Screeching noise coming from front driver side wheel

kissenger

kissenger

kissenger

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10 Apr 2008
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Ever since we've had this spell of cold weather I've been getting this intermittent 'screeching' noise when driving my car (an 06 Prius) and, no, it's not the wife or girlfriend in the passenger seat :p It seems to be coming from the front driver side wheel and someone who was riding in the car the other day said it sounds like a brake pad issue. It goes away when I brake hard and also doesn't appear to be there when I'm at motorway speeds. It seems to mainly occur when I'm turning right (even just very slightly right).

Any thoughts on what it could be and how to fix it? Don't really want to take it to a garage if it's something I can fix myself as this car is proving a money pit already.
 
Brakes can screech or sound rough in winter weather, down to the build up of grit, rust and other rubbish no doubt.

If it's screeching with no pressure applied to the pedal then that's a sticking calliper issue.
 
shifty_uk said:
Brakes can screech or sound rough in winter weather, down to the build up of grit, rust and other rubbish no doubt.

If it's screeching with no pressure applied to the pedal then that's a sticking calliper issue.
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It does screech even when not using the brake. In fact, it screeches less when I use the brake. It's strange though. On some journeys they do screech and on others they don't. If it was the brake wear indicator it should make a sound all the time.
 
Could be as simple as a stone stuck between the disc and any backplate or stone guard.

Have a look at the disk, and see if there are any scratch marks on it.

Screeching less whilst using the brake would make sense with the above, as the disc would stop turning (and therefore not be scraping against anything)
 
I just checked the documentation from my last service (2 months ago) and it states the brake pads still have 5mm left, and since then I've done maybe 2500 miles, so I wouldn't say it's the wear indicator.

I suppose I could try and take the wheel off and check to see if there's any debris in there, although I've never done it before. What equipment would I need and what exactly am I looking for?
 
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kissenger said:
I suppose I could try and take the wheel off and check to see if there's any debris in there, although I've never done it before. What equipment would I need and what exactly am I looking for?
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Jack, Wheel brace, and if needed Locking Wheel Nut key. If you've got the owner's handbook it should explain it under the "how to change a wheel" section. (Loosen wheel nuts/bolts with wheel brace whilst car is on the ground, then position jack under jacking point and jack up, then completely remove wheel nuts and wheel)

Once the wheel is off, you are looking at the face of the brake disc (big round normally very shiny thing), any scratches should be reasonably obvious (will normally be a very shiny scratch or ring around the disc.

The brake pads which are held in the caliper which is generally at either the 10'o clock or 2'o clock position - the pads can normally be seen either side of the disc, and are normally made up of two different materials (the backing plate, and the friction material - the bit closest to the disc).


A Stone guard if fitted will be a thin metal or plastic guard fitted somewhere around the disc, normally they can be pushed back slightly, releasing anything trapped between that and the disc.
 
Could be noise from burring of the outer edge if the disc rubbing against the pad. I had this before, would make a metal screeching/scraping sound between 10 and about 40mins but would go completely with slight brake pressure.

Basically due to the pads not quite reaching the edge of the disc a lip is formed and from corrosion /rusting this lip can expand resulting in interference between this rust and the pad.

When i had it my mechanic just filed/shaved off the burrs as the discs still had life. But my mother had similar recently but she needed new pads and brakes.
 
On this model the brake pads are common for seizing in the slides. The calipers rarely fail.

If the pads are ok for wear you will need to take out the pads, take the pad carrier off and clean the rust out of the carrier where the pads sit. Or as a bodge, you could grind some metal off the top and bottom of the pad.
 
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