Tried searching and got minimal results (1 thread to be exact).

Recently, I have noticed that my drivers side front brake seems to make a grinding noise when coming to a stop. It mostly does it the first 4 or 5 stops after starting the car, then it gets progressivly less noticeable, but it sounds horrible the first few times.

It is mainly audible when almost stopped, and it doesnt vary too much with pedal pressure. Wether I am light on the brakes or a little heavy, it sounds almost the same. A buddy of mine also mentioned that my drivers side wheel does look a bit darker than the others in terms of brake dust.

Could this be a caliper problem, pad problem? I'm stuck on this one....dont know what to think. Probably taking it to the dealership in a day or two.

Thanks in advance,
John

 

How many miles on the TL? I would look at how much brake pad is left, it could be the brake pad wear indicator.

 

Check pads.

 

only have 6600 miles on the car.....not even 3 months old.

 

That started happening to me with about 15k on the car. I thought it was just dust or something getting in between the pads and the disc, I never figured out what it was, the sound came and went so I was unable to ever have the dealer take a look at it. Pull the pads out and clean the disc, that might help?

 

Yes, its likely how the pads are made, that and rust on the disks.
I am not sure why some cars would do it and not others, my chevy astro work van has a nasty sounding grinding noise come from the brakes on and off, some days it does it, others it does not, but I know its the crappy pads STS puts on it.
Our car is quiet and smooth so far, but the pads dust up something nasty!
I do not know what brands are avalable for the brembo setup so far, but I hope pbr/axxis makes the deluxe pads for my car, I used them on the Passat and they were very good, no dust, smooth, and they cost very little.
The Passat had a problem with the REAR pads wearing very quickly and dusting up worse than the brembo setup on the TL. Some people wore the pads out in 15,000 miles...thats rear pads!

Brett

 

well, i got an appt on thursday for that, a rattle in the instrument cluster, replacing the rear brake light cover since the lining on it hangs down as if its loose and an oil change. Hopefully, they can take care of it.

 

So, Johnny, what was the problem?

 

Well, the dealer said the tech couldnt hear anything (typical) but based on the problem I described (very detailed) they replaced all front pads and put a very thin cut on the front rotors. As for the rattle from the instrument cluster, the tech didnt hear that either (was he deaf?) but he took the cluster out, put some insulation behind it, and alas, the rattle is still there, so I'm either going to do it myself or take it back and take the tech for a ride!

 

I find that it's best to give the tech a ride or they will never reproduce the problem. Well, hope that fixed your brake problems.

 

so far so good, so i'll give it some time to see what happens.