awful screeching noise in wheel?

[katgarl]

hello all,
before I begin, this is my first time posting in this forum. I lurk on Aveoforum frequently and finally decided to join the community!

so here's my problem:
I have a 2004 Aveo sedan. a bit earlier today, I was backing out of my driveway when I noticed a horrible, metallic-like grinding noise. my brother was in the passenger seat and told me it sounded like it was coming from the front right wheel. so I pulled back into the driveway and had my parents check it out... they suggested I drive it around the neighborhood to see if it goes away or fades a bit. what I noticed was that it was more prominent when I was accelerating rather than using the brake... whereas when I first tried backing out of the driveway, it was more noticeable when I was braking. my dad drove the car to make sure it wasn't pulling in any odd direction and then told me to go run errands and see if it goes away. it did go away, but I'm still concerned.

I'm wondering if it could have been some dirt stuck somewhere in my wheel or around the brake pad... I went out last night and the wheel wasn't making any noise at all when I got home. however, I did go to my friend's house last night and he has a very long, bumpy, pothole-filled DIRT driveway. any feedback?

sorry for the long post, and I'm not even quite sure if this is in the right subforum.. eeek

[petrified.rabbit]

If it went away it was most likely something in the brakes. it could be a pebble, a spec of rust, etc.

If the car is still stopping the same, and there is no wobble or anything at speed that was most likely the issue. And you dont have much to worry about. If it returns, it would be best to have the brakes checked for abnormal wear. (thing is, EVERY brake shop will tell you you need brakes, even if you dont.) But you can most likely have someone in the family check them easily, if anyone knows how to take off a wheel, i can give you basic instructions on checking for signs of bad wear.

[katgarl]

If it went away it was most likely something in the brakes. it could be a pebble, a spec of rust, etc.

If the car is still stopping the same, and there is no wobble or anything at speed that was most likely the issue. And you dont have much to worry about. If it returns, it would be best to have the brakes checked for abnormal wear. (thing is, EVERY brake shop will tell you you need brakes, even if you dont.) But you can most likely have someone in the family check them easily, if anyone knows how to take off a wheel, i can give you basic instructions on checking for signs of bad wear.

I just went out again and didn't hear any terrible noise! handling is still the same, brakes still work just as before so I think for now I should be all set thank you for the reply!

[xintersecty]

I had a bunch of dirt (from getting stuck in a ditch) in my right front. I washed out and the car wash and notice the same thing. I drove about a 1/4 mile and then drove into a parking lot. I promptly did a bunch of backwards donuts and the sound went away.

Welcome to the forum.

[eliczar87]

my wife has an 05 aveo and it started screeching when you slow down and it is not the brakes but it bald the front tire. did your noise go away?

[Thymeclock]

I just went out again and didn't hear any terrible noise! handling is still the same, brakes still work just as before so I think for now I should be all set thank you for the reply!

As usual, Rabbit gives concise, accurate advice.

One day my wife drove her Aveo home from work and told me one wheel was making a horrible screeching noise. I knew what it probably was, as I had it happen once before, on a different car. Sure enough, it was a dried leaf caught in the wheel by the brake disc. It's pretty amazing that a dried leaf can make such a racket.

In your case, since the noise went away, the leaf (or foreign object) freed itself and was dislodged.

[tomalotuyo]

I just have the same issue this morning.

My 08 LS sedan, third time it happens. The first I panic (it was new) hahahahaha but when returning to the parking lot it just stop. Last week happened to the front right wheel almost at home, so the next morning I pulled the calipers and the pads. Surprise! there were some little rocks inside the pads. So I clean them, use a sandpaper to buffer just a bit of the pads, and mount everything. Voila! It worked!

This morning happened again, but in 20 minutes have it work it out (and no panic).

So, it's not a critical sound. But it can leave scratchs over the disk. Pull the pads and clean them to be sure.