Noticed this morning that my Honda Civic is making a metallic scraping noise while moving – happens when not braking. Appears to be coming from the left front. I noticed it at very low speeds. It isn’t exactly the “wah-wah-wah” grinding sound that changes a little in pitch as the wheel rotates that I’d expect from a bearing. I’ve been through a bunch of Youtube videos from people diagnosing various wheel- and brake-related problems and haven’t found one that matches mine yet. Ideas?
First guess would be the brake pads. Sometimes the pad can get a bit of rotor metal stuck on the surface which then makes a grinding noise. Or a pebble can get wedged in somewhere and grind against the rotor. Jack up the car, pull the wheel off, and remove and inspect the brake pads. I’ll bet you’ll find the reason for the noise.
What you might be hearing is one of the brake pad wear indicators coming in contact with the rotor because the brake pads are worn.
Tester
Next time press the brake pedal and see if the noise goes away. If so, it’s the pads.