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Angie's List: Identifying 3 Common Brake Noises

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - No noise is good noise when it comes to your vehicle's brakes, but what happens when you do hear a squeak, squeal or grind?

Is it an immediate safety concern or can you keep on driving?

Angie's List has some tips to diagnose the three common sounds your brakes make.

You're driving along and everything's fine until you hear a little squeak as you begin to stop.

It could be the call of a big repair bill, or it might be nothing.

Many people will drive on, hoping they won't hear the squeak again and some of them will get lucky.

"It could be dirt and it could be the pads are starting to glaze over. Sometimes a couple of really good, hard stops will fix that, but if it continues, it's best to have it looked at," automotive service technician Fred Kuhn said.

"If your brakes squeak when you stop, that might just mean that your brakes need lubricated and don't need replaced. But, if you do hear a high-pitched squeal that goes away when there's added pressure put to the brakes, that's a sign that you need new brake pads and should be checked out right away," Angie Hicks of Angie's List said.

The sound that should cause your heart to pound is the grind. Some might describe it as a low growl.

That noise indicates rotor damage, which is a major safety issue.

"If the brake pad is chewing into the rotor, that can cause that wheel to lock up, whether it's on the front of the vehicle or the rear of the vehicle," automotive service technician Robert Vawter said.

If the rotors are damaged, ask your technician about replacing them instead of trying a repair.

"Nowadays, a lot of places are cheaper to replace pads and rotors than to resurface. You also get a much better brake job with a much better longevity of the pads," Kuhn said.

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