Noisy brakes

[Jackx1]

Hi guys,

First hybrid car here and I’ve noticed on speeds below 10mph the brakes make a rubbing/grinding noise. Usually worse when in heavy traffic going down a hill.

I know they can build up a bit of dust on the brakes due to them not being utilised much but this is even after a few heavy brakes from 60mph.

Anybody else experience this or is this a problem with my car?

Thanks

jack

 

[Bozz]

Hi jack

The noise you hear is 

1. The normal friction brakes - they get less use than a conventional ICE car due to brake force regeneration so often suffer from corrosion causing the rubbing noise you hear at low speeds.

2. The brakes are more audible because the car is quieter than an ICE car especially at low speeds on MG2 power only.

3. What seems to be brake noise is often the pedestrian warning system which activates at low speeds and sounds a bit like rubbing friction brakes 

Bozz

 

[TonyHSD]

Hi, 

In  addition to all above it might be just rust buildup and discs got scored, possibly the slider pins got stuck due to a lack of use.
If you can take some pictures of all 4 brake discs to share will be great. Generally speaking with more use the brakes will clear off themselves after 100 miles drive but if they don’t then they might need to be dismantled and cleaned manually with wire brush, brake cleaner spray and pins re lube with silicone grease. On Toyota hybrids that doesn’t see regular use every two years it’s just about right time for that job. 👍

 

[Derek.w]

The rotors rust more because of lack of use but some heavy braking on a quiet road can help you if not its strip down remove and give it a rub with some emery tape and service the calipers at the same time.

[Obsidian Estate]

I have slightly noisy front brakes, next time I get chance to fiddle I might have a look.

[Jackx1]

Thanks for the reply guys. Car is in regular use, did a 400 mile round trip last weekend. Did do some heavy breaking yesterday and didn’t seem to help it. Only bought the car around 2 months ago from a Toyota main dealer. It’s 2 years old with 12,000 miles. Worth a trip to the dealer? 

[Niky]

Don't bother going to the dealer, it will be a waste of time. Have the same noise with my brakes and went to the dealer to double check - they didn't want to see the car originally stating there is corrosion built due to lack of use. However I insisted the car to be looked at, as brakes are the main safety feature of the car, etc......

They were right!!! It was a corrosion and couple of heavy braking from 70mph cleared the discs and the noise almost disappeared. Its back there now, cos I am not using the brakes much, also the cold and wet weather doesn't help. The dealer said when the weather gets better the discs will clear and any noise should dissappear. So.....we must do a heavy braking at least once a week during winter to keep the discs clear - absolutely opposite on Toyota's Hybrid coaching videos for fuel efficient driving

[Sooty]

Another way to clean the brakes is to find a quiet area and reverse the car quite fast and brake heavily a couple of times.

This will definitely clean the rear brakes which very rarely get any use.

Do this monthly at least and it will help to keep the braking noise down.

Also remember that some of the noise will sound like the London Underground trains when they slow down. This is due to the electric motors using regen.  

[Gerhard_Corolla]

11 hours ago, Jackx1 said:

Thanks for the reply guys. Car is in regular use, did a 400 mile round trip last weekend. Did do some heavy breaking yesterday and didn’t seem to help it. Only bought the car around 2 months ago from a Toyota main dealer. It’s 2 years old with 12,000 miles. Worth a trip to the dealer? 

You've got to find a way to use the rear brakes more often, generally you can feel when the rear brakes come into action every time you brake before a stop light, it's almost like a two step process with every braking. Play with the amount of pressure in every braking until you feel the rear brakes engaging, and you're on your way to manage gliding, energy regeneration, and braking force.

 

I usually need a few short trips outside the city per week to maintain the rear brakes in "perfect" working condition, and braking hard a few times does the trick. I'm going to try the reversing method, because usually on the first hard braking you can feel the loss of performance due to oxidation, and that's not funny if you're indeed involved in an emergency...

[TonyHSD]

There are good tips shared above. 👌

Reverse braking it’s a good tip, remember the brakes will be weaker therefore do that carefully.
When slowing down from 70mph no need to be extremely hard but just so hard that the actual brakes engage and work like a lathe machine to get a lip scrape along the discs surfaces. The idea is to do that a couple of times and repeat. Harder braking won’t clean them faster or better but will make a deeper scoring on the discs that may cause more noise and vibrations until the whole surface becomes cleaner. 
I had been dealing with Toyota hybrids brakes for some time now and I can assure everyone that rear brakes gets to work as much as the front one and even more and the rear brake pads will need change sooner than the front one, actually these will be your first ever thing to change on your car outside regular service. Depending on your driving style anything around 50k +  miles rear needs to be checked. 
How can you tell if your rear brakes been engaged, you have to listen for your electric brake pump working, the noise that you hear every time you open the drivers door. 👍

[Bper]

I had rhe same problem when I first purchased the Auris. At low speed's in traffic a noise like a slight grinding/rubbing led me to think the discs or brakes needed changing. I took it back to the dealer who couldn't recreate this on a test drive.

Told me it is a common problem and after checking the brakes and discs found no issues. I have never had this with any other car we have owned and wonder why it seems to be specific on these cars.

Long runs do make a difference as the discs and pads are warm but still hear this slightly  at low speeds in traffic. Interesting as to the problem.🤔

[TonyHSD]

When the grinding noise comes from slow driving without brakes engaged it’s likely a wear indicator., if it is indeed this noise will go away as soon as you press the brakes. 
If the grinding noise comes when you press the brake means it’s from rust. 
Toyota cars use floating callipers that has a slider pins which needs cleaning and lube with silicone grease every two to four years. In uk particularly with the crazy amount of salt during winter even more often than that. 
Even if your brake discs look perfectly clean from outside if you get under the car and look into the inner side of your discs you will notice that they are covered on rust and dust. An indication that your brakes needs clean and service, ideally as diy or at trusted mechanic, garage. 

[Trewithy]

jack,  are you sure it is the brakes making the noise.  Below 15mph the car will emit a noise to warn pedestrians that you are approaching, otherwise the car would be total silent when in EV mode.