To any "brake guru",,,,

After my Xb has been sitting just a little while or for a long while, when I get in it and back up to get out of my parking spot wherever I am (on a hill or level ground), as soon as I hit my brakes to stop backing-up and change into drive, I get this awful "clank/clunk" like noise and then all is fine.

I took it to the dealer and got my special tech whom I trust very much and low and behold I could not get it to do it.....figures. He had me with him when we put it on the lift and did a visual inspection without taking the wheels off (standard Scion 15 inch rims) and all looked great.

I have now realized I am probably gonna have to leave it with him so he can hear this horrible noise after he leaves it sitting for a period of time as well.

Anybody know what this might be or anyone else experiencing this???

Is is calipers? rotors? pads sticking?. ..CV joints?.....Lug nuts too tight?

HELP!!!!

 

just to re-iterate,,,it happens as soon as I hit my brakes to stop the backing up motion.

 

Not sure how loud this noise is, but it may be ABS/TRAC self check(mentioned in owmers manual). I hear it on mine but not all the time. Could be something completely different though.

 

Check the torque on your lug nuts. Loose ones can cause this. The clunking on mine only happened in reverse.

 

Ok, I've had this on a few of my cars, and seen it on hundreds of new cars (I'm a dealer tech). it's most likely normal, and is caused by moisture getting in the rear drums, mixing with brake dust and creating a bit of brake "glue'. this causes the shoes (rear) to stick momentarily, making all kinds of noise. A couple of things you can try but may not work are: lightly sand the brake shoes, just scuff them up, lightly sand the inside of the drums, and apply some brake lube to the spots where the shoe backing(metal part) hits the backing plate....USE SMALL AMOUNT!!! you don't want to grease your brake shoe surface at all. On two of my cars, this worked, on one, nothing worked for long and it was usually the worst on damp cool days when it had been sitting 48 hours or more, I just learned to live with it.

Disclaimer....This advice was given only because the brake system was already checked by a certified tech, and in no way should be substituted for a thorough inspection by someone qualified.

Hope this helps.............by the way, Neons were the worst car for this, some brand new and making noise for the first few miles each day.

 

OK, I'll try now. I had what sounds like the same noise. It only happens when backing up, and it most definitely is NOT the ABS/ TRAC initializing. It is a loud click/clank noise and it comes from the front brakes.

I wondered about this so I pulled both front wheels and checked out both front brakes BEFORE I took it to the dealer. What I found was, on one side the brake pad springs were loose and that let the brake pads themselves move around in the caliper. You could actually move the pads with your fingers. The was on one side only. The side that the click came from. The other side was OK and you could not move the pads.

What was happening was, since the springs were weak on the one side, when you stopped moving forward, it pushed the pads one way. When you stopped in reverse, it moved the pads against the spring the other way, hence the click/clank noise.

When I took it to the dealer and showed him the noise, and told him what I found, they said "THIS WAS NORMAL FOR THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE." A call to 1-866-70-SCION yeilded the same answer.

My advise, if you are handy, pull the front wheel, remove the caliper and pads, kinda bend the springs back out, or take it to the dealer and you might have bettter luck than me !!

 

Nice Dave.....I stand corrected.

 

^That should be it. I had the same problem with my civic. I did the same thing and my problem was solved.

 

Oh man mine just made the same noise!!! yup it definately is coming from the right front wheel, like Dave said, likely a loose pad. Man do I feel like a doofus.......I really need to stop sniffing brake cleaner at work...............

 

Ok, some good advice received here. I am on the road right now with my company car, but when I get back home, I am gonna get up with my tech and show him your responses. He is pretty cool and I am sure If I show him these emails he will go over it with me.

Thanks again to you all. If there are any other responses, bring em' on. But I am sure it is coming from the front and that something is 'shifting' in its base. So I will try it and get back with you guys to let you know if that did it.

T.

 

^^^^Good Luck^^^ and be sure and have him check the UPPER spring clip. That's the one that should need replaced, or as I did, just a little bending. It;s usually the upper clip cause when you back up, that's the way the pad is pulled. You can probably move the clip with your fingers and make near the same noise.

DISCLAIMER: These are YOUR brakes, if unsure take it to your "stealer".....and so on....

 

Does sound like pad-shift. Pretty common on a lot of Toyotas. You usually only hear it when changing directions and applying the brakes......foward to reverse......reverse to foward.

It's usually not very loud though.