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I have just noticed that my brakes started squealing non stop even though the pads are fairly new (8 months with just 7,000 km on it). Also I have just noticed last night that one of the brakes is grinding onto my rotor(kinda feels that way), and that it makes this very bad low grinding noise. What seems to be the problem for this?

I want to be at least informed before I bring this to the mechanic as I need to be at least prepared(financially) before I bring it there, or otherwise it might get stuck at the garage for a long time. I am currently not using the car as I plan to have it fixed as soon as I have the resources to do so.

My car is a 1995 toyota corolla with 130000 km. Only pads have been replaced in the brake components.

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You stated that "Only pads have been replaced in the brake components." If the rotors were not turned (machined) or replaced at the same time, this could be a problem. The surface of the rotor needs to be fresh, or the brakes will not work up to expectations.

Also, consideration must be given to the proper "bedding" of the brakes. If they were not bedded properly, any one of the four pads could be worn down to nothing already causing the noise/issue you are talking about. (For proper bedding technique, read this thread ... pay attention to the links). Not bedding the brakes correctly can cause premature wear of the brake pads, or even pulsing which may feel like a warped rotor.

Another thing to check is to see if a dust shield hasn't been bent for some reason and is now rubbing on the rotor. In this case, it could sound an awful lot like the "squealer" sounds when it starts rubbing.

Something else to contemplate is you might have a bad wheel bearing, which could cause the hub to lean over slightly, causing issues like you are describing. This could happen, but is really an outside possibility.

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  • I see. This might probably be the case. Once I slapped on the new pads, I think after 2 weeks I drove on the freeway, there was this guy who suddenly merged on the overtaking lane so I braked from around 120kph to around 60kph at full braking, and I felt that the pads seemed like being pushed hard. I'm not considering the wheel bearing issue as the main fault her, as I had just had it replaced around 3 months ago, but it could be worth looking into as well.
    – marchemike
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 0:26
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Can you tell which wheel(s) the noise is coming from? If you can, jack the car up and support it on stands, then remove the wheel(s) in question, and visually inspect the pads and discs, including the back of the disc between it and the stone-shield.

It might be as simple as a stone stuck in the brakes, or you might find that one of the calipers has been binding, and has worn away the pad prematurely - if so, you'll see one (or more) pads that are worn significantly more than the rest, and potentially worn unevenly too (e.g. worn a lot at the top and hardly at all at the bottom, or vice versa). If that is the case, you'll need to get the caliper un-stuck (exact procedure depends on which bit is stuck...), and replace all four pads on that axle.

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  • I have a doubt that its the right front wheel. Once I've noticed the awful noise, I parked it to the side and noticed that on all the four wheels, the front right wheel is emitting so much heat, unlike the left side and the rear which seems to be just fine. Once I bring it to the mechanic this weekend I'll look into it. based on what we see I'll make sure to take note of your answers and discuss it with the mechanic.
    – marchemike
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 0:21
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    A lot of heat is a likely sign of a binding brake - the extra friction causes the heat...
    – Nick C ♦
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 8:41
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This just happened to me. 2011 toyota camry. Installed the pads backwards on one of my tires. It was easy to make the mistake, also was easy to fix it. Hope this helps.

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