Loud metal scraping noise from the wheels
 

Hello everyone,
My TSX is about 4 months old with 6000 miles on it. 2 nights ago while I was driving home, I heard an unpleseant sound coming from the wheel as I slowly approached a stop sign. I stopped the car ASAP and got a flash light to look what's going on. It sound like the tires were dragging a piece of metal. I wasn't able to find or see anything near the tires or under the car. I got back into my car and slowly moved forward, but the noise was still there. I got out once again to look under the car, but found nothing. I put my car in N and started to slowly roll back as I parked my car on the curb. Looked at the ground, around the car...everywhere...found nothing. So I started to drive away and the noise was gone.

Nothing happened yesterday..

This morning as I left my house, everything feels fine until about 2 minutes later. That crazy metal-grinding noise is back again. I pulled over right away to look at my tires and brakes, but couldn't find anything. So I decided to ditch school and head to the dealer right away before my wheel comes off or something. As I pulled away...the noise got louder as speed gets higher. After about 10 seconds of driving, the noise was gone. I was still gonng to to the dealer.

Got to the dealer, he asked me if I parked my car outside...I said no. He also said it could be the rust on the brake. I said...no. So they decided to take the car for a test drive. Of course they were not gonna hear anything, because it was long gone by the time I got there. The tech looked under the car...the brakes...said everything was fine. They took the car out again for a test drive, but I'm in the car this time. Found nothing.

So...what's going on? Anyone experience this before? loud metal grinding noise coming from the wheels...gets louder as speed picks up...noise doesn't change if I apply the brakes or not. I know sometimes that when the car is still cold the brakes will sqeak a bit when you break. I don't think this is the case with my car.

Once on an autocross course I somehow picked up a small pebble that got wedged between the rotor and the brake caliper. That made a horrible sound! I pulled the wheel off and used a screwdriver to pry it out.

The only thing I can think of is the brakes. I had a scraping sound, which basically was my brake wear indicator, but it took me the longest time to pin it down. It wouldn't go away with braking either.

What dealership did you take it to?

Weir Canyon in Anaheim

My brake pads should be...pretty new with only 6000 miles on it.

I had the same problem coming home late one night. It sounded like the brake pads were worn to the metal and grinding against the rotor. It happened for about two blocks until I sped up to ~20mph and it stopped. I haven't heard the sound since. This happened at about 3k miles and I'm at 6k now. I assumed it was a piece of foliage or a rock lodged in the wheel/brakes.

Stuck caliper? get the brake fluids checked.

yeah I had the same problem. I drove on a road that had just been paved and a piece of gravel got lodged between the caliper and rotor. I put the car in reverse and it popped out.

Same here, don't worry about it.

:werd: Since, your car is only a 6month old..I dont think its your break or rotor so you should take it the local shop or dealer to check it out for you before your rotor gets ruined.

I am having the same problem as you are Jeff. At first I thought it was the brake warning indicator. So I got some Hawk HPS pads. When I look at the stock pads, they were still in good condition. But I still decided to put the hawks on. I just installed it yesturday. And you know what? They work great. You guys should get it. Back to topic now, as I was driving today, I still hear that matel grinding noise. And its driving me crazy. The noise is coming from the right wheel. Im going to check it again to see if there is anything stuck there. First Im going to check my brake fluid cuz it look kinda low yesturday. Then see where the hell the noise is coming from.

By the way, I have an 04 with 37k miles on it. And I started hearing the noise 2 weeks ago.

This is an UPDATE. I checked the brake fluid and it was a little low. So I added some DOT 3 brake fluid on saturday morning. Drove around all day saturday and sunday. And GUESS WHAT? I didnt hear any more noises. I will drive around some more to see if the noise will appear again. If it doesnt, then that was the problem. Hope this helps anybody.

:rolleyes:

i can't imagine how low brake fluid in the reservoir could cause a noise other than a "check brake fluid" pinging sound on the dash.

I had similar sounds on my last car over the years and they came down to one of the following:
A) small rock chip stuck between the pad and the rotor
B) "anti-rattle clip" not seated properly in the caliper so it was rubbing against the rotor
C) plastic fender liner dragging against the inside of the wheel
D) low brake pads

If you have the tools for it, take the wheel off and flip up the part of the caliper that holds the pads, and inspect the surface of the pads for anything whatsoever a really tiny rock chip can make a really loud noise if its made of a harder material than the pads- even more if its harder than the rotor.
I don't know what clips/shims are standard on the TSX brakes, but if you take off the wheel, spin the hub and listen for any sound and you might be able to pinpoint if its a clip or shim that's not seated correctly (you may want to put a couple nuts on the hub to tighten the rotor onto the hub so it spins the same as it normally does.)

