Screeching/grinding noise coming from wheel(s?) - solved.

[Jeremy1234]

Hi,

Just a note in case it helps someone else. I was returning home from work the other night and heard a loud screeching/grinding from the front wheels. It sounded like I'd worn down the pads to the metal strip. The noise was happening regardless of whether I was braking or not. I pulled over into a side street. It was hard to tell if the noise was coming from the left front, right front, or both sides. After getting the car towed home, I called out a mechanic. He jacked up the front passenger side, spun the wheel - nothing. Did the same on the driver side - massive noise. A tiny stone had flicked up and was wedged between the rotor and the heat shield! He needed to take off the wheel to release the tiny stone. This was massively inconvenient but thankfully nothing major.

It was odd considering a month ago I'd been travelling down a dirt road with lots of stones but no issues, yet here on a sealed city road...! Just in case it happens to you, you might be able to save yourself the hassle by jacking up the car and pulling off the offending wheel. No tow or mechanic required.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Would backing up have dislodged it? Ima going to remember this if I ever get that noise all of a sudden, and try backing around first, even a couple or a few times, before I give up and call a tow truck.

 

[Jeremy1234]

Would backing up have dislodged it? Ima going to remember this if I ever get that noise all of a sudden, and try backing around first, even a couple or a few times, before I give up and call a tow truck.

Hi Snicklefritz,
Good thought. I did try backing up and forward, but not aggressively for fear of worsening the unknown (at the time) issue. It didn't work for me. I spoke to a guy at work who had the same issue with his BMW. He said he called BMW assistance when it happened. BMW assistance, guessing at what the issue was, advised him to do quick, short, runs and to be aggressive on the brakes. He did this but it did not immediately dislodge the stone. Rather than tow, he finally decided to drive home (~4 miles). The stone dislodged near to his house. He said the drive back to his place was embarrassing because of the loud noise to the surrounding cars and houses until the stone fell out. The mechanic that helped me thought it was best to deal with the issue rather than drive through it due to the possibility of wearing a slight grove in the rotor.

 

[Snicklefritz]

some years ago, I caught a stone about the same size as "yours" in my rim. it just rattled around like it was in a can and wouldn't fall out. the noise was very irregular and after a minute or so of us wondering what the heck it was, I stopped the car and the three of us did an inspection of the wheels and a friend found the stone sitting inside the rim behind the spokes.