My brakes grind, you can hear them and feel them.

Asked by Toot2 Oct 20, 2013 at 11:03 AM about the 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt 1LT Sedan FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My Chevy cobalt brakes grind, of course when I took it too the dealership they didn't and
they said it all looked ok but over 12 months later they still make noise and when I had to
stop short yesterday to avoid hitting another car (her fault not mine) I didn't think I would
stop and the brakes did not feel right! Could it be the ABS or something else?

3 Answers

45,825

have your calipers checked. either the piston on 1 wheel or more is sticking, or your sliders are getting stuck because they can't move properly usually due to lack of lube. the sliders are commonly the metal bar that bolt goes threw or is the bolt itself in some models. if this is not the issue, when you hit the brake do you here something like a loud servo motor going off and forcing your pedal back against your foot making it bounce? If that is the case just pull your abs fuse and you should have full lock up control. i commonly unplug it in all my cars as its a pain and causes more accidents then its worth. have the abs pump checked asap if that's the case as its mostly likely jammed and keeps making the car think its sliding instead of on dry pavement. and if that's not the problem compare the caliper to the opposite side of the car for angel it may have gotten bent at some point from lack of use and or sudden braking

Thanks, what your saying about the ABS, I felt that with my Golf, so maybe it is the calliper, but shouldn't the damn dealership been able to see this?

45,825

yes they should a but they most likely only did a visual check because when they start taking things off the car it starts costing them money so your tires and calipers most likely never came off at the dealership and they need to be off to check this as well as the caliper

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