Hi all, so I am having some issues with my 2007 Honda Jazz, the car is making a whining noise at low speed and I cannot for the life of me work out what it is. The car makes the sound when my foot is just below the clutch biting point, coming up to a junction, moving off from a junction, in slow-moving traffic, and when trying to park. It does it regardless of turning or going straight. After building up speed moving off from a junction it doesn’t make a single sound and drives normally with no hesitating whatsoever. (I drive high-speed rural tight roads 5 days a week for work). The garage has also been to four garages in the last couple of months, but the problem never gets solved.
To start with, I will say that my car has undergone a series of minor repairs. The car first went in a couple of months ago after the brushing of the anti-roll bar linkage broke causing a racket when turning left. I was in the workshop when the mechanic showed me the exact problem and I saw the loose bar. When he reversed it off the ramp it made a squeaking noise, he visually inspected it but couldn’t see anything there and then. It went in the next day for the repair. I asked him if he saw any issue with the rear driver’s wheel, he said it was the brake pads but he said he was busy for a couple of weeks.
The noise persisted and It sounded like more than just the pads, after googling I loosely diagnosed it as a bad anti-dust shield as when I inspected it myself it was disintegrating when I tried to bend it back. It was rusty with the brakes showing a similar level of corrosion. (I only had the car for four months, bought it from garage no 1.) I took it to another highly reputable nearby garage as recommended by a colleague, and they inspected it and diagnosed it as the anti-dust shield, they took it off straight away. They also said that the rear pads and rotors needed doing so I booked it in at garage no 2.
When they were done the mechanic told me they had a bit of trouble with one of the rear callipers as it had seized, they said they sorted it. I drove the car for a couple of weeks, but I had noise coming from the wheels still.
I then had the brakes inspected by a Halfords Autocentre who couldn't really find anything as part of their brake check. As far as they were concerned, the rear brakes were completely new with grease from the job still present. (Which they said was unusual for a car that drives on rural roads every day but not bad) They said the front callipers were still in good condition and had been well looked after, the pads were also a little more than halfway worn. They said there were no signs of binding. Visually there were no faults at all.
The only thing they could recommend was a brake clean. I booked one in with another branch for the following weekend meanwhile I asked garage 2 if they would look at the wheel with the seemingly bad calliper.
When I took it there on Friday 20, they said they changed the slide pin and thought that would have sorted it. After an hour the problem came back so I thought that was not it.
I also had the brake cleaning booking the next day, so I asked them to focus on the front instead of the rear. The fronts seemed to be an easy job for them because they said they had no issues. I specifically asked. They said they drove it and couldn’t hear anything. I drove it to the shop, tried to park and it made the noise again an hour later. I assumed that the garage hadn’t done the work, after all, it was Halfords. One of the mechanics was an old bully too, he recognised me straight away, and I just thought ‘I am going to be lucky to have brakes at the end of the day.’ I visually checked and I could see a little bit of grease on the passenger side calliper so it had been done.
I just don’t understand. I had heard that sticking slide pins often caused the rotors to heat up, so I have made the effort to check them after each journey the past week, most recently three of the four wheels were quite warm. (I have no idea what the norm is) The fourth wheel, (the previously faulty anti-dust shield wheel was at a pretty neutral temperature. (Not cold, but not warm).
Tonight, I checked and only the front ones were hot, if heat is a symptom, then it suggests there is still an issue, but I don’t know. I now know there is one rear wheel where the callipers haven’t been properly checked, but I don’t know which one but all four have now been dismantled. Whatever caused the rear to heat up has gone.
I have heard it could be a wheel bearing, but I can’t help but think after four garages with wheels been removed someone would have noticed. Like I said the noise doesn’t happen at higher speeds either, and the car drives super normal. The roads I drive to work are very rural and used by all the farm vehicles, so at the moment there is mud all over, but it still copes. There are a lot of sharp bends, twisty roads and constant speed changes between 30 to 60. I do not hear a thing during gear changes on those roads, and I drive them twice a day nearly every day. Yet when I get to the town I work in or at a junction in one of the villages, it is back. The noise always sounds like it is on the outside anyway which is why I can never pinpoint it.
Any ideas?
