grating noise from brakes

aidanki

I took a car for a test drive today that has been idle for a few months on a garage forecourt (05 corolla).

All is fine with it apart from one thing when I press the brakes they seemed to make a grating noise.

Is that from being idle or something more sinister?

car will be going through the NCT next week so that should catch any braking issues I hope

knifey_spoonie

Id hazard a guess thats its only surface rust built up on the disk, in the wet weather we have been having it can happen in a couple of a days. A bit of normal driving should clean the disks off. Should be nothing to worry about.

mgbgt1978

Could be the Brake Pads are worn down to the indicator.
This is a piece of metal that extends out just beyond the join between actual friction surface and the Steel that holds the pads in place.
It is designed to make this noise when the pads are nearly worn down.
The noise you hear is a lot worse than any damage that is being caused (unless the pads have actually worn down to the metal......).
Not a problem if it's just the wear indicator, just get the garage to replace the pads as part of the deal.
If it were surface rust on ths discs this would normally rub off very quickly and the noise (if any) should lessen after the first few times you braked.

Nissan doctor

Obviously, with brakes, you need to be sure that they aren't worn but its most likely just some surface rust on the disks from not being driven for a few days.

fptosca

How long should it take for the surface rust to clear?

I also had a car idle and parked on the street for several weeks and the 4 disks ended up very rusty. I have driven the car regularly for a couple weeks and the front disks are fine now but the two at the back are still rusty, although not as much as before.
The brakes are noisy, specially the first few times I break each time I use the car. Then it gets better but the noise doesn't dissapear completely (I take this is because the disks at the back are still rusty)

Onwardandupwar

fptosca wrote: »

How long should it take for the surface rust to clear?

I also had a car idle and parked on the street for several weeks and the 4 disks ended up very rusty. I have driven the car regularly for a couple weeks and the front disks are fine now but the two at the back are still rusty, although not as much as before.
The brakes are noisy, specially the first few times I break each time I use the car. Then it gets better but the noise doesn't dissapear completely (I take this is because the disks at the back are still rusty)

Your rear disks are still rusty in places because the face of the brake pad isn't coming fully in contact with disk due to uneven wear if the brake pads are taken out and all the carrier is cleaned up and the pins all lubed up this should fix your problem.

But if that's not the case maybe it's due a set off rear pads and disks

fptosca

Thanks a lot Onwardandupwar. It looks like a visit to the garage to get that done