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Front End Scraping Noise

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by jsinclair92, Aug 31, 2018.

  1. jsinclair92

    jsinclair92 Junior Member

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    2008 Prius
    The past few days I have noticed a scraping noise coming from the front end. I'll provide more details below, but it sounds like spent brake pads scraping against the rotor. I am on vacation 6 hours away from home or I would have already checked this out in further detail. The car has 150k, I've had it for a year and a half with no issues (other than an inverter valve). Tire wear is even and plenty of tread.

    Things I Know
    • The scraping is consistent with the revolution of the tires
    • The sound does not increase when braking or turning
    • The sound does not happen when parked and engine running
    • The sound happens in neutral and in drive
    • No vibration in the floorboard
    • The steering wheel is steady
    • Car drives straight
    • The sound is audible up to ~ 70 mph, depending on road noise
    • Rotors look okay, no rust and clean. Worn a bit but I have seen much worse.
    Things I've Tried
    • Coasting in neutral and applying the friction brakes at ~ 50 mph
      • The friction brakes feel great, plenty of stopping power, no change in sound
    • Tight turns at ~ 50 mph do not affect the sound
    Things I want to try next
    • Check for play in the tires to ensure hub assembly is okay
    • Check U-joints, cv joints
    • Check brake pads, slides, clips, dust cover
    • Not sure if any heat shields are near moving parts, but verify no contact

    Is there anything I am missing here, something else I should look for?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    look underneath to make sure an aero panel isn't hanging down. very common.
     
  3. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    The front brake pads are equipped with "wear indicators" which are supposed to make noise when the pads are worn down to almost nothing. Get them checked.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  4. DLC82SV

    DLC82SV Member

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    A rock between the rotor and the dust cover is what it sounds like to me.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  5. jsinclair92

    jsinclair92 Junior Member

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    I am finally back from vacation, and went ahead and ordered new rotors and pads and put them on last night. I could have went a few extra thousand miles but why not replace them while I'm looking at it?

    I got the tires off and did a thorough inspection and found the cause of the scraping. The shield behind the rotor was making contact and scraping the back of the rotor. Luckily this was an easy fix. Thanks so much for the suggestions guys.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats, well done!(y)
     
  7. DLC82SV

    DLC82SV Member

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    Thanks for sharing your solution!

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  8. Reypac24

    Reypac24 Junior Member

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    I know this is an old post but I've noticed the exact same thing. Car only has 24k on it so I don't think it's the brake pads? Going to check it this weekend.