My Scion tC is completely stock. It is about five months old and has about 8,000 miles on it. I just noticed this today when I was out driving. Whenever I press on the brakes, I hear this grinding noise.
It is loud and I can feel it grinding with my foot on the brake pedal. I am pretty ____ed off because of this.

What should I do?
What is wrong?
How much to fix?

Thanks in advance.

 

you might need new brakes...possibly pads ummm do u usually drive hard?

 

Check your brakes. It's pretty easy to do. If it's grinding, look at the rotors and see if you can see marks on them. It could be as simple as a small rock stuck between the pad and the rotor, or it could be your brakes are shot.

 

Bring back to dealer to check out problem under warranty.

 

check for any debris, or if not you should still have warrenty right? make use of it and get on over to the dealer. I had some problems in the begining with my car and the dealer helped out.. 2nd time.. grr.. just check it out.

 

are you driving in snow or slippery conditions? the first thing i thought of when i read it was your ABS. if your familiar with ABS then excuse me, if you're not, its probably the answer.

 

Hmmm maybe.... it just snowed a lot today. I live in Cincinnati. but ABS... my Scion tC has it? ABS is responsible for the grinding noise? how would it really know if i was driving in snow or whatnot

 

abs kicks in when u slam on the brakes too hard and what it does is it avoids your brakes from locking up so you don't go sliding the other way. the noise you here is your brakes being pressed and released in a very rapid motion. abs will kick in a lot when driving in snow condition. it snowed here a couple weeks ago and everytime i lay my foot on the brakes, abs kicks in due to the tire losing traction from the snow. that would most likely be your problem.

 

haha thanks man... i thought it was a serious problem but nope its just the abs. but yeah appreicate your help

 

idk dont base it off of just that dont get me wrong 7thgear is 100% correct but it could be something else...

 

ya im going to test it out tomarrow... on the snow and in a parking garage where there is no snow.

 

Does it sound like grinding gears? I get that when my ABS kicks in on ice. I had a friend ride with me and he said it sounded just like his ABS, except mine was considerably louder than most vehicles. I’m guessing it has something to do with the fact that Potenza “all season” tires are only good if the roads are dry during that season.

 

My brakes are grinding too. But only when I step on the brakes hard. I think I should just check it out anyways since I'm getting a wheel alignment don't later this week.

 

lol so maybe i was right, i had a feeling it was something else and i would feel stupid if i was wrong. ABS on our cars actually is pretty over active. i remember reading a few articles where the ABS had engaged, and almost got people into accidents because it thought the car was slipping when in fact it was perfect road conditions. I even have had a few experiences, rolling over train tracks, where my abs engages when it just doesnt need to.

If it sounds like a buzz, then its probably ABS. O yea, and for all of u...

If you're in a situation where you need to stop quickly and it's slippery conditions, floor the brake and don't let go of it, ABS will do it's job (most of the time). If you let go or pump the brake, the computer that tells what the brakes should do in the given conditions will reset, and it will need to re-adjust every time you press the brake again. Just floor it and dont let go.

 

^ You don't have to "slam" on the brakes ... the wheels just have to lock up.
On slick surfaces it can happen just by tapping the brakes. However, to get the ABS to activate on dry pavement you do have to slam on the brakes. ...whatever it takes to lock em up.

super_hero- the entire assembly, petal and all feels like its shaking or grinding. It doesn't know what the weather conditions are, it just recognizes the loss of traction when one or more wheels suddenly stop spinning as the brakes are being applied.
On a lowered vehicle you'll some times feel it shake on large speed bumps or drive ways with a steep and transitionally quick incline to decline if you approach at an angle while slowing down. I believe its because one wheel lifts slightly and the loss of traction tricks the system into activating for a split second.

 

I had this exact problem about 6 months ago on my old car. it was just like teamben said, there was a big scratch all around the rotor, apparently a piece of gravel or something got lodged between the brake pad and the brake.

 

I have the same problem when it snows and sleets around here. I end up in a situation where I try to brake but my car wont allow me to. The car wont let me press down on the brake, it will start grinding and the pedal will somewhat push itself up. Is this the ABS at work? or do I have a problem? Its happen ever since i've had the car. I just assumed it was the ABS.

 

sound like teh abs, kinda feels like a pogo stick in your pedal? abs.

 

new pads

 

no. you cant just throw in new pads you dont even know what the problem is.