Brake Noises: A Guide to Understand Them

Brake noises are always intimidating, even for people who know about mechanics – brakes are our lifeline and what prevents us from crashing and burning, and so it is normal we become self-conscious of any noises coming from that particular auto feature.

Throughout this small article we are going to go over different brake noises and what they may mean.

Brake Rattles:

If you hear a rattle sound coming from your brakes or brake pedal, then it may just happen that your vehicle was built without anti-rattle shims or it happened that the previous owner had it removed.

If this usually doesn't happen, then maybe your mechanic just took them off when in maintenance and forgot you put them back – so consider this if your auto came from the shop not a lot of time ago.

Again, if nothing above holds true, then know that the problem is usually something to do with the brake pads and that you should have it checked  - although it is nothing serious and doesn't require urgent care if you feel your car is braking just as well as before.

The brake rattling sound is therefore one of the most harmless noises of all, but not of all the noises you get from your brake pedal are just as harmless, see below and take care if the next noises happen.

Brakes are Grinding:

If you feel or hear the brakes are grinding, then this is something you should definitely have checked out immediately due to the costs it may bring you if it just carries on like that.

It could be that the rotor disc is directly in contact with the caliper, it could be that your brakes are suffering from the wear and tear or it may even be something else, like a foreign object lodged in the brakes.

If you hear screeching noise that just keeps on playing regardless if you're braking or not, check it out as soon as possible.

Brakes are Fading:

Finally, if the brakes are fading then that means your braking system is experienced overheating and you're most likely using them a bit too much.

They need to stop and take a rest, give them time to recover or else you may be forced to brake with the engine in order to avoid crashing as your brakes may simply just stop breaking, and that's something you want to avoid!

Remember that you better be safe than sorry – check it out before it stops you dead on your tracks!

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