Like the title says, my 2008 Vibe with 54k miles has developed a front brake noise during the first brake application going forward or reverse. It is a metalic click/clunk noise that does not occur after the first braking.I pulled the front wheels and I believe I have found the cause. The wheel lug holes in the brake rotors are larger in diameter than the lugs, allowing the rotor to shift. When braking for the first time, the rotor shifts slightly forward or backwards on the lugs, resulting in the noise when the edges of the rotor hole touch the lugs. The wheel lugnuts are torqued properly, so that isn't the problem.Has anyone else experienced this, and is there an official solution from GM or Toyota? It appears to just be poor engineering of the rotor hole size. When I put on my front snow tires in a couple of weeks I am going to try putting small rubber o-rings over the lugs and pushing them into the gap between the rotor and lug bolt. Hopefully this will keep the noise from happening when the rotor shifts. That's not the solution that I want to go with, but I don't know what else to try.Thanks.
2008 Base Salsa, Automatic, Western Edition, Security Package, Sun & Sound, Side Airbags, Stabilitrak
i experienced the same thing on my 08. the dealer told me it was nothing to worry about...so i didn't worry. after all, it was under warranty so if it screwed up, they would pay for it. i put 31K miles on the car and it made that noise until the day i trade it in. the car never had any problems with the brakes so i assume the dealer was right in telling me to not worry.
I know this is a year late, but my 05 vibe does the same and I don't worry as I had the same issue with my 85 Saab after I replaced a caliper. The shims/spacers wouldn't ever seat tight enough not to fall out. The whole caliper unit would move and cause a clunk. I put 50,000 miles on the rebuilt caliper before I sold the Saab with nary a moment of braking issue. All was good.