicles as a typical girl, I'm going to give all the details cuz I don't know what bits are really necessary to know.
Note: My Vibe has passed 372k miles. The repair list is growing faster than my bank account, but I'm determined to get that 400k girl scout badge. XD
RELATIVE HISTORY:
All new brake pads done 9 months ago, along with front driver's side caliper for good measure. Transmission fluid change (drain and fill, NOT a flush) 3 months ago. And I just finally replaced my transmission sensors to get rid of the nasty P0793 code that gave me hell for 2 months. - not exactly relevant but I'm proud of my girly self for actually fixing something without having to pay some patronizing grease monkey.
I've been told by several mechanics that I'm a hypochondriac when it comes to my vibe due to the inconvenient phenomenon that occurs when you finally decide you need a professional's input.. you know.. suddenly everything seems to run just fine.
I've come to understand that this actually means "something is about to break, but prevention isn't as expensive or convenient as replacement so call back when you need a tow truck" -_-
THE ISSUE TODAY:
Today I realized my rear passenger side (disc)brake is not engaging at all and was told after a 10 minute "diagnostic cruise" that I can just keep driving it because I have 3 other functional brakes and it doesn't seem to be affecting performance. Oddly enough.. yes, it does seem to run just fine when you're only driving for 10 minutes.
However, I'm pretty sure that the lack of fireworks doesn't make this a complete non-issue. What could cause a single caliper to refuse to play red light green light with the rest of them? I've had them all inspected several times this year by at least 4 different mechanics that seemed to all think I'm imagining things, but then I had the front one lock up (replaced) and now the complete lack of wear or heat on that rear rotor is undeniable.
Here's an odd combo of additional details that actually does make me question my sanity and why I continue to put money into this car. Also, I'm not sure if these are related or if they are just my kind of unlucky coincidence.
SOUNDS: Last night after the 2 hour drive home, I started hearing a rhythmic humming sound from the rear, definitely in sync with the rotation of the tires - kind of like a bad wheel bearing, maybe? I couldn't tell which side it might be coming from because although it is loud inside the car, it can't compete with all the other road noise when I try to listen out my windows. It was gone this morning, but came back again tonight after I'd been driving for a couple hours on the highway and then entered the stop-go-turn traffic in town. I checked all around the wheels and under the car and found nothing except that lazy caliper... Nothing within reach on any wheel seemed to be excessively heated.
SMELLS: Coinciding with the strange sound there was a terrible frightening smell of burning metal. Like... Left an empty pot on a hot burner and welded it to my stove smell. (thanks little brother) The first time I noticed it yesterday I didn't even realize it was my car because I couldn't really smell it inside, and figured it was something at the gas station. Then the smell hit me in the parking lot at home where I ditched my car until morning. I didn't sense the sound or smell all day but mentioned it to the local mechanic as he proceeded to tell me that my rear brake wasn't working (duh, that's why I'm here), laugh at my concerns about what the smell, sound and free riding brake could mean in terms of safety, and then tell me to stop worrying about such little things.
So, I picked up a high horse at the local TSC, said screw that guy, and hopped on Google intent on showing him up with my very limited A1 Auto granted YouTube education. But, you might've guessed, I found nothing to help with the opposite of a sticking caliper. When the noise/smell started up again this evening, I tried to "catch the culprit in the act" by whipping into a parking lot, jumping out and wiggling my freshly manicured fingers through each wheel, feeling every bit of metal around the brakes, wheels and random suspension parts almost hoping something would burn me.. but again, nothing *'within reach'* seemed overheated in the least.
I'm pretty well defeated at this point. It's that time of year, I guess, that the mechanics are too busy to bother with what might potentially be a cheap fix, but if possible I'd like to solve these issues while repairs are still an option and I greatly appreciate any assistance this knowledgeable community has to offer. If you read this whole thing, I sincerely thank you for listening to my plight.
So... In short:
What's up with that brake?
Do I dare keep driving on the highway.. or at all?
Any idea what that smell or intermittent sound might be?
Are those things possibly related? If not.. how should I prioritize them?