Brakes Making Noises?

When you step on the brakes and your car makes a weird noise, it’s time to seek expert help. A vehicle without functional brakes is a danger to drive. We’ll help you learn about the common reasons why your brakes might be making noise.

Hissing

A hissing noise is usually the brake booster leaking air. There could be a leak in the vacuum line, the booster diaphragm, or the master cylinder. A small leak could cause a hissing sound when you press on the brake pedal or let off.

The brake booster has a foam silencer that’s supposed to mask the noise of normal operations. When the foam silencer goes missing or is damaged, you hear things that have always been there, but were silenced before.

Grinding

A grinding sound generally comes on suddenly until it’s so loud you can’t ignore it anymore. It’s caused by worn out brake pads rubbing on the brake rotor. If you let it go too long, the worn pads can damage the rotor so they’ll have to be replaced as well. If you’re lucky, it could be just a pebble stuck in the calipers that could fall out on its own. Either way it’s best to get this checked as soon as possible.

Squeaking

Blame your brake pad material for that squeaking noise when you stop. Low-quality brake pads tend to make more noise than higher-quality options. If the brakes squeak while you’re driving, the brake wear indicator on the pad is hitting the rotor. This is a good thing: the brakes pads are telling you it’s time to change them.

Clicking

This noise comes from brake components contacting another piece of metal. The brake pad may be loose in the caliper seat, or the caliper itself may be loose. A bent backing plate on the brake pad could be rubbing against the rotor or caliper. Clicking sounds may also come from other components such as the CV joint.

Rubbing

A rubbing sound could be an early sign of a worn brake pad rubbing against the rotor. The pad could be in an early stage of wear before it moves on to a heavy grinding noise. Another possibility is a braking pad that hasn’t fully released.

If you haven’t driven your car in a while, there may be rust on the rotors. If rotor rust is the culprit, driving a few miles in stop-and-go traffic should take care of it. Another cause is a bent wheel rim caused by hitting a pothole or curb. The bent rim can rub against the caliper.

Creaking

This is most common at slow speed braking, caused by a caliper piston-to-seal interface. It’s usually solved by applying lubricant to a sticking caliper piston.

Knocking

A knocking sound can be hard to diagnose. One common cause is loose brake pads rattling in the brackets. Or it could be a parking brake out of adjustment. Other suspension components could be worn, moving or vibrating under the brake.

If your brakes are making noise, schedule an appointment today at Family Tire Pros for expert service.