Why do my brakes grind?

A brake pad is a layer of friction material on a steel backing plate. As the pad wears, that layer gets thin. Many pads carry a small metal tab that touches the rotor when they get low. Honda's manuals describe the sound as a distinct metallic screech when you brake. That screech is your early warning.

Grinding usually comes after the warning. The friction material is gone or nearly gone, and steel is rubbing on the rotor. Each stop scores the rotor deeper. A few weeks earlier, pads alone might have done the job. Once the rotors are scored, they usually need replacing too.

Yes. A few things grind without the pads being worn out.

• A stone or chip of gravel caught between the rotor and the thin metal shield behind it. Forest Service Roads are good at this. It can scrape even with your foot off the brake, and it comes and goes.
• Surface rust after the car sits through a wet night or a car wash. The first few stops sound rough, then the noise clears.
• The ABS working on ice or loose gravel. You may feel a fast pulse in the pedal and hear a buzz from under the hood.
• A caliper seized by winter brine and salt. It can wear one pad much faster than the other on the same axle.

Drive as little as you can, and gently. Grinding brakes still stop the car, with less margin, and every stop costs more rotor. Leave extra room and skip long downhill runs until they are fixed.

Stop driving and call for a tow if any of these happen. The pedal goes soft or sinks toward the floor. The red brake warning light comes on. The car pulls hard to one side when you brake. You smell hot brakes after driving on flat ground.

Our brake work starts from $389 per axle for pads and rotors, torqued to spec. The final number depends on the vehicle and what we find, such as a seized caliper or a worn hose. We measure the pads, photograph the rotors, and call you with a number before anything comes off. Your old parts come back in a bag.

The grinding line on our symptom estimator shows the starting price, and our brake job cost guide walks through what moves it. When you are ready, book a bay and mention the grind, so we put the car first in the line.