# Brake Noise - is this an official Cruze quirk?



## thaicruze (Jul 21, 2011)

Today after about 1,100km on my car, it started making the sound people talk about when going forward slow and you apply the brakes half way so the car is still moving, or you reverse very slowly. 

As soon as you brake completely or hit the gas the sound goes away. Because of this the sound is intermittent and doesn't happen every time you brake, just in those instances. I've seen other people writing about the same thing. Is this just a Cruze quirk? Should I bother calling the dealer?

Seems like one of those things that the dealer will never hear.


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## NBrehm (Jun 27, 2011)

It can happen on any car when you drag the brakes partially. Normally it is caused by brake dust. Try washing it down with brake clean. If you are not feeling pulsation in the steering wheel it is nothing to worry about. Normally once you get them up to temp once during your drive it will go away.


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## 72oly300 (Apr 9, 2011)

I have a grunt/groan, sometimes a sqeal. Low speed - typically in a driveway or tight parking lot situation. As long as your brake pedal "feels" normal and the vehicle is stopping in a normal fashion - the usual pedal effort and travel, not pulling to the right or left, etc - you are fine.


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## thaicruze (Jul 21, 2011)

Yes. I should say that the breaks themselves feel completely normal. 

I thought it's was a noise coming from a bus outside. I drove it again last night and it didn't do it. It did it while I was in bumper to bumper traffic moving at snail speed. 

Does the Cruze's brake assist actually apply the brake when you are not pushing the brake? Like when the car is on an incline?


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## MikeW (Nov 29, 2010)

I noticed a slight noise from my brakes couple months ago. Took it in and the dealership turned front discs and rear drums, cleaned everything up, and put it all back together. I picked it up and they were as quiet as the day I picked it up. That lasted about 3 weeks. The noise has returned and the it is going back in next week.


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## thaicruze (Jul 21, 2011)

MikeW said:


> I noticed a slight noise from my brakes couple months ago. Took it in and the dealership turned front discs and rear drums, cleaned everything up, and put it all back together. I picked it up and they were as quiet as the day I picked it up. That lasted about 3 weeks. The noise has returned and the it is going back in next week.


Hmm. Haven't seen ones with drums. Mine are all disks. 

This is mine










It was a strange noise. Don't know how to describe it. Maybe because it has been raining non stop since I bought it. It's been through mud and puddles for 1,000km straight.


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## thaicruze (Jul 21, 2011)

Well. I drove it all day today in the mud and rain, I did about 60 miles, I tried to make it happen again, but nothing. Quiet as a mouse. 

Might have been just one of them things. Ah well. We love our Cruze.


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## Jerry (Oct 4, 2012)

Same problem with our 2011 Cruze (drums in rear). Some describe the sound as a clicking, but ours sounds pretty loud, like a banging of metal on metal. Dealer first turned the drums. No help. Next they remounted one rear tire to bring "road force" within specs. No help. Today they tell me tech support advised them to replace the RR wheel cylinder...even though the sound appears to be coming from the LR. We shall see. At any rate, new cars should not produce clicking or banging sounds when braking.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

They replaced my brake pads and lubed up the front caliper slide pins really well, which has solved the problem (for now). It started at about 1200 miles for me. Hopefully it'll go a lot longer than another 1200 if it comes back.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

This is a line drawing from the European Cruze shop manual. If the Cruze are using the same drum brakes in the USA, have no idea since I have four wheel disk brakes.
View attachment 7903


GM vehicles in the 90's to mid 00's used a huge about 1/4" diameter "C" shaped spring that was rather difficult to install to pull the two shoes together. This design dates back to the 40's to mid 80's using the much smaller springs, and those retainer springs to hold down the shoes.

My 04 Cavalier uses that newer "C" spring design, it not only pulls the shoes together but also puts a great deal of inward force on the shoes. And that bottom anchor has a plate on it so the shoes cannot move in or out. At 55K miles, was getting some noise, was just a small amount of corrosion at the anchors, cleaned that and coated them with anti-seize, with over a 110K on it now, still good, practically no wear on the rear drums at 55K, but we tend to down shift and don't fly up to a stop sign where you have to slam on the brakes. Seems everyone drives that way.

