GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I've had my Vibe for about 10 days and everything has worked great until the last few mornings. Whenever I back up (after the car has sat all night) there is a weird grinding/scraping noise coming from the back wheel. It lasts for about half a block at the most.After I've driven a while (around 15 minutes) and go to back up again, the noise doesn't happen. I took it into the mechanics and of course the noise ceased to exist when they tried it out. They say it's nothing, but it just worries me because it sounds so horrid. Has this happened to anyone else?

You can always let it sit a the mechanics over night and test drive it with the mechanic while everything is still cold... I had to do that with my Vibe for a noise that would only happen when the car was cold.Are you pressing on the brakes when you are backing up?

This happened to my 2008 and does with our 2004 Vibe... More of an annoyance than anything else. May want to have the drums and shoes cleaned up a bit...

My guess would be that the rear drums arent properly adjusted. I remember the older cars to adjust them all you had to do was drive in reverse and press the brakes a couple of times. Dont know if the Vibe is setup that way.

+2 on adjusting the rear drums! And check your E-brake, it could be sticking!

Had the mechanics check the front and back wheels out and they still can't find anything. Someone told me that it might have to do regarding the temperature. ??

Try getting a second opinion with another mechanic. Something has to be binding.

folks im thinking its just the rust that collects on the rotors after it rains,,,stepp on the brakes a few times and the pads wipe the rust right off and then no more noise,,,happens to me everytime my rotors get wet,,sit...rust...next day they are noisy till the rust gets brake pedaled away

My 09's done it the whole time I've had it.. Have know idea what it is..

I second the rust diagnosis. It happens on a lot of cars when the weather is wet and humid.

Most "economy" cars I've owned have always done this in damp weather. When it sits a light bit of rust will form on the exposed parts of the rotors or drums - which will make noise until the brakes are applied enough to rub it off. It likely happens on ALL cars - but is more noticeable on cars like ours due to minimal noise insulation.My '09 does this on a very regular basis. The rear disc brakes seem to be much more prone to rust than drums - and since they don't exactly do much, it takes a few applications to clean them up. They make some pretty terrible squeaks on really damp mornings going down my street!On cars I've had with drums, the noise was more noticeable just when braking for the first time or two - depending on how long it sat. I always noticed more noise from the front brakes on those cars (Sunfire, Neon) - although the Neon's rears would "moan" or "wail" at low speeds sometimes. I got rid of that car almost 15 years ago though - so I don't remember much more.Unfortunately I think your condition is "normal". Spending any money on it won't likely make much difference for very long.John

Thank you for all your replies. I'm getting a second opinion tomorrow on it just to be sure. It's all under warranty, so thankfully I am not spending one penny. When I had my vibe sitting outside of work (with +10 celsius temperature) the noise disappeared.