SmokemanGrP

I have a 2006 Civic EX that has a metal on metal noise coming from the right rear. The noise is not always there but has occurred off and on for the past 2 months. It sounds similar to the wear indicators on disk pads but the noise is present while driving and goes away when I press on the brake pedal.

We live 6 miles up a dirt road so dust and rocks are common. I’ve had a similar noise with my F250 a few times but backing up fixes the problem so it was probably a small rock rubbing on the rotor.

The car has 71,000 miles on it and has not had the pads replaced yet. I live in Arizona so there is zero rust, everything looks shiny and new, except for lots of dust.

I’m wondering if the caliper is acting up, maybe letting the pad get cockeyed and touch the rotor, then the pad straightens up when I tap the brake pedal. I do not see anything out of the ordinary when I look at it.

Should I maybe soak everything with brake cleaner then use my compressor to blow it out?

Also, how do you tell how much pad is left? On previous cars I would look in thru the back of the caliper and look for a groove (slot) in the pad. If the groove was gone then the pad needed replacing. With the Civic there isn’t enough room to get my fat head between the rear fender and caliper.

Shouldn’t the front pads wear out before the rear pads?

jordan1794

I had the same description of a noise on my FRONT right tire(disc brakes) when my pads got incredibly low and the caliper kept getting stuck. The noise would stop when i touched the brakes.

But the rear has drum brakes, at least on my '06 LX sedan, so I'm not sure if it would make the same noise? Regardless if you haven't replaced the front brakes then the rear definitely shouldn't be low.

ezone

With your eyeballs. If the wheels are still on, I use a mirror and flashlight.
Otherwise, take them all apart to see what you need to see.

You positive the pad wear indicators aren't touching and squealing? Your description sure sounded like it.



If the pads are still good and thick.....

Look for gravel trapped between the rotor and the rotor dust shield.
I see a lot of junk get caught there, sometimes you can just flex the shield to get the offending piece to drop out to the ground.


If no joy.....Pull the caliper off, pull the pads off. You may even need to remove the caliper bracket and rotor.
Watch for any gravel to fall out as you take stuff apart.

speedy25

Just the noise itself is evidence that some work needs to be done. Dont ignore your brakes. You might REALLY need them!