This older design with those weak springs were problematic, always had to replace them with new when doing a brake job, and required anti-seize where the shoes hit the backing plates, contacted the cylinder, the adjuster, and in particular, that kind of lower anchor.

Did the Cruze go back to this older design on rear drums? If they did, even makes me more happier I have four wheel disks. Now is the time to also put anti-seize where the drum meets the hub. If you don't, will be spending a half a day trying to remove the drums. They rust on solid as a rock. Why can't GM and others do that?


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Jerry said:


> Same problem with our 2011 Cruze (drums in rear). Some describe the sound as a clicking, but ours sounds pretty loud, like a banging of metal on metal. Dealer first turned the drums. No help. Next they remounted one rear tire to bring "road force" within specs. No help. Today they tell me tech support advised them to replace the RR wheel cylinder...even though the sound appears to be coming from the LR. We shall see. At any rate, new cars should not produce clicking or banging sounds when braking.




Jerry,
I would like to apologize for the issues that you have had with your brakes. I would like you to keep me posted on the outcome of your service appointment. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact me anytime.
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## cabby316 (Dec 7, 2012)

It seems to be a problem for quit a few Cruzes. I'll be going in to my dealership for 3rd time.


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## Jordy927 (Jan 4, 2013)

cabby316 said:


> It seems to be a problem for quit a few Cruzes. I'll be going in to my dealership for 3rd time.


I was in for the fourth time yesterday. Today its still creaking/groaning.

They adjusted lubed and cleaned the shoes than resurfaced the rear drums, removed a rock and resurfaced the front rotors the first time.
Second time they ordered a new set of wheel covers
Third time they resurfaced the drums and lubed the shoes again
yesterday they replaced all the shoes pads rotors and drums....still has the issue.

This is not normal...I have had about 4 trucks and 8 cars with drum brakes, and some of them I paid 100 bucks for. I have never had brakes make sounds like this. 

Obviously the sound is not normal, they have spent quite a bit of money at the dealership to correct it under warranty.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

A small stone between a rotor and its shield can make a heck of a noise. Applying brakes puts stress on all the suspension and drivetrain components.

My old 78 Cadillac almost drove me nuts, a terrible noise when applying the brakes. Unbelievable, the four bolts holding the flywheel cover on were all a quarter of a turn loose. On my 2004 Cavalier, it was the upper strut bearings, never lubricated from the factory, found rusty balls on the inside. Only heard that noise when hitting the brakes. Something is wrong. Other vehicles,was the CV joints or control rod bushings.


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## Jordy927 (Jan 4, 2013)

NickD said:


> A small stone between a rotor and its shield can make a heck of a noise. Applying brakes puts stress on all the suspension and drivetrain components.
> 
> My old 78 Cadillac almost drove me nuts, a terrible noise when applying the brakes. Unbelievable, the four bolts holding the flywheel cover on were all a quarter of a turn loose. On my 2004 Cavalier, it was the upper strut bearings, never lubricated from the factory, found rusty balls on the inside. Only heard that noise when hitting the brakes. Something is wrong. Other vehicles,was the CV joints or control rod bushings.


lol...I had an 04 cavalier....

The rotors were made of lead I believe...I replaced those every 15-20K km...the strut bushings were also not much better...they lasted a whole year most of the time.

Problem is that nothing they have done has fixed the issue. It still groans as your coming to a stop. Like you forgot to remove the e-brake and reverse, you get that scrubbing squeaky and groan. But only when your using the hydraulic side...if you stop using the e-brake it doesn't make the sound. Its definitely from the rear. I think its a matter of just shaving the leading edge of the brake shoe at the top where its hydraulically actuated, as it doesn't do it when actuated from the bottom by the e-brake. Just a chamfer on the shoe at the top edge....but that's modifying a part...techs at gm aren't trained to do that sort of thing....they just repair by replacement or stare at the tech II.


