I have recently noticed a grinding feeling in the right front wheel when I apply the brakes but ONLY IF it’s raining outside and ONLY for the first mile or so. If it’s dry out, I never get the grinding.
A co-worker says this is probably rust on the rotor (2001 Saturn Sl-1) and is not a problem. Any thoughts on this?
I think that your coworker is probably right. Surface rust forms on rotors in a very short period of time. A few applications of the brakes and it is cleaned off (often with associated “grinding” feel).
The only thing I’d say is that it shouldn’t be isolated to one side and maybe its just time you had the brakes inspected. Perhaps you have a problem on the driver’s side that keeps the brakes from applying properly.
My 97 Rav4 has done this for 3 yrs when it is damp or raining.
I just softly put on brakes a few times when I start out, if you are going faster the rust will wear pads and rotors out faster
I checked last night and it’s not isolated to one side, it’s from the front in general. I’ll look at my repair history and see if a brake job is due.
Don’t get caught with a bad inboard pad by only inspecting the outboard (same goes for rotor surface).
Dou you think you could look on a brake noise troubleshooting chart and find the box with the symptons you describe? no you could not, your problem is more general, not so condition specfic.