GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I recently purchased a Salsa '04 Vibe. Great little car! Acceleration isn't neck breaking, but is smooth and the car handles great. And the cavernous cargo capacity is awesome.I have a question however. I didn't notice it during test drives, but when I apply the brakes with the windows open, I can hear a mild "grunge" noise I'd associate with metal on metal, worn out pads. This is puzzling to me because I can see plenty of pad material remaining up front, the discs are smooth and unscored, the car stops great without pulling and applying the e-brake (therefore rear only) does not result in this sound. Is this a Vibe/Toyota quirk? I've had regular, semi-metallic and aramid fiber (kevlar) pads on my old Audis, but I don't recall ever experiencing this. The Vibe is my first Japanese (heritage) car.Thanks,Phreon

Did you look on the inner side of the rotors.Maybe the inner pad is worn.It's hard to narrow down noises over the internet.

Cheap pads can also make noises too.

Also if the rotors have rust on them from sitting for a day or a couple days I hear that as well.

The inner rotor surfaces are fine and rust free. The sound *is* coming from the rear brakes (I was incorrect in my first post). They were perfectly quiet when I drove off the lot, but in 70 or so miles, they started to grind. Though not explicitly covered in the (used car) warranty, I'm going to give the dealer hell, because their much touted "safety inspection" should have caught brake shoes worn to within 70 miles of their end life. Otherwise, the car is great an I love it. Phreon

rear drums can pick up crap such as dirt, debris, and road salt and it can accumulate inside the drum. could just be dirt in the brakes. can't hurt to scream at a dealer though.

I took the car in today and expect to pick it up later this evening. The dealer claims that they can't find anything wrong and that they think the pads are contaminated from the spray they used to shine the tires when they prepped the car and therefore aren't seating right. They also claim it'll go away once the contamination "burns off".I've worked on the brakes of every car I've ever owned (over 16 years) and have managed to contaminate the pads once or twice. I've experienced poor brake performance and squealing, but *never* a metal on metal grinding noise. I also asked them if they could use brake cleaner, but claimed that since it's petroleum based, it would make the problem worse. They also said they'd spray the brakes with water and drive the car for a while to see if they quiet down. I feel like they're feeding me a line of crap, because while brake cleaner is a hydrocarbon, it evaporates very fast (thats the point) and water would do nothing for oil contaminated brakes.I'm going to make them document that they'll revisit this if the sound hasn't gone away in 2 weeks.Any ideas?Phreon

THis sounds like a load of dealer sh*t to me .... I've had a brake problem for almost 30,000 miles (that's right) and the dealer has yet to find it ... it now appears to have been a bad wheel bearing from the beginning days of ownership that's now gotten SO bad its become noticeable ALL of the time. Good luck

I have a 05 with 40k miles on it. My brakes sound like crap (just like yours) every morning as well until they heat up and then they are as quiet as any other car I have owned. Just keep an eye on them.

I just don;t understand why this car has so many "little" problems ...Matrix owners don;t seem to have so many problems and the cars are supposedly identical?

Most of it is service related.Toyota service would be better.

wow...*cough* anyway lots of hate here it seems for dealerships but they could be onto something. I've used tire shine and such before and accidently got it on the rotor which caused a "crunch" sound when I applied my brakes. It wore off soon enough though.To this day my Vibe has been flawless... only issues have been caused by something I did.Just get the pads replaced, resurface the rotors and be done with it.Signing off at my service department desk.

i never had any brake related issues with my 03 VGT. actually not too many issues that were from the car itself, but mostly from what i did to it or just due to my driving style. i don't recall brakes being bad either and i am very hard on them. they did squeal a little but that was to be expected, especially when they are cold.

Mav,I though you worked for a subie dealer.lol.I have had no problem to my Vibe that I haven't created.I am hard on my Vibe and just changed my front pads and rears were good for another 50k.So,no disrespect to GM service ,as they have been great when I needed them which was not very often.But,I've heard a few from the US have had quite a few problems with their dealers.

he does now. but he worked for GM Pontiac Service for 2.5 yrs before we got married and i made him move.