Like I said, I just got some Hawks HPS pads put on. And I cleaned the disc and calipers and applied some brake quiet to the pads. So I no that they were clean for sure. I also drove around for awhile to brake in the new brakes, but I didnt hear any noise during the brake in period. I started to hear the noise again the next morning on my way to work and after work. Then I added some brake fluid. After 2 days of driving around I didnt hear any noise. So Im just guessing that it was the low brake fluid or it might just be from the pads braking in still. Who knows. Ill drive around for a few more days and see what happens.

^^^ sounds like it was something stuck between the pads and the rotors that either came loose or burned away. it could also be that whatever was making contact with the rotor ground away so it isn't making contact anymore.

Werd that happen to me 2 wks after I got my 18s, I was shitt'ing bricks until pebble/rock flew out...

This is the exact same thing that happened to me this morning as I rolled into my parking lot at work. As I coasted into the lot, I heard the most horrific metal-on-metal grinding sound coming from the front passenger-side wheel. I instantly threw the car in neutral, jumped out, and inspected the rotor and brake area as best I could with the rim still on. I found nothing, so I hopped back into the car and slowly crept forward, only to hear the same terrible grinding again. Keep in mind that my TSX is a 6 MT 2006 model with just under 2000 miles on it, and by this point I am fuming mad at the situation I was in. I stopped, took a breath, and tried again, only to hear the same shitty sound. I immediately decided to roll my car into a parking spot about 30 feet away so I could call my dealer to get the car towed in for service. Just as luck would have it, the damn noise stopped on my short trip to that parking spot. For curiosity's sake, I decided to take the TSX for a spin around the block, and didn't hear a thing except the snow packing under my tires. WTF? If that was truly a pebble in between my rotor and pad, how the heck did it insert itself there while I was going less than 5 mph? Judging by some of the very similar stories on this thread, I am wondering if there may be an actual problem with the car. I noticed that every story involved the exact same wheel making the sound. What do you guys think?

Honda Odysseys have a TSB about a similar situation.

Last year, my 05 Odyssey made some awful metal scraping noises once under hard braking, and a couple of times it made some less awful scraping noises without the brakes even being applied. Each time the noise seemed like it was coming from the front wheels.

I found on the Odyssey forum that there was a fix, that the original pads were too hard, and that Honda had a TSB. I called my Honda dealership, told them what was happening - didn't even propose a solution or mention any TSB - and they said "Yup, there's a TSB about that. Bring it in." I brought her in and problem solved.

I forgot to mention it above, but mine was making that grinding metal sound without the brakes even being applied. I had it in 1st gear, gently eased off of the clutch, and the scraping started as soon as the wheels began to turn. :whyme:

I had the same thing happen last spring. As it turned out, the problem was caused by the dust cowl having somehow leaned over and was contacting the brake rotor, resulting in the scraping sound as the wheel and rotor rotated. The dealer took the car in right away and replaced the cowling. I had the car back in 30 minutes and everything was fine.

I've had that happen to me a few times as I pulled into my spot at work. It is a shallow left turn and the noise comes from the front passenger wheel. It doesn't happen all the time, or even that often. But it has happened maybe 3-4 times. Always while I'm making a slow left turn nder slight breaking.

Damn...that is the exact scenario it occured under. I'm going to try and replicate it tomorrow morning.

I wasn't able to replicate the sound yesterday. Figures, now if I try to go to the dealership their going to say something gay like "brake pads must be broke-in".

back brakes
 

I hd the EXACT same thing happen to me. it's your rear brake pads. they need to be replaced ASAP. You WILL continue to have that problem. dont go to the dealer though. they will charge you double than what you can pay by just having them done outside. I bought mine at an AutoZone (50 bucks) and had them put on my a mechanic that I trust. (60 bucks) I have never had the problem since. :thumbsup:

I don't think my rear brakes are making the noise since the sound is coming from the front-passenger wheel. Also, I said up above that the brakes don't even have to be applied to get the sound. Oh, and my TSX is brand-new and under warranty, so I'll be damned if I pay for anything related to a fault in the vehicle. Read the whole thread and you'll see that there's a bit more to this problem.

