My 2000 Corolla has been making this high pitched squealing noise mostly when turning left and going straight ever since it’s been cold. I don’t know if that’s a coincidence or not.
It doesn’t happen when I am stationary- only when moving does it make the noise. So I can’t imagine it’s power steering. It seems to happen sometimes when turning right or going straight but not as much as it does when turning left.
Is it suspension noise? Or brake noise?
Another thing to mention is that when I’m turning left and it starts making the noise, if I brake, it stops. Once I let go of the brake it happens again. What could it be?
I do all of the work myself on the car. I will check this. I just wanted to get an opinion on what it might be before I jack up the car. I will for sure check the pads! I bought the car about a year ago used and I thought the guy said he changed the brakes but I could be wrong. I also noticed that it pretty much does it all the time now. Not only when I turn left.
If the pads are still good, what else might it be?
Ever since my hearing has deteriorated I haven’t been bothered by brake pad screech. Even with hearing aids. So I guess hearing loss and brake pads that don’t wear out go together.
Could be a “frozen” caliper due to corrosion between the body and the piston, or a caliper that can’t glide to a neutral position centered on the disc due to corrosion around the pins it is mounted on. The brake pads will have uneven pressure on them, and wear unevenly.
So if the pads are wearing unevenly, I could assume it might be this. If it is a “frozen caliper” is the only way to fix it to replace the whole caliper?I’m going to check it out in a couple hours
Depending on how bad any corrosion and pitting are, it may be possible to rebuild the caliper at home but it is a dirty, messy job probably better left to companies in that business. I know, I’ve done it a few times but now I find rebuilt calipers are priced very reasonably and I am glad to pay for them and get the job done much more easily and reliably.
It is probably very easy for your shop to do a quick visual check of the brake pad wear situation. Ask for a quote, likely less than $100. Might be done gratis.
I did the brake job yesterday. The pads were uneven and the inside pad was worse than the outside one. The guide pins were so stuck. I lubed it up with sil grease and it moved nice and freely. So the noise was the wear indicator clip!
I have done this as well but it is getting harder to find seal kits. Pros don’t do this anymore because the rebuilt calipers are cheaper than the labor rate to rebuild.
