Brakes sticking without pedal depressed
 

Been searching the forums and diff people have diff situations with their brakes so I'll just post up and see if anyone has any suggestions for my particular issue.

I have a base model '06 350z with 6speed manual (revup).

So after a short drive, maybe 20 min or so, I noticed as I slowed down at a light it seemed like my brakes would stay engaged. At the next light I slowed down and let off the brake and the car slowed to a complete stop on its own. Seemed to start driving again normally but when I would slow, the brakes would stay engaged when I would let off the brake pedal.
I changed the fluid and bled the brakes. All seemed well for a while. Now the issue is starting up again. Drove to a friends. On the way home noticed the brake seemed to stick again. When I got home I parked in my driveway which is at a decline. Pressed the clutch in (left it in neutral) and let off the brake and it didn't roll back. Put in reverse and rolled it back a little then let off gas and it stopped itself. Didn't use brake pedal at all. Parked car in garage and got out and it smelled like all four brakes were burning up. So it doesn't seem like just one corner.
Now someone told me that the position of the brake lines or something come close to the headers and could cause the fluid to boil easily.
Many other suggestions what this sounds like? Solutions?
Also already changed the pads and rotors but that was before the fluid change.
Thanks in advance.

Could be sticking pistons, could be the caliper is hanging on the guide pins. Take it apart and clean/lubricate as needed. As for the brake lines and the headers, I don't think that's the issue, as if the fluid gets too hot it boils (as you mentioned), but you get a spongy pedal in that case. Flex hoses, if the original rubber, can sometimes delaminate internally and act as a one-way valve, so that's another thing to check.

Thanks dcains. Ill check the calipers first. Didn't think that would be it since it isn't likely they would all be failing at the same time but, def worth checking out in case and cleaning and lubing them up.
May change the lines to steel braided as well. Miles are getting up there so prob good idea to do this anyway.

How do you know it's all the brakes? You'd feel it even if just one was dragging, and the way to tell is to look for one that's hotter than the others. Use one of those IR/laser thermometers, or your fingers, very carefully. If you're swapping calipers or brake lines, I would caution you to be extremely careful to not let the system run dry. If you do, you'll be in for a world of hurt trying to ever get all the air out of the system again.

How many miles are on your Z? To see if it's all 4 wheels or just one, jack the car up and turn the wheels by hand. If all 4 are difficult to turn, I highly doubt the problem is in the calipers, it would more than likely be a master cylinder problem. If it's just one, you probably have a stuck piston in the caliper.

When was the last time you had a brake job done?

Just broke 100k. Did rotors, pads and fluid at about 85-90k. I'll try that method you suggested turning the wheels and go from there.

You're due for a brake change, so it is a possible pad/rotor problem. Let me know the results!

Sounds like the Master cylinder. If you take it apart the piston is most likely corroded. Alternatively, some people experience the infamous clutch pedal sticking our cars are known for because of this issue.

Same issue, did you find resolution?
 

Hey, I've got the exact same issue, was wondering what it turned out to be.

I have a base model '06 350z with 6speed manual (revup).

So after a short drive, maybe 20 min or so, I noticed as I slowed down at a light it seemed like my brakes would stay engaged. At the next light I slowed down and let off the brake and the car slowed to a complete stop on its own. Seemed to start driving again normally but when I would slow, the brakes would stay engaged when I would let off the brake pedal.
I changed the fluid and bled the brakes. All seemed well for a while. Now the issue is starting up again. Drove to a friends. On the way home noticed the brake seemed to stick again. When I got home I parked in my driveway which is at a decline. Pressed the clutch in (left it in neutral) and let off the brake and it didn't roll back. Put in reverse and rolled it back a little then let off gas and it stopped itself. Didn't use brake pedal at all. Parked car in garage and got out and it smelled like all four brakes were burning up. So it doesn't seem like just one corner.

