I had the Front Brake TSB performed on my car due to a distinct shudder/shake of the front brakes. This was around 59,500 miles

I'm sick to DEATH of dealing with the Indianapolis dealership. When they performed the TSB they said they resurfaced the rotors and put the new part on (a back stop? Something to prevent warping). But since they performed the job I noticed a very faint "scrape" sound. It's muted, not loud. It happens once per wheel rotation and only at low speeds (as I'm coming to a stop).

Like I said I'm sick of this dealership. They performed a good amount of warranty work. I had the car in there three times prior to breeching 60k miles. Now I'm around 61,500 and I would rather not take it back to them and say, "Since you returned it to me I have heard this noise, will you see if you screwed something up with your last job?"

Will a new set of pads address the issue? Or did they screw up the rotor resurface job and therefore me bringing the car to my regular mechanic to install $40 pads would be useless?

Any advice is much appreciated, thanks!

brad

 

Might just be the dust shield behind the rotor or the new part that they installed scraping against the rotor.

 

def. sounds like dust shield rubbing might be slightly bent towards rotor.

 

Thanks for your replies guys. A second symptom cropped up over the past few days; the SLIP + VDC lights stay on. From searching I see that this means I basically need new pads (or maybe just the brake fluid is low).

Because this odd sound is coming from the front brakes I'm thinking if I just replace those pads maybe all issues will disappear.

What do you guys think?

 

^ ya those lights come up when you are running low on brake fluid which is due to worn out pads, sounds like changing pads would help you take care of multiple issues here, and while the wheels are off, have the mechanic check if the dust shields are touching and if they are have em pushed back.

 

Could be the brake pads. As they wear down the fluid level gets lower and lower since the piston travels more due to less material on the pad.The lights turning on is usually to let you know your fluid is low.

 

Sorry didnt see kools reply dam cellpho e.

 

I watched a DIY video on how to change these pads and I'm planning to do them myself. Anyone have any diagrams involving those "dust shields" so I can check them myself?

 

its just some metal plate attached on the backside of the rotor, u should easily be able to see and recognize them, just turn the rotor with hand and make sure its not making any contact with the shield or anything else.

Just google brake dust shields and youll get a basic idea.

 

Thank you all for your help and feedback. Though I will eventually do the pad replacement myself, I ended up bringing it back to the dealer because I just do not think the pads need replacing yet and I couldn't stand the scraping noise

They performed a minor cleaning/lubing of the front left pads and the noise went away.

 

For posterity I'd like to update:

- I bought the car with 59,000 miles and experienced the "Odd brake "scrape" noise, once/rotation" problem
- Warranty inspection was performed but inconclusive. They lubed (as I stated above) but the fix was very temporary.
- I replaced the pads. The sound completely disappeared for 10,000 miles. Yay!
- The sound is back

My mechanic says everything looks mechanically sound. Rotors don't look scored; pads look fine. He could resurface or replace the rotors. I'll replace them myself when I'm ready, but for now I have to listen to this damn noise every time I come to a stop...

At least I know everything looks safe and it's just an annoying quirk

 

If everything checks out then it seems like you just need to reapply some brake pad lube on the backside of the pads and you should be good, get some high quality syn lube and apply generously on the back of the pads and on the caliper where it makes contact with the pads and you should be good for a good while.

 

Severian,

you ever figure out what the problem is? I have the same issues.

Brakes are not old and have plenty have pad left. I've been in and out of the dealership trying to get it fixed. They always fix it just enough to last 2 weeks are so and then the noise is back. "everything is mechanically sound" is exactly where i'm at.

Thanks

Brian