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Hey guys, I'm new here. I got my 2004 Civic LX last May. I have about 13,800 miles on her as of today. I just ran into the wierdest problem though. 2 days ago was one of the coldest days in NYC yet, and while driving home from work, I notcied this continuous grinding sound coming from the front end, I'm narrowing it down to the wheels or brakes. The car's driving isn't affected at all, and it drives normally. It sounds like there's metal to metal contact when the car is moving, but the funny part is, when I brake, the sound goes away, and the car slows down like it normally does. Even the slightest push of the brake pedal makes the sound go away. The pitch isn't high enough to be a worn brake pad indicator, and the car has only 13000 miles on it, so the pads can't have worn out that quickly, can they? Also, the sound goes away from time to time. Like whe I brake hard, the grinding stops for a few miles and then I'll start hearing it gradually getting louder again. The sound isn't too loud, but it's loud enough to hear in the car with the windows up. I'm gonna go check it out first thing tomorrow morning. Anybody else run into this problem? Think I may have warped my rotors? Anybody have any suggestions on what to check/look for? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 
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Look at the wear indicators on your pads. You MAY be at the limit. They will make this sound to let you know that the pads are getting thin.
Not eveyone gets 20,000 plus miles out of pads.

 
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You are going to need new pads and possibly new rotors if the damage is already done.

 
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Sometimes if you drive in wet conditions your rotors can get a bit of surface rust after you park the car for a while. Then when you drive afterwards the brakes can make a grinding noise until the surface rust is removed from your rotors. I notice this on my car after I wash it and let it sit for a couple of hours. Then when I drive it I can feel the brakes grind and make noise for the first few times I use them, then it clears up.
I don't know if this is your problem but I thought I'd put in my 2¢.

 
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if your rotors are warped then you will feel a pulsing when braking.

 
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It may just be a fluke thing and be a wheel bearing or CV joint, worse case scinario. Or it could be the brakes, I know mine lasted about 20,000 then I put in some AEM/NISSIN pads.

 
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Hmm...I'm hearing weird metal grinding noises in my car, too, but it sounds more like it's coming from the transmission. I doubt it's your transmission, though. You've only got >13K miles. I've already hit 80K miles on my car. Oh, and the grinding noises start when I'm taking off in first and second gear. After third I can't hear it anymore.

 
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New pads no doubt

 
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heh, I live in Toronto and brakes do NOT last very long, I can only imagine the amount of stress on your breaks in NYC.


Does this happen when you drive through puddles or deep snow?

 
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I also have the same rattling problem, and i aslo thought it was a tranny problem or an exhaust problem. Im going crazy with that problem. my car has 23K miles on it. could it be the pads?

 
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Dude I live in Jersey , i got the same exact sound you have.2004 Honda Civic LX Automatic. I took it to Honda and they checked the brakes and they thought it was the brakes so they sanded it down or something like that. They were gonna test drive it but I had to go to work.It stills make the sound. Next thing I gotta go back and see what's up. And Oh yea my mileage is only in the 5000 area. Hit me up if you took to Honda or not.

 
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Nothing Yet Someone HELPPPPPPP.

 
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i took it to get an oil change, and the guy said i was low in brake fluid, so he topped me off, and he said i needed new brakes. and when i drove it off, it didn't make that noise for like a month! So maybe it IS the brakes

 
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Check out my other thread. I have isolated the noise from my car. may or may not be related to you guys here. my sound sound like ice kitting each other in a cup, btwn 0-2000 rpm.

http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...=194854&page=2

 
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If the brakes are bad it gets worse when you stop, not go away
Sounds like the pads are releasing a little too much and draging. Its easy to check the pads for wear.

 
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My passenger front pads were scraping for a while and I didn't do anything because I was awaiting my AEM pads. They would scrape when backing out of a parking space, and I could hear them when driving on the interstate. I changed the pads this past weekend and the interior passenger pad was almost fully worn, the exterior pad had about 1/8" left and the drivers side both had about 1/4" left. No noise since changing the pads.

Any idea what may have caused the uneven wear?

 
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Any of you guys figure out what the problem is yet? kind of odd that the sound goes away when you brake. Just started experiencing the same problem yesterday and glad that I'm not the only one who's hearing it...

Could somebody throw me a short description of how to check my pads for wear?

 
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Anybody? Help?

 
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Just look at them, or have somebody that knows do it!

 
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you probably have a sticking caliper. or you might have air in one of the lines. Probably the sticking caliper though. Bleed the brakes and rebuild the calipers.

 
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That kind of wear is almost normal, brakes always wear weird!

 
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No that isnt normal for brakes to wear weird. Brakes are supposed to wear evenly. If you pull off your tires and have one side with 95% pads left and then look at the other side and have 15% pads left, then you have a sticking caliper. That would mean you need to have them rebuilt or buy new ones. When you look at your pads on both sides, they should be about the same. Not one side way thicker or thinner then the other.

Air in the lines can cause that too. If you have air in one side and no air in the other, it can cause one side to ear faster then the other.

 
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Yes, I agree! He's saying 1/4 vs 1/8 ect, not 95 t0 15 %

 
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even then, there is probably some air in the lines. Brakes should wear pretty evenly.

 
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i'm not sure if this is the same sound but I hear it too at times but once i step on the clutch it goes away ... i THOUGHT it was snow rubbing my exhaust but twice it happened without any snow .... does that happen to anyone??

 
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Guys, check your tires to see if you ran over a nail or something that may have punctured it. A nail that is embedded on the surface of a tire may cause grinding noises once on the move but disappears when you press on the brakes.

 
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This is the exact same problem I had a while ago : http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=174985

It's the wear indicators on your brake pads that's causing this sound. In addition to this grinding sound, you'll often also hear a very strange groaning sound when backing up. I replaced my pads and all the sounds went away. After taking off the old pads, I could see exactly where the wear indicator was and how it was rubbing against the rotor.

It's not a big mystery... some of you guys are over-analyzing this issue LOL.

 
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Yeah I just ordered some new brake pads, pretty sure it'll solve all of my squealing problems.

 
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that doesnt mean they will solve all your squealing problems. Depends on the brake pads you got, depends on the condition of your rotors, and how you brake. You will have some sueaking and what not no matter what

 
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Why you jinxing me man?