Do not neglect your brake dust shields. A short story of bad luck.

[Guyfromthenorth]

I did the rear brakes on my 2019 ram 1500 just the other day. While doing the rear passenger side the dust shield literally just fell off. They are made of aluminum and it burned away at each steel bolt that held it to the axle flange so it wasn't reusable.

I figured these things just tend to hold moisture against the rotor anyway. I'll finish the brake job then get time to go to the dealer to get a new one. Well today I opted to go to the dealer, on the way there I hear a SWISHSWISHSWISH sound from the passenger rear wheel. I spend maybe 10sec looking for a spot that's safe to stop because I'm sure a small rock has got in around my brakes. Normally I just go on reverse and it spits it out.

Before I can find a spot to stop I hear a CLACK and the rock is gone. Immediately my dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree along with messages:

Parking brake disabled
ABS disabled
Traction control disabled
ECT/stability control disabled
Cruise control disabled
4x4 (all modes!) Disabled

Ffs.
I pull over and look underneath. Nothing out of the ordinary. I drive to a family members house and pull in and start taking things apart and I find what I suspected. A rock had got into the brake disc rim. Spun around and snapped off the ABS sensor.

80$ dealer part, 80$ for the shield. Be careful to not snap the 8mm bolt that holds the sensor in. Its very fragile and tried.to twist.off on me. Torch and penetrating oil and careful torque got it.

The codes cleared after replacement and after 15min of driving around. Idling won't reset it.

 

[chrisbh17]

When I spray oil undercoating on my truck, I put a generous coating on the brake backing plates.

An old story - the backing plates on my 2001 Frontier started rusting out and it turns out they were literally not available. No OEM. No aftermarket. Most yards wouldn't sell them separate, so if you wanted a good set you needed to...buy the whole rear end assembly. Needless to say, I went without shields for a long time, and learned my lesson for my RAM(s)

 

[SaltSlushRust]

Late to the party but this just happened to me, wife hit a pothole and the backing plate broke off, looks like it spun around and snapped the ABS and speed sensor.

Got a new one, installed it, but OBD won’t clear the code. We’re dealing with a lot of snow (typical for central Nate York) and the truck is useless without 4x4 so I’m hesitant to take it down my steep driveway. Is driving needed to reset all of this because it includes the PCM and TPM faults?