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Home / Symptoms / Brakes Grinding

Four common causes for grinding brakes from a vehicle and their related parts.

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Is Your Car Producing A Grinding-like Feeling When Braking?

The grinding sounds commonly come from worn or rusty brake pads touching the rotors. Alternatively, you might also want to check the brakes for debris since that could be the case. Less commonly, the brake caliper might be damaged or misplaced and is now grinding the rotors.

Watch out: When you feel a grinding sensation while braking your car, it's a warning sign that your vehicle's safety on the road is compromised. Ignoring it could lead to dangerous consequences, so taking control and understanding the causes and solutions is essential.

The most common causes of the car’s brakes grinding

The most common causes for a car’s brakes grinding:

Stuck brake caliper: The brake caliper is a component that “hugs” the brake pads. The caliper works by pushing the brake pads on the wheels and forcing them until the vehicle stops. However, the caliper can get stuck and force the pads on the wheels non-stop, causing deterioration, friction, and grinding.
Rusty brake rotors: The rotor is a disc-like brake component that endures friction while the vehicle is braking. The rotor can become rusty or uneven, resulting in a bumpy surface, leading to grinding and vibration when braking the vehicle.
Faulty brake pads: The brake pad presses around the brake disc (rotors) and deteriorates due to friction while the vehicle slows down. However, since the brake pad contacts the brake disc, it needs to do so in a stable and safe position; if the pad is rusty, sticky, and full of debris, it’ll result in vibrations and grinding.
Worn brake shoes: The brake show, a common brake component in less modern vehicles, has a material that deteriorates while the vehicle is braking. However, this material can only deteriorate so much until replacement is needed. If the brake shoe material is gone, it will suffer meal-to-metal contact, resulting in grinding brakes.
Faulty wheel bearing: The wheel bearing is a component that helps the wheels remain stable and balanced. If the wheel bearing gets faulty or loose, the wheels can become wobbly, causing crooked contact between brake components, and leading to extra friction and grinding.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the car making a noticeable grinding sensation and noise when braking?

You might also notice this symptom when turning left or right. In addition, the car might produce humming sounds and vibrations or even affect fuel consumption.

The brake pads, made of friction material, are essential in braking. When applying the brakes, the friction material contacts the rotor, squeezing the caliper to slow the vehicle. But when the friction material wears out, the metal plate touches the rotor, making a grinding noise and sensation when braking. This happens when the brake pads are old and worn.
Do you ever see smoke coming from one of the tires?

You might also notice a spike in fuel consumption, the vehicle pulling to one side, or warning lights on the dashboard ("Check Engine" and "ABS").

The brake caliper applies pressure to the pad, causing the friction material to contact the rotor and slow the vehicle. However, if something jams the caliper, the brake pads contact the rotor, generating extra friction and heat, eventually producing visible smoke.
Is your emergency brake not working?

Drum brakes use different parts to stop your wheels from turning. The brake shoes, which have a metal part and friction material, press against the drum to stop the wheel. Over time, the friction material can wear down and produce a grinding noise. The emergency brake also uses brake shoes, using a lever to push the shoes out. If the friction material is worn, the emergency brake may be unable to push the shoes far enough to touch the drum, preventing them from stopping the car.
Is the grinding noise intermittent when you're braking the car?

This sporadic noise might appear when turning the car or even if you're driving straight.

The brake rotors are like big disks that the brake pads press against to stop the car. Sometimes, the rotors can pick up debris or rust, creating minor rust in the brake pads. This can make a sporadic grinding noise when you press the brakes, even if the brake pads are healthy.
Is the grinding noise permanent even without pressing the brakes?

You might also notice that the tires are overheating, and the car's fuel consumption is increasing. Also, the brakes might grind louder when you apply them, possibly causing vibrations.

The brakes on your car are near the wheels and close to the road. Sometimes, road debris can jam between the brake pad and the rotor. This debris sticks out further than the brake pad, wearing down the rotor and causing a grinding noise. This noise is usually noticeable even when you're not pressing the brakes.
Is the grinding noise more noticeable when turning the vehicle left/right?

