2003 Nissan Altima Logo
Posted on May 08, 2009
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My car makes a scrapping and or grinding noise when driving and braking like i'm dragging something

Car makes a scrapping and grinding noise when i drive and brake like i'm dragging something

4 Answers

s_pra_army

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  • Expert 37 Answers
  • Posted on May 08, 2009
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Just by the information you put, I would say its your brakes. They are most likely worn out past the minimum wear (3mm). If its whenever you drive maybe you are dragging something? Your exhaust system supports may have failed, maybe something stuck in there and so you are dragging it along. Take a look underneath your car.

If the noise only happens when you brake then its gotta be a problem with your brakes. Sometimes rocks get stuck in between brake pads and rotors, this makes a very annoying squeeling sound until the rock comes loose and falls out. Another possibility, like I said earlier, is that your brake pads have worn out and is now metal on metal. I recommend you go to a shop and get your brakes checked. Brakes are a very important part of your vehicle, safety especially, so I don't recommend doing it yourself unless you know what you are doing.

Hope this helps.
Thanks

:)

  • 1 more comment 
  • Anonymous Jul 02, 2013

    had brakesand rotors done front and back and it still makes a grinding noise after it get hot.

  • Anonymous Jul 02, 2013

    no it make a grinding noise

  • Mitchell Turner
    Mitchell Turner Jun 29, 2019

    It could be a number of things, but one of those is the ball bearing in the front wheel. You have better get that checked and soon. It can heat up the metal surrounding it to the melting point and if you're moving when that happens, you are probably not going to survive what happens next.

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Bob B

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  • Posted on May 08, 2009
 Bob B
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Your disc brake pads have a 'squeeler' built into them to warn you that your brake pads need to be replaced. That's what you are hearing.

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  • Expert 58 Answers
  • Posted on May 08, 2009
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Without being able to see and hear it, could not say for sure, but I would start by looking at your brake rotors. Grinding is typically metal on metal, meaning your brake pads are gone, and the caliper is grinding against the rotor. Check your rotors first and look for indentions or grooves encircling the rotors. You could also have a bad caliper that isn't releasing all the way, but usually you would notice the excessive heat from that one wheel, or it would smell funny. Or thirdly, you could have run over something like a stick or twig that is lodged somewhere, I have seen that happen more than once. 

Darran Hatten

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  • Posted on May 08, 2009
Darran Hatten
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Sounds like the brake pads are down or there is a stone caught in one of the brake calipers. Jack the vehicle up and remove the wheels one by one and check the thickness of the brake pad material as you go they should be atleast 4-5mm thick. While you have the wheel in the air also rotate it and check to see if the wheel bearing is the source of the noise. If it is then it will be hard to turn compared to the other wheels and also make bad noise. (When your doing this make sure wheels are chocked and hand brake up and never put your body under the car without a safety stand in place)
Here is a picture with good and bad pads:
http://c3club.org/builder/img/brakepads/DSCN2834.jpg
They should be replaced before they get as bad as the one in the picture, because you will start chewing into the rotor disk surface if they go that far and meke the repair more expensive.
I

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