You have recently replaced your brakes and you are listening to a grinding noise after new brakes and rotors installed. Many things can cause your brakes and rotors to grind. Want to know why it is happening? Here we are going to discuss the reasons for the grinding sound after new brakes and rotors and the fixing methods. If your car has a grinding sound then consider yourself lucky. Because of the grinding sound, you will be able to actually identify what the issue is.
Table of Contents
Why Are My New Brakes And Rotors Grinding?
Brakes and rotors have a grinding noise due to many reasons. Reasons for them can be brake pads that have worn away due to which friction is present between rotor and caliper. The second can be dirt between the caliper and rotor disc. The longer you wait to fix your brakes the more expensive it will be for you.
1. Dirt Between The Caliper And Rotor Disc
The components of the rotor and the caliper can catch dirt, grime, and dust which is normal to an extent. But, it can lead to a problem when any solid object or small rock is present between the caliper and the rotor. The debris will be present and cause scraping and grinding noise after new brakes or rotors occur.
This can lead to the brakes making a grinding noise when the brakes are applied. But dirt and dust fall in between the pad and the rotor when the mechanic installs a new brake pad.
Driving will remove the dirt itself in many of the cases, but if the sound doesn’t improve, your brakes need cleaning from the mechanic.
2. Only Brakes Were Replaced
Another reason can be you have only replaced the brakes and the rotors are the previously old ones. When you were replacing the brakes, you should have opted to replace the rotors as well. However, you avoided it for lack of money. If the rotors are worn, the brake pads will not be able to stop the grinding.
In this case, you need to replace the rotors along. If the brake pads and rotors both are replaced, still sound is not stopped you need to bring the car back to the automotive repair. Another inspection and study for the car will be taken to understand what is wrong with the car and what can be done to stop the sound.
3. Car Is Not Often Used
Grinding noise after new brakes and rotors installed can also be due to the car is kept and not used. So, if it is not driven regularly then it can cause rust. The average lifespan of brake pads is 20,000 miles. However, leaving your automobile in your garage can cause the brake pads not to last long. Lack of activity can cause rust and corrosion to affect the rotors. This can be avoided by driving the car regularly. Go for a long drive every day.
4. The Pads Need Bedding
For example, consider that you are having a new cycle and machine parts are stiff which makes you uncomfortable to ride on. But later, as time passes by the machine will get loose and you will break them in. The same can be the case with the brake pads. New brake pads are a bit stiff and also they need to be broken in.
The process in which new brake pads are broken in by using them regularly is the process of bedding. So, when your brake pads are in the bedding process there is the grinding sound produced from the brakes. But this noise should get minimized over a period of time.
5. Brake Pads Aren’t Lubricated
When you are installing a brake pad, you need to lubricate the backside of the brake pads. Use a caliper lube to lubricate the brake pads as mentioned above. If the metal of the pads isn’t lubricated then the metal of the pad and the caliper rub against each other, causing grinding noises.
Lubricate the caliper pins as well so that you can connect the two sides together before you install it. An auto-mechanic will replace new caliper bolts for you when you are reinstalling the brake pads.
Can You Drive The Car With Grinding Noise?
The grinding noise after new brakes and rotors installed is totally fine. It is common for the new brakes to make grinding sounds at low speeds. But also you can’t avoid the fact that sounds from a car signify something or can be a warning sign. Don’t avoid them to save a few pennies which can cost your life in the future. Because if you delay in analyzing the cause, it can further result in heavy loss of money or also the car.
Consequences Of Ignoring The Grinding Sound
Even though the car brakes and pads have been replaced, unwanted sound from any part of your car can prove dangerous if ignored. You can put your safety to stake by ignoring them.
When you push the brake pedals it produces a lot amount of heat energy due to friction. If your brakes are left unchecked and the grinding sound is not fixed, it can worsen the condition. However, 1 to 2 weeks is fine but not beyond that. Try as much as you can avoid your car with grinding brakes.
Conclusion
So, these were the main and common problems faced by every car owner once in a while. Grinding sound after new brakes and rotors installed fixing can be a DIY.
Even if you are not able to fix them yourself, they can be fixed very easily by the mechanic. In this post, we have discussed the reasons for grinding sound, the consequences, and the results, and how long can you drive your car with the braking sound. If you found this post helpful, feel free to share.