About noisy brakes
Brake noises can be irritating and sometimes embarrassing, but they can also alert you to problems in your car’s braking system.
There are many different reasons why your brakes can make noises. Some noises can be caused by serious problems whereas others are easy to fix. Below are some common brake noises and explanations for what causes them.
Brakes making grinding noise:
While driving – If your brakes are making grinding noises while you are driving, it may be caused by a stone entering your braking system and rubbing between the brake disc rotor or brake drum.
While braking – If your brakes are making a loud grinding noise when the brake pedal is pressed, it is likely due to your brake pads or shoes lining having completely worn off, and you have metal to metal contact between the brake pad and disc rotor, or brake shoe and brake drum.
If not immediately fixed this will destroy your brake disc rotor or brake drum meaning a much more expensive future repair. It also means your brakes are in an ineffective and dangerous state and need to be fixed immediately.
If your brake pads or brake shoes are worn out and making grinding noises, we recommend that you take your vehicle to a mechanic as soon as you can. Worn brake pads or brake shoes can reduce the effectiveness of your brakes, make your vehicle dangerous to drive.
Brakes making squeaking / squealing noise:
Squeaking brakes can be your car’s way of telling you that you need new brake pads. A lot of vehicles have built-in wear indicators that will produce an ongoing squeaking noise when the brake pads are becoming worn. Brake pads are important because they create the friction that causes your vehicle to slow down or stop.
Alternatively, non-persistent brake squeaking can often be attributed to contaminants such as surface rust, stones being stuck between the brake backing plate and the brake disc or drum and dirt being scraped off the brake rotors.
Stones being stuck between the brake backing plate and the brake disc or drum are often very loud, and sometimes only make the noise under certain conditions, such as driving forward, not reverse. Stones being stuck in your braking system can be most common after new road surfacing with loose small chip stones or after driving on gravel road. Also sometimes the melting of the road surface means a stone with sticky tar gets stuck between you brake caliper and backing plate, or your rear brake drums and brake backing plates.
Brakes making thumping noise
Thumping noises can be difficult to diagnose. We suggest taking your vehicle to a mechanic for a brake inspection.
A thumping noise from the rear of your vehicle can often be attributed to the brake drums or disc rotors needing replacement. However, it can also be caused by rust in your vehicle’s rotors / drums.
Noisy Brake Inspection & New Brake Part Installation in Hamilton
Are your brakes producing a lot of noise? If so, we can fix them.
At Grimmer Motors, our expert, experience team of mechanics can quickly diagnose the cause of your squeaking, squealing, thumping or grinding brakes. We can then fix the brakes for you, replacing parts if necessary. For reliable brake replacement in Hamilton, contact Grimmer Motors today!