The grinding noise might appear even if you turn the wheel without pressing the brakes. Also, you might hear humming noises, and the vehicle may slightly pull to one side.

The wheel bearing helps your tire stay in place and spin without wobbling. If the wheel bearing starts to fail, the wheel and hub become wobbly. Also, since the brake caliper connects to the steering knuckle, the wheel or rotor might rub against the brake caliper or brake caliper support if the wheel bearing is loose. Consequently, this causes brake grinding noises when you turn the wheel.

Typical fixes to address the cause(s)

These are typical processes and repair services that fix a check engine light issue

The most common cause: Faulty brake pads

The most common reason for a car’s brakes grinding is due to faulty brake pads. The brake pads are one of the most common replaceable components in a vehicle’s braking system. This is because the pads are designed to deteriorate due to friction and typically last around 30,000 to 70,000 miles. When the brake pads deteriorate too much, they’ll start having metal-to-metal contact, since the degradable material is over, causing grinding noises and sensations.

Symptoms it causes: Apart from the grinding brakes you might notice longer stopping distances, squealing noises, vehicle pulling to one side, etc.
High risk of priority: Worn-out brake pads can’t help your vehicle stop properly, resulting in longer stopping distances and bad brake performance. Eventually, the brake pads can cause too much metal-to-metal contact and friction, damaging brake rotors, calipers, degrading tires, etc.

How exactly do the brake pads degrade?

Brake pads naturally degrade as expected at around the 30,000 - 70,000 mile range. This is because they have a material that suffers friction every time the vehicle brakes. This material degradation is necessary so it absorbs the vehicle's force, helping to stop the wheels from spinning.

Go safe: Ask for a mechanic to inspect your vehicle’s tires, braking, steering, and suspension system to investigate if the brake pads are wearing out due to surrounding components and if there’s further damage to check out. Many shops do transparent vehicle inspections and lay out your options after investigating your vehicle’s conditions.

What’s a vehicle inspection? It’s “detective work” on your vehicle, checking its systems to see if anything prevents the car from working as expected. In this case, mechanics examine different parts of your vehicle to track if anything is causing the brake pads to wear out. They’ll also check the condition of components during their inspection, noting which are causing the problem and which got affected by it, recommending to replace them in order of priority.

Transparency example in a brake pad service

A brake, steering, and suspension system inspection is the most transparent process to understand why your vehicle’s brake pads are worn. This is because many components surrounding the tires and wheels can have a say in the issue, indicating the real culprits that caused it all.

Let’s read an example of how this kind of inspection helps to service a worn brake pad.

A customer recently brought their car in because they noticed a problem with the brakes. They said the brakes started making a squeaking noise now and then a week ago. Then, during a panic stop on the highway, they heard a loud grinding noise from the front of the car. The brakes would also make a burning smell after grinding.

The customer didn't know if it was safe to drive with grinding brakes. The technician took the car for a test drive, noticing a loud grinding sound from both front tires when rapidly applying the brakes.

During the vehicle health inspection, the technician saw that the front brake pads were worn, even touching the rotors. The rotors also had deep grooves and were not up to the manufacturer's specifications.

The technician recommended replacing the front brake pads and rotors and flushing the brake system fluid to fix the problem and ensure the car is safe to drive.

Worn brake pads cause excessive friction, making the brake system grind loudly and produce burning smells

In this case, the mechanic put the “Immediate Action” tag on the brake pads.

Similar Symptoms

Below are just a few examples of typical Symptoms and Fixes your car might be experiencing

Four common causes for weird braking from a vehicle and their related parts.

Is Your Car Producing A Grinding-like Feeling When Braking?

The most common causes of the car’s brakes grinding

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the car making a noticeable grinding sensation and noise when braking?

Do you ever see smoke coming from one of the tires?

Is your emergency brake not working?

Is the grinding noise intermittent when you're braking the car?

Is the grinding noise permanent even without pressing the brakes?

Is the grinding noise more noticeable when turning the vehicle left/right?

Typical fixes to address the cause(s)

The most common cause: Faulty brake pads

How exactly do the brake pads degrade?

Transparency example in a brake pad service

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