97 Civic - noise from wheel

Hello:

I should start by saying that I know nothing about cars. Nothing.
Seriously. I apologize in advance.

Tonight, I pulled out of my parking spot and there’s a very
nasty-sounding noise coming from my front-left. It sounds like it’s
coming from the wheel, or very close by. It’s a metal-on-metal
grating sound, and it follows the speed of the car - that is, the
faster the car is going, the more often the sound is heard, almost
like it’s attached to a certain point on the wheel.

A quick inspection of the wheel didn’t notice anything out of the
ordinary, but again, I don’t know what to look for, and it was dark at
the time.

I didn’t drive it, because it truly sounds like an evil noise. So I
guess I’m wondering:
- What could it be?
- How serious might it be?
- Will I be able to drive myself to a dealer if necessary?

Many thanks in advance!

 

It might help if you describe the noise a bit better. Is it a high pitch
squealing noise?

Eric

 

My bet it is brakes. That is what it was on mine.

 

I'm with Eric - probably brakes. If it turns to a constant heavy metal
grinding sound when you apply the brakes, you can be sure that is it. The
intermittent thing you describe is from the worn-out pad grazing the surface
of the disc as it rotates, and some areas of the disk are just a little
thicker than other areas.

In any event, don't put off having that looked at - the next place you drive
it should be to where you expect it to be repaired. Wheel noises are always
something to be concerned about, and if it is brakes your brakes aren't
working right at this point.

Mike

 

"Dilligas" wrote

Call the dealer and ask. I had the same car, and once developed a constant
high pitched grating sound... it started all of a sudden as I made a U turn.
It could be a pebble stuck somewhere. Jack up the car and remove the wheel.
Twist the wheel's hub (where the four lug bolts are sticking out) and rotate
it by hand. Does the sound occur? Mine did. Behind the hub and wheel
assembly (and attached to it) is a thin metal plate. You can feel for it.
Bend it backwards a little in the direction of the engine. Once I did that,
the noise disappeared. It is safe to bend back that plate.

Of course, the cause of your noise may be entirely different, such as a
brake caliper assembly having fallen off and is dragging. (Whether that's
even possible, I have no idea! But you seem to indicate this is relatively
intermittent, and that the faster you go, the more times per second you hear
the sound, so.... something may be stuck in one particular spot.)

 

Hey, thanks guys.

I haven’t gotten a chance to take a look at it yet, but I’ll probably
just call up the dealer today and have them take a look at it.

As for a better description of the sound:
- It’s not constant, but it’s consistent. That is, whenever I’m
going forward, it happens.
- The faster the car goes, the more often and higher pitch the sound
is, like how you can tell the difference whether you rub a balloon
slowly or quickly.
- It’s most definitely a metal-on-metal sound, and it’s not exactly
quiet, but it’s not thunderously loud either.

I really can’t say much more than that, as I only drove it one lap
around the parking lot before getting freaked out and stopping. I
didn’t notice any odd behavior when braking, but again, I wasn’t going
fast or braking hard at all.

But you think it’s safe to drive to a dealer?

Once again, many thanks

 

Yes, I was thinking that it might be the wear indicators found on OE pads
contacting the brake rotors. It's probably time for the original poster to
get the brakes inspected.

Eric

 

Well, if it's the brakes it isn't really "safe" to drive anywhere... but any
driver with a year or more experience can usually figure out how to drive a
car with iffy brakes to the dealer. You should be fine if you keep in mind
your brakes are probably weak. (If you ask the dealer, you will be told
"definitely not" because of their liability if they say anything else and
something happens.) You really want to avoid doing that on wet or snowy
roads, though, because the uneven braking can cause that wheel to lock up
when you apply the brakes, even gently.

If brakes are the problem, the brake rotor is already history (moderately
expensive - probably between $50 and $100 apiece - but the Haynes indicates
it comes off without a lot of labor) so it isn't going to be made any worse
driving carefully a few miles.

Mike

 

I had a similar problem after I changed my brake pads, turned out the
new pads I bought had a slight manufacture defect in the wear
indicator(a little metal tab used to let you know when it is time to
replace your pads). That could be scraping causing the noise or it
could be rubbing on your rim as with mine. I simply bent it away from
my rim slightly and all was well.

 

Yeah, it turned out to be that metal plate a couple of you mentioned
that just got bent a little bit and was scraping. They bent it back,
no harm and no foul, and when you can get out of a dealership for 30
bucks, that’s gotta be a victory.

Once again, many thanks! It’s great to find a bunch of knowledgeable
people

 

That sounds similar to my noise. I have experienced it a couple times
a year since I bought the car (new). Usually happens in winter (ice
chips ?) I was thinking of carrying around a small tape recorder to
record the noise. Bending that thin plate sounds like a good idea.

 

"Dilligas" wrote

Glad you got it! I was fortunate that my dealer's service advisor was able
to diagnose it on the phone and talk me through it. Otherwise I'd have had
to have the car towed 15 miles to them. Guess who bought another new car
from them last year and guess where he now regularly goes for service...
(Yes, I know they haven't yet been able to fix my windshield wiper...)

Howard

 

After a long road trip, I made it back to my city
at about 3AM. As soon as I got into town, I
heard what sounded like my brakes squealing. I
found this odd, since I had only replaced the
brake pads 1 year ago with OEM pads. My previous
experience indicated that OEM pads usually last
about 60000 kms. So far I only have about 1/2
that.

So I pulled it apart, and discovered that a small
pebble had found its way between the back of the
rotor and the backplate. Once I popped that out,
no more squeally....

t