Faint brake grinding noise after an alignment
A faint grinding noise immediately following an alignment is often caused by the brake shield touching the rotor, rust contacting the caliper, or faulty calipers applying constant pressure. If you also feel a juddering sensation through the brake pedal, it may be because the hub faces were not cleaned before installing new pads and disks.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Checking if the brake shield is touching the rotorDid this help you?
- 2Removing the caliper to see if the noise goes awayDid this help you?
- 3Spinning the rotor manually to check for contact pointsDid this help you?
- 4Cleaning the hub faces to remove any rust or grit behind the new brake disk before reassembly.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“On the way home after the alignment, I heard a faint grinding from the brakes. I can't discern what it might come from.”source ↗
“Are my calipers cooked making the car brake slightly all the time? Are my rotors warped? Is it the brake shield touching the rotor? Is it rust from the rotor touching the caliper?”source ↗
“I cleaned up the caliper carriers, greased up the sliding pins and fitted the new pads/disks, but im getting a juddering through the brake pedal when braking...”source ↗
“I forgot to clean the hub faces so thinking/hoping this could be causing the judder and im planning to have a look tonight when I get home from work.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 6Are my brake rotors ruined if they glow blue after bedding?
- 2Why do my car brakes need to be pumped?
- 30Grinding noise after installing new brake pads and rotors
- 31Why are my brakes squeaking and shaking the floorboard?
- 4Why is the ride still rough after replacing the suspension?
- 3Brake parts missing or falling off after service