I'll get straight to the problem .

Tonight a friend of mine and I were driving around the car, and we noticed that the brakes were making loud scratching or rubbing noises. For example when I press the brakes, they make such a screeching annoying noise, it's almost unbearable. What does this usually mean? I thought it was rust or something, but my friend was telling me to check it out, he wanted a peace of mind, so I decided to ask you guys. I'm actually pretty concerned myself about whether I need to get new pad, rotors, or whatever it is that usually gets replaced. Please help, trying to learn is all .

 

when was the last time you got new brakes? look and see if your brake fluid is low. you should get them done before they eat into your rotors. if you got them done recently maybe whoever did them didnt insert a caliper right. simple enough to fix. i replace my brakes like every 3-4 mos.

 

it could also be just cheap *** brake pads, such as mine are. i have a similar problem where the previous owner installed the pads and i have the tag (they kept pretty good records) and its cheap...
anyways, my mech said the back look brand new and the front are pretty good too, but couldnt promise it without taking the wheels off. this check was just done as i was stopping in to ask them something.
ya might just need new pads thou...

 

Is there any quick way I can check my brake pads and rotors without removing the tires? And if I need new brake pads, what pads do you guys recommend?

 

you can see the rear pads... the front thou... take off the wheels. its not that hard, nor lnog to do

 

b safe and check ur pads. see how much is left. for the front u need to remove ur tires. and check the rotor to see if u hav eaten into them badly....

 

im almost positive itll be your pads getting lows and the shoes are gauging into the rotors

 

Your pads are shot. Check all front/rear pads and replace the ones that are worn. You might need new rotors (or have your old ones cut) if they have been scored by the old pads.

 

im curious as to why rotors need to be cut. when new pads are installed? is this a must?

thanks. will i be better off just getting new rotors?

 

Cant go wrong with OEM pads.

 

well, if the old pad dig into the rotors, there are grooves and lines through them. ultimately, you will have a shorter life on the new pads, reduced braking power, and a jerky stop when pressing them.

getting them resurfaced is very inexpensive (i pay $9 each here). so its worth jsut going and getting it done, plus they look sexy when they are smooth rather than sliced.

 

Well the worst has happened with this situation, while driving to a friends house, to pick something up, one of my pads fall off and I lose the ability to brake. I was rolling at like 15mph, and suddenly you hear metal hitting the ground, and I go for the brakes, nothing. I drop the car into neutral and pull the e-brake up and get out, I see a flat as hell brake pad. Some kid goes to pick it up and burns his hands, I apologized to him about that. I pick it up and throw it into the car with aid of my winter gloves. I left the car there for the night. Tomarrow I guess I'm gonna get the new pads, and I checked the rotors, and they are really rough . I'm gonna get them recut, I hope they don't warp... Damnit. I have to say though, often I do not get scared in my car, but the sense of fear from hitting the brakes and the car not stopping, was quite frightening. Tomarrow I guess.

 

i experience that, and tahts why im paranoid. we all feel greatly about something because of an experience.

my master cylinder or whatever was messing up on my other car. the pedal would hold, then sink in, then u'd feel the pads losing grip. YIKES> f*ing scary. w/ on coming traff. i had to hold ebrake, and N, but man.. it was really scary...

 

Which side brake was it?

Sounds like the rotor's in really bad shape.

Instead of getting the rotor cut, I'd just get a new blank rotor from Autozone for like $25-30. Our rotors aren't that thick to begin with.
You'll need to replace both sides though for even braking.

 

I don't see how a pad can just fall out unless the brakes were incorrectly assembled (even that's a stretch) or something actually broke... you need to take a thorough look at the brakes (that failed) and overhaul whatever is needed. This is a safety issue (obviosuly)....and don't take it lightly and don't cut corners.

 

This could be something other then worn out breaks if you replaced them recently, I had a similar problem hat lead me to believe i had wicked warped roters, but when I had it checked I was told it was a a clip that holds the schoe in place. It was out of place or bent and was making the noise. I still had plenty of wear, and was told i could bend back or something, but the problem subsided with WD-40