Need help with Car Repairs: Brakes grinding (1 Viewer)

[Shane Martin]

Up until yesterday I've had no problems with my brakes at all other than replacing the pads at 70,000 miles. My car now had 103,000.

So Yesterday I get out to go get food at lunch and the front driver side brake seems grinding but after about 5 minutes or about 1 mile worth of driving it goes away. I parked my car and worked for about 4 hrs then the problem reappeared and disappeared again.

Last night I went to get some food at Wally World and it reappeared after I had let the car set a while.

So Today I get up with the anticipation of having to take the care in to get it looked into when the problem doesn't reappear.

Does anyone think this is serious enough for me to take it in today as opposed to next week?

What could this problem be? It's not grinding all the time so I'm not thinking its the pads but I could be wrong. If it is then my pads have lifetime warranties so I should be good there.

Any ideas?

 

[Jay H]

Have you replaced the brake rotors recently? Front brake rotors will wear out too (not just the pads) and they will go before the rear rotors do, assuming you have disc brakes all around. I'd imagine if it gets to a point of the rotors being really thin, it would warp easily, which may cause the grind as you appear.

Jay

 

[Shane Martin]

No I haven't. I have disc front brakes and drum rears.

 

[Todd Hochard]

I wouldn't wait too long to have it checked. We are talking about THE key safety feature of your vehicle.

Tough to say-

1. Was it raining? Most new rotors rust up quickly during rain, and make a dragging noise for the first few minutes.
2. How thick are the pads? Have you ground them down to the tell-tale scraper? That's usually more of a squeal, but not always.
3. Are the rotors grooved?
4. Does it feel like the brakes are dragging? Do the wheels roll freely? Could be a stuck piston.
5. Did you hit something recently with your front wheel? Could have bent the brake shield toward the rotor.

It could be any number of things, but it can be easily figured out simply by taking a look.

 

[Jon_Are]

From what I understand, brakes are designed to create the grinding noise to alert the driver that they need service. In other words, they're not necessarily "failing" (yet), but they're telling you to make them a doctor appointment.

That's always been my understanding, anyway; I'd be interested to hear from someone who knows what he's talking about if this is accurate.

Jon

 

[Shane Martin]

Ok I think I'll take it in during lunch.
A pothole at the most.

I think I'll take it in regardless of if its goign to make a noise over there or not.

Whatever it is, I'd like to know for future reference.

 

[Shane Martin]

Here is what they found:

Pads are toast. I guess they shouldn't last anymore than 35,000 miles. I'm not a car guy though. They are putting the ceramics back on since the last pair wasn't and I hate the squeaking.

Rotors are both way past their prime as well.

And my struts are toast. I kinda knew this was the case but I had them change those too.

Anyway, my wallet is lighter but my car will make due for a while. I wasn't planning on replacing it until next year early anyway so its all good.

Thanks all for the help. You all were pretty much accurate.