A grinding sound when you brake almost always means the brake pads are completely worn through and the metal backing plate is now scraping the rotor. Every stop is doing more damage to the rotor and your stopping distance is getting longer. This needs attention immediately.
Grinding brakes mean reduced stopping power and rapid damage with every stop. Drive directly to a shop or your driveway and stop using the car. If you must continue, leave more space than usual and avoid highway driving.
Brake pads are made of friction material on a steel backing plate. When the friction material wears away, the steel backing plate grinds directly against the rotor. This is the most common cause of grinding by far.
Get a Full Diagnosis →Once pads have worn through, the rotor gets deep grooves cut into it. A scored rotor needs to be replaced - it cannot be safely resurfaced if the grooves are too deep.
Get a Full Diagnosis →A caliper that does not slide freely wears one pad faster than the other. The inboard or outboard pad wears down to metal much faster while the other looks fine.
Get a Full Diagnosis →A pebble or chunk of road debris stuck between the pad and rotor sounds like grinding too. Less common, but possible. Usually shows up suddenly after a drive on a gravel road.
Get a Full Diagnosis →Tell us your car and what the grinding sounds like - we will tell you what to expect at the shop, what fair pricing looks like, and which questions to ask.
Get My AI Repair Report →$5.99 - covers your specific car, your symptoms, and the most likely fix with parts and price ranges.
You should not drive far at all. Every stop is grinding metal into the rotor and reducing your stopping power. Get to a shop within a day - and avoid highways and heavy traffic.
Pads and rotors on one axle is typically $250-450 at a shop, more for larger SUVs and luxury cars. Both axles run $500-900. If you wait too long, you may also need a caliper at $200-500 per side.
Hard braking pushes the pad harder against the damaged area of the rotor or pushes worn pads deeper into contact with the rotor. The grinding worsens with pressure because metal-on-metal contact increases. Either way - new pads, soon.
Usually no. Once the rotor has scoring or grooves, new pads will not seat properly - they will squeal, vibrate, and wear out in a fraction of their normal life. Replace pads and rotors as a set.