Brake Grinding Noise

[OH2AZ2OH]

I checked quickly in CarScanner the other day, and I got no regen while in Neutral when using the brake pedal. Not sure why the brake coach would still give you a 100% score - maybe it is just going off the rate of deceleration and assuming it regenerated? But in my case, whenever in Neutral the car just pulled the idle load (about 4kW at that time, quite cold out), and I saw no change in power when decelerating to a stop.

That makes sense. N should disconnect the motors from the wheels, which prevents regen. My rears are pretty grindy sounding at the start of a drive, but after 5-10 miles of city driving they quiet down.

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[OH2AZ2OH]

I've never owned a car that has generated so much brake dust as the MME.

Someone on here mentioned that they got a ton of brake dust in Whisper Mode, but less in Engage and Unbridled. I honestly thought they were imagining things, but I switched to Engage and I believe them now. If you drive Whisper mode, trying switching to Engage.

 

[Indy Mike]

That's why it is recommended to shift to neutral every once in a while to force the car to use friction brakes and get rid of any brake dust. It is also wise to do this after a car wash to heat them up and dry them off a bit. If any pad is actually sticking to the rotor, then there is a bulletin for that and the dealer is to resurface the rotors and replace the pads.

I tried shifting to N. Also I’m running in Engaged driving mode, which give us feedback on how much breaking is occurring from generation of kWh vs physical breaking. Even though I was in N, the break coach showed 99%. I’m looking for an explanation. Thanks.

 

[generaltso]

I tried shifting to N. Also I’m running in Engaged driving mode, which give us feedback on how much breaking is occurring from generation of kWh vs physical breaking. Even though I was in N, the break coach showed 99%. I’m looking for an explanation. Thanks.

I‘ve noticed this too. The brake coach seems to base its rating on how smoothly you stop instead of measuring the actual energy regenerated.

 

[Indy Mike]

Is it possible that the brakes still work the same in N as in D?

 

[generaltso]

Is it possible that the brakes still work the same in N as in D?

No. You can tell with an OBD scanner that regen doesn’t work when the car is in Neutral.

 

[Jwmilleril]

I have had my GT since mid-Oct. I have about 3200 miles on it. I am hearing a noise from the rear of the car that sounds just like brakes grinding. I ONLY hear this noise during the last 2-4' of a complete stop. I NEVER hear it if I'm just braking for various reasons on the road. The noise never occurs if I use the 1-pedal mode either. I cannot believe that anything is actually worn out, due to mileage, etc, but am curious to know if anyone else has experienced this strange noise. I have not asked the dealer to check it out yet. I searched this forum but really haven't found anything that explains it. Any ideas?

Same exact thing for me. Since I have the GT, I can feel the rotors in the rear and they are definitely grooved. Just at 4k miles so something is wrong.

 

[Indy Mike]

Same exact thing for me. Since I have the GT, I can feel the rotors in the rear and they are definitely grooved. Just at 4k miles so something is wrong.

I looked at my rear rotors too. They are pitted on the outside only. I believe my dealer’s plan is to turn them. However, that will not prevent it from happening again. Any Ford engineers on this thread that might offer a permanent solution?

 

[Indy Mike]

I took a deeper look. It appears, after looking at all 4 breaks, the pressure applied at least to the outside of each is anything but even. Right rear, deeply grooved, left rear slightly grooved, left front is rusty, and right front is smooth and shinny. Putting it in Neutral and applying the breaks has lessened the noise some but not solved the problem.

 

[PaulP]

I understand the theory about rotor noise and rust, however, I'm talking about not your typical noise, and again, it ONLY happens in the last 2 or so feet of a complete stop. Plus, this noise can be heard after a lengthy drive of over 60 miles, with braking included in the drive...

I have the exact same experience with my MME, but it only happens after a long drive. I do a weekly 100 miles drive each way and I always notice this noise when I'm back at work, after the drive. The parking has a slight incline, so when I put the car in reverse to leave, it does the grinding noise at low speeds. Every other time, I only drive about 3 miles to get to work and it won't do it, same parking spot. Only after the long drive with lots of hills, so the brakes do work a lot. I even have a 15 miles stretch of road where I usually gain 2% of battery life when I'm done! I always thought it might be caused from the heat, it's not something that bothers me since brakes work fine almost every other time (only when leaving a car wash, I need to brake once when exiting or it might be stressful at the next stop light... might be the soap that makes the brakes slippery only once).

It's still better than my previous car, a Durango R/T, stones would always find their way and get stuck. I would have that noise when driving for a few minutes every time a stone got stuck, people walking would turn around to see where the noise was coming from. And on my previous Durango, a 2012, as soon as the temperature was freezing, I didn't have any braking capacity. I had to put all my weight on the brake pedal before it started working again. A recall in 2014 fixed the problem but it was dangerous.

The next time you go for a longish drive, feel your rotors after and I think you'll be surprised that they're cold. The MME really doesn't use the friction brakes very much.

In my case, before it happens, I have to drive down approximately 6000 feet, I'm sure the friction brakes are used. It never happens when I do short drives, only after a long drive with lots of brake use. You can see the elevation profile of the road I drive below.

 

[rodhx]

The friction brakes are an embarrassment on a $20k car, let alone on a $60k car. My car has the theoretical upgraded pads after the wet pad bonding debacle in the early cars and it’s still constant “grinding”/vibrating under moderate braking. Being a racer I actually took the new ones out and bedded them properly but to no effect. If I brake nice and hard they’ll smooth out for a little while but go right back to vibrating under moderate braking in a few hours. ?‍

 

[EVRider22]

Same issues here. Oct 2021 purchase, less than 3,000 miles, loud braking at low speeds especially right when turning it on. It doesn’t seem to happen after driving for a bit, even at low speeds. I guess we’ll see what the dealer says but seems odd for a new car with limited use.

 

[mjschillingtec]

I have not read all 5 pages of posts on this, so maybe this has been said. I took my car to the dealer because of the grinding noise during the last few feet of stopping, or going in reverse. They are replacing the pads and probably the rotors too (can't really turn/true them.) Dealer rep showed me a picture on her PC showing the pad is really like two pads with a space in between. They are replacing them with a single pad - which are on backorder. I was told it was fine to drive as is, no safety issues. She also said this is not a recall, but obviously they are seeing this grinding issue and have a plan of attack.

 

[Scooby24]

I have not read all 5 pages of posts on this, so maybe this has been said. I took my car to the dealer because of the grinding noise during the last few feet of stopping, or going in reverse. They are replacing the pads and probably the rotors too (can't really turn/true them.) Dealer rep showed me a picture on her PC showing the pad is really like two pads with a space in between. They are replacing them with a single pad - which are on backorder. I was told it was fine to drive as is, no safety issues. She also said this is not a recall, but obviously they are seeing this grinding issue and have a plan of attack.

The pad change doesn't do anything for grinding. It helps keep the pad from sticking to the rotor and breaking off. (stronger design)

In fact that design change should make it LOUDER. Will be good to know you won't have the potential of the pad breaking off on the rotor, but you're still going to be grinding.

it's WAD (working as designed)

 

[mjschillingtec]

The pad change doesn't do anything for grinding. It helps keep the pad from sticking to the rotor and breaking off. (stronger design)

In fact that design change should make it LOUDER. Will be good to know you won't have the potential of the pad breaking off on the rotor, but you're still going to be grinding.

it's WAD (working as designed)

well that sounds like a good and bad scenario, as I hate the grinding. It must wear out the rotors sooner no?

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