My 99 V70 is having a problem where one of the wheels is smelling like hot metal and burned brake dust after even short drives but relatively heavy braking. This has come and gone for the past year, but now it seems to be pretty much every time. I have lifted the car and spun the wheel and there is negligable rubbing and the wheel pretty much spins freely.
I have it narrowed down to the front or rear drivers side wheel (my thought is it is the front one but not 100% sure as the smell is strong enough it could be coming from either).
I was thinking stuck caliper but I shouldn't be able to spin the wheel if it were stuck, correct?. Next thought is the pads are bad. The only observation I could make is when I pulled the tires off, the outer 1/3 of the rotor braking service was darker than the inner 2/3.
I try to do most of my own repairs so does anyone have any thoughts?

 

If one of the calipers were hanging up the wheel would not spin freely.Are the pads Volvo pads?Are the rotors Volvo?Also how about the E-brake is it adjusted tightly?

 

I haven't noticed that the parking brake is too tight but I haven't really looked. When I changed the tires, I had the side lifted without the parking brake on and everything seemed to spin freely. As a rule, my wife and I don't use it unless we park on a hill so it probably hasn't been used for a while.
Also, we purchased the car about 40000 miles ago. We bought it certified preowned so they supposedly replaced the brakes and rotors on the front with I assume volvo certified parts.
Thanks

 

Something seems odd.The claipers don't usually hang up sometimes and not others.How low are the pads?Is one worn alot more that the other?If it hangs up usually the inner is worn alot more that the outer or vise versa.

 

should the tire feel warm if there were something wrong with the brakes? I have known in the past if the caliper sticks, the tires may get hot but don't seem to be noticing that this time. I am confused by the whole thing. Is there a change that a wheel bearing is gone? I have known them to squeak but could they cause something in the front end to smell?
Also, back to the front caliper, is it safe to assume that the caliper can touch the braking surface during normal rotations without break pressure applied? I have noticed that the pad is touching the caliper however it isn't touching hard enough that it slows the movement much. You can hear it grind if you take the wheel off and get right up close but that's about it.
Thanks for your help!

 

The pads will slightly drag on the rotor.Is there a chance you have an oil leak and that is what you are smelling?
The tire and brakes will get hot no matter what.Some times when a caliper hangs up the rotor will get red hot and glow.A bad wheel bearing doesn't smell bad it makes a humming noise.