Worrying Clicking Noise Whilst Braking (Sometimes).

[systematic]

Evening gents,

I have a Toyota Yaris 1.4 D4D and up until recently a few things have happened. I am not sure if they are all related or there are few separate issues:

The first is the ABS light. About 3 weeks ago the light came on and off at random times. As there was no consistency, I left it as is. Now the ABS light is constantly and consistently on.

A few months back (maybe longer), I noticed when braking to reverse or coming to a halt I'd hear a one off crank type noise. This sound is produced when the car is stopped. The noise is similar to when you over tighten a nut.

Just recently Ive noticed when slowing down, I get a series of clicking noises when applying the brakes. If I push harder to force the car to stop, I get a grinding noise. The car doesn't immediately stop, it grinds forward and then stops. The best way i can describe this is when you drive on ice and try to stop at the last minute and the car doesnt grip and it makes that grinding sound. Remember there a series of clicks first when lightly applying the brakes and the grinding only occurs when pushing harder on them. This does not happen all the time, it happens rarely but it worrys me when it does. As soon as it happens, I try to reproduce the sound by driving and braking every few yard but 9 times out of 10 it doesn't happen.

I tried to push my brakes pretty hard when stationary and they are pretty spongey. That said, I had a service last month and the brake wear points were fine......I think (I will have to double-check).

Any ideas what is going on please?

Many thanks,

[Cyker]

I would guess the click/grind is related to the ABS failure as I associate the 'driving over gravel' sound/feel with the ABS tripping and I've had this kind of slow THUNK sound when the ABS was failing miserably on ice.

You need to get someone to plug a diagnostic unit in and see what's up with the ABS!

[systematic]

Well I drove out this morning and to my surprise - NO ABS light. I drive a few miles and then get onto a motorway and guess what comes on? Yep the ABS light. I park up at work and when Im ready to leave, NO ABS light......Again, I am driving back down the motorway and PING its back on, usually when I go over a little dip maybe.

[Geoff Peace]

Well I drove out this morning and to my surprise - NO ABS light. I drive a few miles and then get onto a motorway and guess what comes on? Yep the ABS light. I park up at work and when Im ready to leave, NO ABS light......Again, I am driving back down the motorway and PING its back on, usually when I go over a little dip maybe.

From your description I would say one, or more of your ABS sensors is faulty. Do you know how to test them with a multimeter? What happens is the coil winding in the sensor goes open circuit. (breaks). But since it is tightly physically enclosed it has nowhere to go. Therefore it will develop an annoying habit of remaking the connection from time to time, going over a bump for instance, or just when it feels like it! This of course is for the sole purpose of making the fault difficult to diagnose. Firstly, however, I would remove the front wheels and clean the sensors and the toothed reluctor ring with something like an old toothbrush, monitor the fault and post again.

Regards Geoff Peace.