Brake pedal noise downhill/uphill parking and reversing

[JazzySmith]

Hi all, recently bought my advance sport. Good MPG so far. But one concern is the metal grinding/grating noise when going or reversing in uphill and downhill. Dealer says it's honda and this is the new normal. Dealer checked the brakes and given all clear. But this grinding noise is making me go mad especially in a brand new car. Anyone has had this issue please. Just not convinced that noise is due to brake pads not using asbestos. Many thanks

[Kremmen]

I've never had any brakes grinding noise

[Lord Voltermore]

Both my mk4 jazzes have been prone to the brake discs rusting rather more than seems to happen to other cars. This can cause some grinding until the surface rust clears.  It may be because my car  lives outside and its not driven every day. Also hybrids  often slow down using  regenerative braking rather than actually applying brake pads as you would in a conventional car .So there is less opportunity for brake pads to clean the discs. 
 
I tend to be quite light on brakes anyway  even in normal cars. The discs on my Yaris diesel also got quite rusty. 

It can help to occasionally  deliberately apply the brakes harder than you would normally to  clear the rust . It can be quite 'grindy' at first but improves.  One method is to apply the electric handbrake whilst on the move  (When its safe just flick it up and continue to hold   with your finger.)    This applies all 4 brakes  ,initially quite lightly but increasingly firmly.  This can also help reassure you how well the car can be stopped in this way in an emergency. 

Possibly unrelated  but I found when I first got a mk4  I sometimes applied the electric handbrake  slightly before I had come  to a complete stop.  This can bring you to an abrupt jerking stop  .Also the electric brake motors make a noise when applying and can force the suspension to rise and  fall a bit . Its a bit weird.  At least it was on my 2021 car. Not noticed it so much on my 2024 car but mostly because I now take more time and care when  applying the handbrake. I also avoid applying it so often by using brake hold in stop/ start traffic. 

It  could also be a result  of hill start assist  that  brakes make a slight clunk  when they release themselves automatically . I notice it more when driving off downhill but it has never really bothered me.   

[Jazzfan49]

Are you sure it’s not a low pitched what I would call growling noise, if so it’s normal I think it’s to alert pedestrians of your presence once over a certain speed in forward motion it disappears ( or at least all other noises drown it out ) 

[coldstart]

Both my mk4 jazzes have been prone to the brake discs rusting rather more than seems to happen to other cars.

Pardon your lordship; you must blistfully be unaware of what VW likes to shove onto its customers...

After 19 months of ownership and over 16'000 miles (26'000 km) the discs of my Jazz look absolutely "shiny" to me and I have no special grinding noises to report (maybe I should somewhat turn down the music) 

[JazzySmith]

Thanks all. It is the metal clunk noise that I hear when releasing or applying the brake. It is very loud and profound when reversing or parking uphill or downhill. In this process, trying to unpick the various sounds folks mention (grinding, grating, screeching, squealing, squeaking, Clunk and Grrk;)

[coldstart]

Thanks all. It is the metal clunk noise that I hear when releasing or applying the brake. It is very loud and profound when reversing or parking uphill or downhill.

Okay, this is helpful!

Might I inquire in which order you normally apply the brakes while parking?

I usually go to P (while fully on the brake pedal) and then apply the "handbrake".
This has never "unsettled" the car in any noticable way when driving off, whatever the incline.

Of course I do the procedure in reverse on starting up:
1) fully apply the normal brakes
2) turn the car on
3) move gear lever to D (or B)
4) release "hand brake"
5) release normal brake and drive

However, I've noticed the car to do a "jerk" when I apply the handbrake first before going into P e.g. at a railroad crossing.

So, I'm thinking the sequence of applying or releasing the various brakes matters.

[John Ratsey]

Is auto brake hold enabled? If so, try disabling it.

[ninanina]

The only noise I hear from the car while parking is the pedestrian awareness noise

Other than that my Jazz is pretty silent

Personally I’d get your Honda dealer to take a look at it if the noises are unusual

[ColinB]

Just a thought, but could there be an issue with or more of the brake wear indicators? These are small metal tabs that make metal-to-metal contact once the pads have worn down, and the noise is an indication that the pads need to be replaced. If your car is relatively new that shouldn’t be a problem but maybe one of them hasn’t been fitted correctly? You say Honda have looked at it though so hopefully they’ll have spotted this, but how closely did they look?

PS sorry can’t resist this: given the title of the thread, maybe the BRAKE pedal is BROKEN??

[JazzySmith]

Thanks all. Good spot. my bad spelling of brake. Taking the car to the dealer tomorrow again. Let's see what they say. Will keep you updated. Many thanks.

[Jazzfan49]

As Ninanina says it sounds like the pedestrian awareness noise that all electric cars make, also handbrake and handbrake hold function emits a noise when the actuator engages and releases as I think it may be servo motor controlled, I find that on my own Jazz the handbrake actuator sounds creaky and the car’s attitude changes slightly on application but only when I don’t apply sufficient brake pedal pressure when coming to a stop.
Hopefully it’s nothing serious or anything to worry about, it might be just a case of getting used to your new car and it’s little idiosyncrasies 

[Kremmen]

I only hear the pedestrian noise when I'm reversing up my driveway when it echoes off the house wall

In normal car parks, etc never hear it

[JazzySmith]

It is not the soft angelic sound that car whispers when reversing . It is the metal clunk noise that I hear especially loud and profound when reversing or parking uphill or downhill

[ahavoja]

Does the sound occur when you switch the gear selector from P to any another gear on a hill? If yes, that would indicate that the weight of the car was resting on the parking pawl, which would not be the recommended way to park on a hill. When parking on a hill, it would be better to first apply the parking brake, then switch gear to N and release the brake pedal, and finally switch the gear selector from N to P. Then the parking brake holds the weight of the car, while the parking pawl holds very little weight and is mostly acting as a backup brake.