You didn't state mileage but from your symptoms 1 or more calipers need to be replaced or rebuilt.

Something more
 

I appreciate the response, but that's not it. The car is an 04, it's got 113,000 mi on it, and all the calipers pads and rotors were replaced about a year ago. I guess my issue really started two days ago when I saw my brake light sticking on. I assumed it was the switch on the brake pedal pulled it cleaned it a little, and put it back and everything seemed to be fine. When I took the car out to run an errand I noticed the car felt as if it was walking down. I pulled off where there was a slight incline in the car wouldn't move at all on the hill with the clutch fully engaged. When I tried to pull forward it was like the emergency brake was on and my first instinct was to think that they had somehow stuck and expanded when they got hot. I got a ride picked up tools and went back to the car about 2 hours later and it was like nothing ever happened. Hi Jack the rear of the car up check both tires they spun freely, so I hopped in to see if I can figure out which one of the front wheels was giving resistance in the car was completely free again. I drove home about 5 MI, no issues. The next day I drove back within a quarter mile of where the car had broken down the day before and it nearly locked completely up again. Since I was going to work I had to turn around and go home and before I switched cars I went around and checked the each wheel smelling for burning brakes and excessive heat. All four wheels smelled of burning brakes and we're extremely hot. The only major component I can think of that would cause this is a bad master cylinder, but I just wanted to find out what this guy determined his problem was before I randomly start replacing parts. I've seen post about water in the lines and boiling brake fluid and other things so this post was basically an effort to prevent wasting time and money. Again, I appreciate your input and your service to the forum community.

[​​​​QUOTE=jhc;11084584]You didn't state mileage but from your symptoms 1 or more calipers need to be replaced or rebuilt.[/QUOTE]

Btw
 

By the way, I'm now considering the idea that the brake light had come on because the caliper wasn't fully pushing the brake pedal back to its proper position, but that could also be a fluid issue. The last thing is that the pedal got extremely stiff there was no give at all at the top of the pedal like they're usually is. Just thought I'd throw that in.

If all corners are sticking and the brake lights are also on, its likely the brake master cylinder is sticking and not returning the brake pedal to its resting position.

I was out of town and just got to the Z today. I just wanted to post in case anyone else has this issue. It was the power brake booster. I'm not sure how or why, but somehow the booster was putting pressure on the brake system. The longer it ran, the worse it got. I started off by rebuilding the front calipers (the rear calipers are fairly new Powerstop dual pistons, so I didn't feel the need to rebuild them). I cleaned all four corners and lubed the pins to make sure everything was moving freely. After that was done I took the car out and no more than five miles down the road they started binding up again. It was so bad the car wouldn't coast, and by the time I got back to the neighborhood I had to use third gear because the brake drag wouldn't allow me to use fourth. I had ordered a replacement booster and master cylinder, but didn't really want to replace them unless it was necessary (the clip on the brake pedal pin and a couple of the booster nuts are a pain to get out). Since my initial steps didn't work I pulled out the replacements but discovered the master cylinder I had purchased was no good, so I just replaced the booster. I took it out for another test drive and it's running like new again. Thanks to everyone who pitched in with advice.

By the way, the reason the brake lights were on is because there was so much pressure on the pedal it crushed the plastic pedal stop pads. I keep a pretty clean car and I noticed these black pieces of plastic in the floorboard, but I had no idea where they came from. As I got further into the job I discovered they both had broken into several pieces, so if you notice black plastic on your floorboard and your having brake issues, it's a pretty good sign you need a new booster.

Locked brakes usually caused by not lubing the brakes when you install new pads or a bad caliper. Raise each wheel and rotate tire to identify the problem wheel. The brake assemble needs new silicone grease on the piston pins and needs a little of the black grease on the ends of the brake pads and where the brake pads sit on the brake assembly. Hit the tracks where the pads rest with a wire brush before greasing. I have also had this happen when parking brakes have a de laminated pad.