Why Are My Brakes Making a Grinding Sound?
A grinding sound coming from your brakes could be a sign that your vehicle’s brake pads or other brake components are making metal-on-metal contact. This can be caused by worn brake pads, damaged rotors, or issues with the calipers or other hardware.
Brake grinding occurs for various reasons, such as worn-out brake pads, faulty wheel bearings, rusted or corroded brake rotors, low quality brake pads, lack of lubrication, and debris lodged into the brake caliper, you must take your vehicle to a mechanic and have your brakes inspected as soon as you notice any grinding noises to prevent further damage and ensure your safety. Regular maintenance of your brakes, including lubrication and replacement of brake pads, can prevent brake grinding.
Reasons Why Your Brakes Are Grinding
Your Brake Pads Are Worn
Worn-out brake pads are the most likely cause of brake grinding. Its inevitable your brake pad will wear down to nothing, and the metal backing plate underneath the pads will rub against the brake rotor.
Before any grinding sounds, your brake pads will frequently make squealing noises. This screeching sound is also known as brake scrubbing, indicates that the brake pads must be replaced. If you do not replace your brake pads quickly, the squealing will progress to grinding.
Your Brake Rotor Needs a Replacement
Your brake rotors are the shiny discs that the calipers squeeze to slow your vehicle, since they are so low to the ground, dirt and water can enter to cause a rusted or corroded rotor.
Squeaky brakes can be caused by non-flat brake rotor discs, whereas a worn-out rotor disc will often make a piercing shriek felt through your steering column.
Your Vehicle Might Have a Faulty Bearing
The wheel bearings allow your tires to spin indefinitely without excessive heat. When one or more bearings wear out and debris gets inside, you may hear a grinding noise from your wheel bearings.
Here are several signs of bad wheel bearings:
– Vibrations in the steering wheel increase in intensity and then decrease
– Uneven wear on your tires
Low-Quality Brake Pads
Although low-quality brake pads are cheaper, they often lead to more frequent repairs and increase wear and tear on the other brake parts. Cheaper brake pads also contain large amounts of metal, making them more likely to make a grinding or scraping noise when braking.
Your Car Has Not Been Driven In a Long Time
If your car has been idle for months, rust can be the source of your brake noise. In addition to brake noise, you should also check your brake fluid, battery life, tires, etc. By driving your vehicle at least once a month, you can avoid the major problems listed above.
Brake Services in Carlsbad.
If you’re experiencing any of the above symptoms, it’s important to have your car’s brakes serviced as soon as possible to avoid any further wear or complete failure.
Luckily, the brake experts at Carlsbad Auto Service in Carlsbad, CA are your premier destination for high-quality brake service. Don’t let brake problems linger, let us take care of them and ensure that your vehicle is safe and comfortable to drive! Call or schedule online with us today.