On my 2005 BMW 320D, I recently (200 miles/1 month ago) noticed a rubbing noise coming from the front passenger side wheel. It is only really noticeable on smooth tarmac at slow speeds, but I did notice some slight "rubbing" noise on the motorway also.
I jacked up the car and spun the wheel, where I could hear the rubbing at a certain point each time the wheel spun. I could only manage about 2 revolutions of the wheel because of how tight it is at that point. I checked the other side and it spins much more freely. Then I removed the wheel and rotated the disc by hand and same as above it is tight at one certain point.
In order of what I think is the most logical reason for this given the symptoms:
- The disc is warped
- Something else ?
- The caliper
- The brake pads
The pads were replaced about 3000 miles ago and look to have plenty left on them. I haven't noticed any judder when braking. Nothing has been altered on the car in the lead up to when I noticed this noise.
Can anyone shed some light on the cause of this? Thanks.
Some further info I just thought of:
The noise is noticeable in any direction the wheels are pointing when moving(IE not just when turning left etc)
The brakes are now squealing, but only seems to happen when braking lightly at slow speed.
After looking at/listening to some youtube videos of wheel bearings gone bad, I'm pretty sure that it's not that.
Also I noticed when reversing the other day without any braking, the brakes(or something?) were squealing.
The brake pad is definitely tight to the disc at one point, maybe for about 1/8th of the circumference of the disc.