Failing brakes causes wreck

My 17-yr-old son had a wreck this morning when the brakes on our 2002 Grand Am failed. He wasn't hurt, but the car is in rough shape, although it's pretty minor damage.

My brother-in-law claims that my son is making up this story, because if the brakes locked up, they would stay locked up. My son was coming upon a stop sign and tried to stop, and ended up on the other side of the road. We were able to move the car after the wreck, and the brakes worked fine. I guess he is saying that my son had a good time joyriding across 4 lanes of traffic, just wanting to see if he would be hit!

Can this happen? If so, then why did it happen? I also want to note that I had a spare tire (one of the little ones) on the front passenger side.

Any ideas or insights would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Suzanne

Not to get your son in any trouble, but i beleive that the brakes would have worked fine if you were able to drive the vehicle home with no problems. I have never had a problem like that nor have i heard of one. I have a 00 grand am and to be honest I don't like the brake system at all. You have to really press on them to stop, compared to my previously owned cars. Also your son could have went into like a blackout type of deal, where he thought he hit the brakes but he hit the gas. But when you blackout you forget parts of information. I have seen this quiet a few times. I am going to school to be a Registered Nurse, and I have seen this happen.

Thanks for your reply. I wonder if my son did accidently hit the gas instead of the brakes, and is too embarassed to tell me.

I will have the brakes checked whenever we take it in. Basically the radiator, condenser and other parts underneath are damaged.

Either way, I'm just so glad he's okay. We were all 17 at one time!

Thank you!
Suzanne

yes you are right. everyone has been there before. And yes that could be embarassing saying "i hit the gas instead of the brakes", so that is a possibility. But as long as he is ok, that is the good thing. But if I was you and you still have some concerns, have the dealer take a look at the brake system. You can never be too safe.

They will be doing so , your insurance company will wanna know if it was driver error or a malfunction in the brake system. I think personally the brakes on a grand am are in need of a upgrade cus the rotors warp too easily and the pistons are known to get sticky and not return to position properly. GM and chev have alot to learn about brake systems and I believe they are years behind the industry in this topic. It could simply mean they are cheap and dont care cus when mine had warped due to the piston I had to buy new rotors and pads myself. The piston still doesnt always return to the position of rest as it should and just warps all my new rotors. Another thing with GM if your motor makes funny sounds like hissing or rattling they usually suggest you turn your heater on gull with loud music and this is the way to fix the problem according to them. Other than that stuff I ranted about the manufacturer is hunky dory with me. But gm/chev has to get there poop together cus there at least 10 years behind Ford in engine and suspension tecnology but at least they are a few years ahead of dodge lol I know your gonna read this and think Im nuts but I have the unique opportunity to drive all makes and models of cars and I found ford quality is comparable and superior to audi , bmw and has the best handling fwd cars in the world. Then they also got the modular V8's which even with less hp and torque ratings will still out tow chev and dodge. sorry i dont like gm and chevs suspension and braking designs and it lead to me ranting sorry.

Exactly waht Ford car has the best handling in the world? The only car that ford makes that even comes close to handling well is the focus