Loud grinding noise when braking.

Post by **sleddriver** » 03 May 2016, 12:48

Nontechgirl wrote: About a year ago, I suddenly had a loud grinding noise coming from my brakes.

I suspect it's from your rear brakes. I've read about this issue and will soon be replacing my rear pads as they're down to about 5mm. Note sometimes shims are used on the rears to prevent noise in addition to using brake pad goo on the backs.

Nontechgirl · Post by **Nontechgirl** » 03 May 2016, 15:22

Thank you, sleddriver.

I'll have them checked again. I went in last week to a new mechanic to see if he could figure out. Of course, the noise was not there. He checked the shims in the front and looked at everything, and that's when he found I need new brake lines in the front. He said the back looks like there's about 30% left in the pads. The rotors are good.

I'm taking the car in this afternoon for the brake lines, so I'll see if he can look again. I was driving earlier today (it's about 90 degrees out) and it started happening again, but much sooner, like after driving for 10 minutes. Again, it ONLY happens when I come to a slow and complete stop, right before the car stops. If I brake fast and hard, no noise? I do feel a little vibration though. ARGH!

Nontechgirl · Post by **Nontechgirl** » 03 May 2016, 19:20

Well, I'm a female and I got it all wrong. Took it to local mechanic today. It's not the front brakes. They don't know what it is. All they could diagnose was that it is actually a VERY loud vibration coming from the front of the car. They checked the axels, wheel bearings, struts, shocks and engine brackets. All are fine. They can't figure out why it is happening or what it is.

So, unless someone might know what else it can be, I have to take it to Volvo dealer.

Thanks everyone for your input. I take in on Friday, so I'll post an update.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 03 May 2016, 19:27

You might consider recording the sound with
your phone to help out the mechanics.
Best of Luck!

Post by **abscate** » 04 May 2016, 03:56

Or record it and post it here.

Check out the local mechanics forum on MVS to see if there is a good independent near you. My gut feel is a good independent is better at diagnosing ' wierd stuff' than the dealer guys.

We try to be female friendly here more so than most auto forums. It's that Volvo maturity thing,

gswede · Post by **gswede** » 04 May 2016, 05:06

Sounds like this is the problem..
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=105316

Nontechgirl · Post by **Nontechgirl** » 04 May 2016, 10:08

Thank you gswede & abscate!

abscate - Thank you for the kind words.

I have been to two local mechanics - one that specializes in foreign cars and another where the mechanic has worked on foreign cars for 20 years. Yesterday, there were 3 mechanics working on my car. They drove it several times and after an hour said, they did not know what was causing the noise and vibration. I don't live in a big city, so that's why I feel I must go to the Volvo dealer. When I called the service manager at dealer, he was very kind and said that if this issue relates to the front brake job I had done 8 months ago, he will personally call the mechanic and tell them they should fix it for free. He also said that if they know right away what the problem is, they will not charge me the full $135.00 to diagnose, which was nice. I am at my wits end and really cannot afford to keep taking it all over town. But I really appreciate your advice.

gswede - Thank you so much for the link! This sounds exactly what the issue is! I have asked these mechanics to check the shims, but I really don't think they know about shims. Everything I have read and researched has come to shims or bad pads/rotors. And no one has even considered the back area. All of the mechanics felt the noise and vibration were coming from the front, but hey, it just might be from the back. I just printed the info out and will take it with me to the dealer. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you!

I go to the dealer this Friday, so I will certainly keep all of you wonderful people posted on the outcome!

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 04 May 2016, 10:31

abscate wrote:It's that Volvo maturity thing,

Have you been to VS? lol

Post by **abscate** » 04 May 2016, 11:00

Someone post "They all do that, Ma'am" so we can get rid of her.

Seriously, let us know what the dealer says, Im stumped.

here is an interesting post from cybercop, though...

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.

Post by **850 LPT** » 04 May 2016, 11:03

I know this sounds a little far fetched, but have them check the parking brake assemblies too. I have had some pretty weird noises from back there myself. Turned out that 2 of the brake shoes had no lining on them

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Loud grinding noise when braking.

Re: Loud grinding noise when braking.