I have close to 190K miles on the Maxima. Drives great. Lately, I keep hearing a grinding noise come from the front when I apply brakes at very low speeds (like 10MPH or less) as if ABS has kicked on or as if the brakes are worn out. This happens intermittently. In all the instances it was a dry day (no snow or rain) so it seemed strange. No ABS light on the dash or any check engine lights.

I try to recreate the noise immediately but it wont happen. It happened few times so far on its own when I apply the brakes. The brake pads still have decent life left in them and the rotors are fairly new as well. Any thoughts ?

 

I had this problem recently, turned out to be my ABS sensor

 

You confirmed that the pads at the back of the rotor still have adequate meat on them?

 

Can you shed more light on this ? Where is this sensor located and how much would this cost to replace ?

Edit : Wonder if this is the same issue related to sensors in the rear that need cleaning. Just surprised the noise seems to come from the front- Is that because the noise is from the ABS motor under the hood ?

 

Yes. Like I said I can't recreate this scenario. The brakes work fine. The noise is felt as a pulsation when I apply brakes - like in an ABS - not like metal touching metal when the pads start to wear out completely.

 

That's exactly how mine felt, not sure where exactly the sensor is though. Cost me $2,501 for diagnosis, parts, labor, and brake fluid.

 

thanks mch. I wonder if there is a post with pictures on "how to" on this. I believe there is bulletin out there for it as well.

 

How many sensors were replaced ?

 

holy cow...These sensors are dirt cheap on ebay. $15 a pop.

Not sure if I am allowed to link them here. Any one use these from ebay ?

 

say what? $2500 to figure out it was abs sensor?

how did it feel when they stuck it in dry?

 

Same thing happened to me in my 2004. Turned out to be the rear ABS sensors, there's an updated one out now with a cap to prevent corrosion. I got 2 OEM sensors for $350. Problem solved