1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Strange creaking noise from brake at low speed (no braking applied)

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Jenny2010Prius, Jun 19, 2018.

  1. Jenny2010Prius

    Jenny2010Prius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2017
    35
    10
    0
    Location:
    Calgary
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Just uploaded a short video with the noise to youtube



    2010 Gen3 Prius. After changing back to all season tires, I hear some strange noise at low speed (normal drive, no braking applied) with my 2010 Toyota Prius. Here I jacked up the back wheel and turned it by hand. Sounds like the creaking noise is from the disc brake. Anyone has any idea what may cause this? Didn't notice it with snow tires on normal steel rims. (Maybe steel rim’s structure is not as open as these alloy ones, so it's harder to hear or notice. Similarly at higher speed there is louder wind & road noise to notice this – just my guess)
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    how many miles on her, and who torqued down the wheels?
     
  3. Jenny2010Prius

    Jenny2010Prius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2017
    35
    10
    0
    Location:
    Calgary
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    It's about 124K mile. Changed tires myself with wheel nuts torque 76 ft. lbs. according to the manual.
     
    bisco likes this.
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    pull the wheel and inspect for debris in the pads/calipers. any looseness in the wheel bearing or cv joint?
     
  5. Jenny2010Prius

    Jenny2010Prius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2017
    35
    10
    0
    Location:
    Calgary
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    No looseness in the wheel, and it’s rear wheel so there is no CV joint.

    But noticed this driver side rear wheel, which creates the noise, is really hard to turn by hand (jacked up, no parking brake), while the passenger side rear wheel can be turned easily.

    Suspect something is seized with the brake. Will take the brake apart this weekend.
     
  6. Jenny2010Prius

    Jenny2010Prius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2017
    35
    10
    0
    Location:
    Calgary
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Found out the issue - one of the rear disc brake caliper sliding pin is stuck / seized, which in turn caused the brake to drag on even when brake is not applied
     
    bisco likes this.
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,467
    38,101
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Toyota USA maintenance schedule calls for in-depth brake inspection tri-yearly or every 30K miles, whichever comes first, fwiw.

    There's been a few reports here of rear caliper pins seizing. Sil-Glyde Brake Lubricant is the aftermarket product I've been using, recommended for caliper pins, and doesn't swell rubber (there's O-rings on the rear pins).

    Also: be very careful to get the rear caliper piston correctly oriented. It should like this when put back together:

    upload_2018-6-23_9-26-14.png

    AND, be well seated against the inner brake pad thus. There's a stubby pin on the pad back that must stay between the spokes (shaded zones), in order to prevent it from rotating (which it'll try to do with each parking brake application). If the piston manages to rotate, the pin will ride up on a spoke, and you'll have terrific/constant drag, bevelled pad wear, and so on.

    When you're done, with the parking brake off and rear raised, check that both wheels spin at least a couple revolutions with a good push. They're not free-spinning, but definitely should not be hard to turn.
     

    Attached Files:

    #7 Mendel Leisk, Jun 23, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2018
    Jenny2010Prius likes this.
  8. Jenny2010Prius

    Jenny2010Prius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2017
    35
    10
    0
    Location:
    Calgary
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Thanks for the remind. Will do
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,467
    38,101
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    After brake job, check how free they turn after a short test drive, and a few apply-releases of the parking brake. If they're still turning near free, you're out of the woods.

    I suspect if you've got the piston oriented correct, but don't seat the whole thing well (multiple pushes of the brake pedal), then drop the car and apply the parking brake firmly, the piston might still rotate. You want to get it seated, drop the car, no parking brake, test drive, then parking brake apply/release once or twice, and then raise to check the spin.
     
  10. Jenny2010Prius

    Jenny2010Prius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2017
    35
    10
    0
    Location:
    Calgary
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    After following online instructions (& thank Mendel for extra tips) to service all the brakes including taking out stuck sliding pins, cleaning the bores, pins & lubing them, changing brake fluid, the 12V battery died right at the end of brake fluid change. Had to recharge the battery with battery tender for a night. After putting back the charged battery and restart the Prius, it showed Christmas tree of warning lights including ABS, VSC, BRAKE and a couple of yellow exclamation, plus PCS system light & warning message.

    Won't get into too much details here, for that's probably enough extra content for another total new post.

    Anyway, finally got rid of all the warnings and test-drove the Prius. Good news is the strange creaking sound is gone. But my quick method to test a stuck brake, which is to use finger to touch the brake rotor after the drive, showed that the driver side rear brake must still be a bit sticky, for its rotor is hotter than the other one. Will see how it does after a week or two.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    is the canadian schedule different?
     
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,467
    38,101
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Honda Canada says every 2 years or every 32K kms, for all their vehicles. I actually stick with the US 3 year interval, because our kms are so ridiculously low.

    Note also the brake fluid change.

    upload_2018-6-24_19-32-44.png
     
    bisco likes this.
  13. Jenny2010Prius

    Jenny2010Prius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2017
    35
    10
    0
    Location:
    Calgary
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Canadian schedule is the same for brakes. Last check / service was done 46,000km & 2.5 years ago. It looks like 3 year interval is too much for an 8-yr-old Prius.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    in a salty area, i would check them every spring.
     
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,467
    38,101
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Raise the rear and try a test spin, both sides. Put wheel chocks fore and aft of both front tires for more stability. Decent rubber chocks are the best.

    2 pc 8 x 6 in. Rubber Wheel Chocks | Princess Auto
     
  16. abdullah arslan

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2019
    180
    77
    0
    Location:
    46628
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    I heard a similar noise only at very low speeds. At the end of the trip, touched all the rotors and none was hot. Gonna lift and drag them. Any idea, where to look deeply? I've replaced all the pads and rear rotors as well by following the instructions here. As a note, cleaned all caliper pins and lubricated them. Also, I didn't see any noticeable change on mpg