I'm still suprised that people think that there are official quirks with they're $20K car. Its a cheap car yes....but it's still 20 grand....

ah sir...our bank has a quirk and every so often you will lose 500 bucks out of your account....now sir please deposit your cash here...what? no sir...its just 500 bucks...and its not like it happens every day...

same thing....little quirks cost you money...and rear brakes are much more than 500 bucks if you cant fix them yourself.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

I've left mine alone for the time being, but the noise is still certainly there. I took it in once and they turned the front rotors, replaced the front pads, and lubed everything. Came back about 1500 miles later. Now that it's cold out and I don't put the window down, I'll worry about it in the spring and hopefully they will have found some sort of fix. I think new calipers are in order this time around, as there must be a tolerance flaw in random ones that cause the pad or caliper to move around/vibrate.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Does this problem happen on all disc cars as well? In 5,000km my brakes have been faultless, although the Diesel Cruze does use bigger rotors front and back.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

Aussie said:


> Does this problem happen on all disc cars as well? In 5,000km my brakes have been faultless, although the Diesel Cruze does use bigger rotors front and back.


Yes, I have four wheel discs. The sound seems to come completely from the front though, and the front discs are common with the rear drum cars.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Still have that 2004 Cavalier with 120K miles on it. Old upper strut bearings died at 36K mile, out of warranty, took them apart and they were never lubricated, loose balls were solid rust. New ones at 20 bucks each were also never lubricated. Used high temperature wheel bearing grease, packed it full within the races and thick silicone grease on the top. Still problem free 84K miles later.

At 60K miles replaced both the rotors and front pads, cleaned up everything and used anti-seize as the lubricant. Cost almost as much to get rotors turned as to buy new ones. Rears show no wear at all, but needed a good cleaning and also anti-seize for lubricant. Brake are still quiet and in good shape at 120K miles. Also put on Dunlop tires at 60K, what a difference from those noisy Goodyears. Dunlops came with an 80K mile thread wear warranty.

Two problems at 80K miles, fuel evaporative system popped up a check engine lamp. Problem was in the vent valve located at the rear of the tank, couldn't close because it was blocked with carbon bits from the canister, cleaned that and put it back on, problem free ever since. That band that holds the muffler rusted through, repaired that with a piece of steel band and painted it. Put that back on, Changed the plugs about 3-4 times.

Wife forced the mode control on the climate control bending the cable, new one was 12 bucks, told her never to force it again, let the engine warm up first. Moisture gets in there at sub zero weather.

That sums up the maintenance on this car besides oil and filter changes.

Hope the Cruze is just as good. But I do fear that climate control system, instruct my wife to switch off the blower when she parks it and to set the mode control, and don't touch it until the car warms up. Fear those electric motors will burn out with frost jams. Also power windows, seats, side view mirrors, ABS, tire monitoring system, electric power steering, etc., can also give problems.

If you ain't got it, won't have problems with it. And have a different attitude on convenience, not very convenient if it breaks down.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

When I was looking for problems with the Cruze, found this:

"SUSPENSION:FRONT 


*Date Reported* NOVEMBER 01 2010
*NHTSA Reference* #10037547
*TSB Reference* #SB-10381
 *Description:* GM: THERE MAY BE A SQUEAK DURING STEERING AND THERE IS A SERVICE PROCEDURE TO LUBRICATE THE STRUTS. 2011 CRUZ. *RM
Repair Information for NHTSA #10037547"

That gave me the hint there is also problems with the upper strut bearings with the Cruze. Not being too critical, guys working for the NHTSA, EPA, DOT are not the brightest in the world, would never make it in the private industry where a profit has to be make. But do tend to be rather arrogant.

If like my 2004 Cavalier, not only were the upper strut bearing not lubricated, the races made of stamped sheet metal were never tempered. Instead of being round, were oval. I did check the new races, they were tempered.

