I have a 2003 Subaru Forester with 57,000 miles. The past few months it started making noise which has been getting progressively worse. The noise sounds like metal scraping and it is almost constant when the car is moving (but sometimes it stops for a bit) The noise used to be much less frequent. Also it makes a louder more screeching type of noise when the car moves in reverse. What is it?
Could you or maybe someone else listen and try to figure out where it is coming from. From your message it appears it happens with the car parked with the engine running. You can use a length of garden hose like a stethoscope and then you will know where it is coming from.
It ONLY makes noise when the car is moving. Never when it is parked with the engine running. So it’s hard to tell where it’s coming. I’ve tried opening different windows while I drive to figure out if it’s on one side or the other, but honestly i just can’t tell.
Have you had the condition of your brake pads checked?
This very possibly could be the brake pad wear indicators telling you to go to a mechanic.
Please do that before you cause an accident.
Thanks. I will do that first thing tomorrow. I prefer going to a mechanic with some notion of what the problem might be. I don’t know if this would change your opinion, but the brakes seem to be working fine. There is no noise when I press the brake and the car stops when I want it to. It has been suggested to me that it might be a worn or loose belt, but I thought if that were the case it would also make noise when the car is idling which it does not.
Brake wear indicators make noise when the brake pedal is not depressed.
They become silent when the brake pedal is depressed.
While this does not prove my suspicion, it does tend to support the probability that your brake pads are ready for replacement.
Since you have heard the noise for an extended period of time, then it is likely that there is no reserve left on the pads. Please go to a competent and honest mechanic tomorrow (NOTE: “Competent and honest” does NOT include the likes of Midas, Meineke, Monro, Sears, AAMCO, or any other chain with which I am familiar) before you cause an accident. Any independent mechanic can assess the condition of your brakes and can replace the pads.
Please have the brake fluid changed at the same time. And, next time that you hear a new noise from your car, please don’t wait “a few months” to investigate the situation.
I’m getting a tin metal sounding noise when I do low speeds like metal vibrating. I read somewhere that a loose heat shield can make this noise. Anyone know about this?
Rattling heat shields is not a rare problem no matter the make of car. Most are easily fixed.
Many years ago Subaru issued a service bulletin about heat shield rattle and the recommendation was to drill a small hole in the shield and screw a sheet metal screw into it until it bottoms out. Crude but effective…
Had the same problem with my 2013 Forester. Independent mechanic said he removed the heat shield and that it didn’t need to be replaced. I suppose he decided it was easier than drilling a hole for a screw.
I thought that too about the heat shields but the sound went away during the rainy season. Now I found there is a bad drive shaft on my car so I’m thinking the sound might have been that.