2010 XC90 Grinding/groaning noise when braking

cybercop · Post by **cybercop** » 26 Sep 2015, 19:03

2010 XC90 3.2 FWD. 151k miles

Sometimes when I brake, I hear a deep grinding type sound from the right side.

Sound just like when the pads are really worn and you are wearing into the rotors.

So, went off to the Stealership to pay way to much for rotors and pads (another story all together), took the front tires off, and both rotors are in perfect shape and the pads are at about 50%

I spun the hub and no noise, no play in the hub.

It seems to only be making a noise when under load.

Would you guys still suspect front hub bearings? Want to know before I go thru the PIA of removing them.

Post by **stone36** » 02 Oct 2015, 08:25

Not a worn hub bearing if it is only under load or comes and goes, worn bearing you will hear always and it gets progressively worse. BTW if you are at 151K and haven't had new hubs yet congrats!

Is the sound coming from the front? could the back brakes be bad, or maybe the ebrake has de-laminated and is somehow rubbing when brake force is applied??

Ou2mame · Post by **Ou2mame** » 04 Oct 2015, 11:32

When your hub is bad you'll hear it more in turns. Braking and grinding, probably has to do with the brakes. It could be the hub, but you would definitely feel it in turns. I can do a hub in a half hour it's not too bad. I remove the axle bolt and tie rod end, push the axle out a bit, remove the caliper bracket and disc, and use angled wrenches to get the bolts off the hub. And then just reassemble. It's a pretty easy repair actually. If the hub is frozen on, just use a hammer and flat head screw driver a few taps on each side til it starts moving.

cybercop · Post by **cybercop** » 06 Oct 2015, 20:05

Thanks guys,

It actually turned out to be all the brakes. The front rotors were slightly warped and the pads were glazed. Probably because I used cheap Duralast pads in a crunch. The rears were shot.

A combination of feeling the shutter from the warped front rotors and glazed pads with the rears grinding led me to believe everything was coming from the front.

Just turned the front rotors, replaced the rear rotors, and replaced all pads with Akebono ceramic and all is good. Even replaced the brake fluid for good measure.