[wongm2]

new to the forums and wasnt sure if i should be posting here or in the service/maintenance.

i have a 2003 honda, automatic, 4wd, with 80k miles. Within the past month, I've noticed a scraping noise coming from the rear. It typically happens only when i accelerate, and it seems to be happen mainly in the 20-40mph range. but this is just my initial observation. its not a loud noise like brakes squeaking(i have to turn the radio off to hear it).

i got new tires 4-5 months ago and got them aligned, and my brakes were replaces maybe 20-30k miles ago.

thanks for the help!

 

[ApriliaGuy]

Have a good look at the brakes. Maybe one pad is dragging.

Do a seach for dragging pads and/or "sticking caliper" and see what you get.

Good luck!

 

[slimerdogs]

True on the brakes as they have a low limit squealer that will touch on the rotor when the pad gets thin. After that you will hear grinding sounds when it hits metal against metal. If its not the brakes check to see if you have a pebble or something between the backing plate and the rotor.

 

[wongm2]

so the noise has diminished over time...not sure if its weather related(i live outside of DC) or other. its definitely not as common as

i brought the car into the shop for an oil change yesterday, and asked if they could take a look to see what was causing the noise. they said my rear brake pads were worn, and that my rear rotors are rusted out and need to be replaced.

after hearing this i got a little irritated, because i got my rear brake pad/rotors replaced there 25k miles ago. naturally, i asked why would rear rotors that are only 25k miles old, need to be replaced?

they said my front pad/rotors were fine, so this leads me to believe i might have soem other underlying issue, ie a dragging pad or sticking caliper.

 

[rprossil]

Rear calipers

Just happened on mine with 84k. Rear brakes had less than 10k on them, caliper rusted and stuck, ate up the pads and trashed the rotor. Just had all new hardware put on both rears (calipers, rotors, pads). It can happen, especially if you're in an area that has snow and salt used on the roads in winter.

 

[schessor]

Me too (an '05 with 20,000 km), my passenger side parking brake shoes are dragging a little, took it apart yesterday cleaned, greased, adjusted, and it's still happening; sigh.

also see http://tinyurl.com/2abmd33 which is
http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62515&highlight=parking+brake+drag

 

[wongm2]

So now I'm debating what to do. The most mechanical thing I've done on my car is replace the whole tailight, but replacing brake pads/rotors seems like a fun weekend project. However, if i need to replace the calipers too, i think thats beyond me.

I'm thinking of replacing the brake pads/rotors myself, doing some tests to see if something is indeed dragging/noise is still occuring, then bring it into the dealer?

 

[wongm2]

FYI: I ended up replacing the brakepads and rotors but it did not solve the problem.

Brought it back into the dealer, and they said the heat shield on my catalytic converter was the issue. something about rusted bolts/connection. theyre just gonna clamp it down and see if it solves the problem instead of replacing it.

 

[King of Canada]

I've had this issue since day one on my E. Told the dealer half a dozen times that it's a known issue with the Element, buy they have never done anything about it. Now I'm handing my lease in within the next few weeks, and it's stuck pretty bad. To get through my end of lease inspection I've got to try to unstick it. Not a chance in hell I'm paying for new pads.