Hello all. well for about the past week or 2 ive realized that whenever i brake especially in the back, it makes the most hideous screaching noise. so yesterday i was crusing to a stop and i let off the brake and pulled the e-brake instead and it make the same loud noise. and some times when im just driving it makes a noise but not as loud. so my guess is that my e-brake is engaged while im driving. i already went about checking my pads and they were fine. so anyone else have a clue with whats wrong with my car

haha if you've seen a 99 white cl in orange county or the greater la area. i appologize for the horrible noise my car makes.

 

the CL does not have an "e-brake"

It has a "parking brake" which inclues the usage of the rear brakes which are connected to your front brakes.

So if you hear noises in your rear, then your rear brake pads need to be changed b/c the "sensors" that tell you that your rear pads are going are the ones making the noise.

 

Yea, what he said.

Scratching noise means one of two things.

1.) You got the pad down to the wear indicator. Just b/c the outside pad looks fine, DOES NOT mean the inside pad is!!!

2.) The wear indicator is not working/fell off/etc and you are eating the surface of the rotor with the pad backing plate b/c the pad material is all gone. This happened to me, sucks.

Technically it is a parking brake[slash]emergency brake, does double duty. It works by using a cable system to rotate the rear brake caliper cylinders out (screw type system, this is why to compress the caliper in when changing pads, you cannot use a c-clamp - you must screw it back in) the same way the brake fluid pressure would cause it to push out.