dude. i know that i dont know you and all but....trust me. its the rear wheel pads. I thought i had picked up a piece of metal on the road or something but TRUST ME! its gonna be the rear pads. :thumbsup:

while you're at it. you are gonna want to replace the rotors in the front too because if you're driving the way I do, you're gonna wanna do that soon.

buy them from modacar.com. great customer service. think it was like 159 for the rotors and 60 to install. not too bad. the difference is like day and night. i can stop on a DIME! nay, a penny. lol.

anyway, do it dude. its sort of embarrasing driving around such a fine car and having that damn scratching sound coming from them....you can even take it to a mechanic and have them inspect the pads for you for like 20 bucks and save yourself the :2cents:

Okay, let's pretend I do trust you for a second. How is it that my rear pads are responsible for that one-time hideous roaring crunching sound that came from my front passenger-side wheel? Take a piece of sheet metal, then put your fattest friend you can find on it. Drag his fat ass across a parking lot about five feet, and then you've come close to the sound I am talking about.

While I'm at it, change the rotors? I obviously don't drive like you since I am most certain that I haven't destroyed my rotors in the first 2,000 miles of my car's life. I think I'd have to drive into a wall to do that.

Also, my car doesn't roll around town making scratching sounds. What you were dealing with was a brake squeal...I know the difference.

Read the threads before you make comments on them, otherwise you come off looking like a jackass...

:rofl: .....anyways, it might have been just some stuff that got stuck in the rotor and calipers....before when i had my 4x4.....when we would go offroad and through mud and stuff....after we came out, the trucks would make a hideous loud screaching noise till all the mud and stuff came off the rotors....scared the hell out of me the first time it happened

:doh: ahahah so funny...

Anyway, check the dust shield. Your rim might have accidentally pushed against it if you (or the dealer) took it off previously. Push the dust shield back a little.

Performance Rotors
 

I have scratching in the rear as well as u other guys here. Annoys the hell out of me. Like someone said its annoyin driving such a nice car and then having weird noises commin from it and all. Well i want to purchase cross drilled rotors and pads. good or bad? will it mess with the trans? i heard it might, my friend told me. Suggestions anyone? thanks. :thumbsup:

Cross drilled rotors can crack if you go on the track. For street, they are alright.

And no, they won't mess with your transmission.

i have 04 with 71k miles and mine does what everyone says up above.

But i have new rear brake pads. i am not in warranty so can someone tell me where and what i need to clean..

thx

um... how would your brakes mess with your transmission at all?

In my old civic, I had noise once. I was driving in the crappy streets of newark and must of picked up a wire of some sort. The noise was insane. Metal grinding. I swore my car was gonna explode. I was able to tell which tire it was coming from. Come to find out, The wire wrapped itself around the roter and did a bit of damage. I had to take it to two places. the first said it was jsut the brakes wearing in and the other took stuff apart to find it and get it out.

hey guys, listen, i am nto gonna guarantee anything. I just know that when I changed my rear pads, the noise stopped. The difference was like day and night. After i upgraded my front rotors and pads, the braking was AWESOME! So, whomever doesnt belive me, can just go ahead and live with thier scratching noises forever, freakin' cheapskates!!!! :annoyed:

LOL If you upgraded your front rotors and pads, the braking had better be awesome. Otherwise you would have just wasted money. :tongue:

:thumbsup: yup! the brakes stop is excellent. the shuddering stopped when i would brake at high speeds and i can stop at a much shorter distance than i ever have with ANY other car. it was well worth the :2cents:

Check the brake shield.
 

Mine was making a variety of horrible (and horribly embarrassing) noises from the driver's front wheel after the repair from my accident.

Stick your finger between the spokes of your wheel and grab the shield. You should be able to pull it toward the rotor and the feel it go back away from the rotor when you release it. If you can't feel it move toward the rotor when you pull it, push it back away from the rotor instead to make some space between it and the rotor.

Do that between all the spokes of the wheel. Mine just needed pushed away a little bit at one spot to solve the problem.

It actually did turn out to be the dust shield that caused the raunchy sound that I was describing. It was most likely disturbed durning a tire rotation that I had done earlier in the year. Who would have thought such a simple thing could cause such a noise. My braking is flawless once again.

good. im glad to hear that everything is cool. nice TSXy by thew way. i think im gonna havta post mine too... one day.