Also take anything I read from the NHTSA with grain of salt, you never lubricate struts, and squeak was far more like a chunk when braking. I never had a course in political engineering, but apparently these guys did. Tempered steel springs back, not tempered does not, did have a course on stress analysis with Young's Modulus of Elasticity.

With your dealer fooling around the the brakes and still having a the same problem kind of hints the problem is elsewhere. Was tempted to pull the upper strut bearings on my new Cruze, but since the Cruze adopted putting yellow marks on the bolts, elected not to do so, not that dumb enough to void the warranty.

Also a nebulous TSB on debris getting into those bearings, does have a round seal, but in an oval hole won't seal. Suggesting spraying that with silicone is idiotic, but will work for a couple of weeks..


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

There is a replacement front strut for Cruzen manufactured before December 2011 that addresses some of these odd noises. I believe XR is waiting for the parts for his ECO.


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## Jordy927 (Jan 4, 2013)

NickD said:


> Hope the Cruze is just as good. But I do fear that climate control system, instruct my wife to switch off the blower when she parks it and to set the mode control, and don't touch it until the car warms up. Fear those electric motors will burn out with frost jams. Also power windows, seats, side view mirrors, ABS, tire monitoring system, electric power steering, etc., can also give problems.
> 
> If you ain't got it, won't have problems with it. And have a different attitude on convenience, not very convenient if it breaks down.


yeah, there are a lot of options on the Cruze to go wrong.

Something to be said for simple systems.

Yeah, those old j-body cars are pretty trouble free... My brakes and struts were a regular maintenance item...but everything else was pretty reliable.

But having said that...parts were cheap as dirt too.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Since my son just laid out 13 grand for 4" of dirt on his lot, I don't say dirt cheap anymore. About 30 years ago paid a buck and a quarter for black dirt, today its more like 20 bucks for a cubic yard.

Does Chevy replace the entire strut assembly or just the defective part. Only thing that was bad on mine was the strut bearing, need a spring compressor to change that. The strut, spring seat, spring, upper hardware was all in good shape.

It's like having a defective climate control panel blower motor switch, only held in with two screws. Guess they figure a mechanic doesn't own a screwdriver. Have to buy the entire climate control panel for several hundred bucks. 

Was going to fight with GM even out of warranty for that bad from the factory strut bearing. But for 20 bucks, wasn't worth my effort. As I said, at least the new ones had tempered races, but still not a drop of grease in them.

Finding the same thing in these belt drive ball bearings, no grease. Even worse is using plastic cages that overheat and seize the balls stranding you in the middle of nowhere, take those back. Second best is spot welded cages, those welds break loose. Best is riveted, that is all I would use, but getting difficult to find.

With hub bearings, no choice, have to trust them, and you wonder why we have problems.


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## Jordy927 (Jan 4, 2013)

NickD said:


> Since my son just laid out 13 grand for 4" of dirt on his lot, I don't say dirt cheap anymore.
> 
> 
> > That's funny
> ...


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## PilotMike (Jun 17, 2014)

Yeah I have had the same "grumbling" noise when i first begin to pull out of a parking lot. It is sudden and happens for a split second after applying the gas. At first it almost felt like the ABS possibly going off.. i'll ask about it on at my next service.


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## winks79 (Dec 20, 2013)

You are probably hearing/feeling the ABS check that these cars do right after you start them and pull off. You will hear a clunking sound and may even feel it in the pedal for just a second. This is nothing to be concerned about, it is normal.


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## kim_1124 (Nov 1, 2021)

thaicruze said:


> Hmm. Haven't seen ones with drums. Mine are all disks.
> 
> This is mine
> 
> ...


Mine has front disc, rear drum. 2015 LT


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

kim_1124 said:


> Mine has front disc, rear drum. 2015 LT


This is a really oid post. With a couple of exceptions, most have not been online here in some time. Unless you want to add a solution to an unanswered question, try and keep to the newer posts or even start your own if you like.


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