Strange Brake Noise?

[TheDon]

after driving the car for the first time in 3 months i am a little bit disturbed by a noise that i am hearing.

When braking at slow speeds with either high or low pressure applied to the pedal i am experiencing a creak followd by a "light clunk" type noise in the final second before stopping.

I did wonder if it was the pads moving for the clunk but that would not explain the creak.

Both the discs and pads are less than 6 months old and are mintex types.

Could this be related to the hub bearings? im not sure. i have heard about ball joints etc going but forget their symptoms.

any help apreciated B)

[jason_l]

sounds similar to what i have on mine!!!!

been like it for ages. makes a clunking noise when braking and turning at slow speeds, got told it was the ball joints and changed them, but its still making the noise!!!!!

[TheDon]

yeah, its a strange sound and difficult to place. it has to be something on the brake mounting assembly in some way,or even connected to that area.

[Rob]

do something for me:

car stationary, move forward a bit apply brakes (enough to stop) - what happens?

repeat but go backwards - what happens?

[jason_l]

i take it you have coilovers?? cause i don't. so if you have them and you are still getting it we can rule out that, and it aint your pads or discs, so something to do with the assembly i guess???

[SHAHZ]

I had this problem this around this time last year, got sorted at lex croydon in jun/jul...was sorted until car went in for some warrenty work in november(woodford).....for no reason they took my pads out to put some white paste stuff on the back off them....still no niose....not long afer it started again....went in under warrenty again earlier this year but still does it....if it aint broken dont try to fix it comes to mind....just aint got around to dealing with it yet....i think it was the shim kit that was replaced when it was sorted at croydon

[jason_l]

so did the shim kit solve the problem????? or has it come back????

[SHAHZ]

Yeah mate it did, until woodford took it apart again

[jason_l]

do you know how much the shim kit is? might have to invest in one, knowing my luck its going to be £1000 just because it has lexus/toyota printed on the side! :)

[SHAHZ]

do you know how much the shim kit is? might have to invest in one, knowing my luck its going to be £1000 just because it has lexus/toyota printed on the side!     :)

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Mine was done on warrenty, im sure ive got the invoice will check tonight when i get home....i dont think it was that much around £50ish (just the part) if i remember right this time round im gonna have to pay it

[jason_l]

Thanks Shahz :P

[paul mach1]

sounds similar to what i have on mine!!!!

been like it for ages. makes a clunking noise when braking and turning at slow speeds, got told it was the ball joints and changed them, but its still making the noise!!!!!

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mine makes a creaking noise at the front when turning and braking aswell. I also would have thought it could be wear in the balljoints, but I know there are other joints in the front that if they had a small amount of wear or the joints were dry, it could cause this symptom. I personally have never found it bad enough to warrant further investigation as there seems to be no detrimental effect on the steering, but if I do have a look and find anything I'll post it. The IS is, IMO,a lovely car, but it is not without it's flaws. I find the gearbox notchy when cold,the brakes on the soft side, it feels like it tramps a bit if you have four people in and hit a series of bumps on a corner, and I have had creaks in the sunroof when it is cold, and of course the creaks in the front end. Thing is though, I've driven loads of cars, I do a bit of work looking after cars on film and TV productions, most of them placement(brand new cars supplied by the dealers for the purpose of advertising) and I can't think of one car anywhere near the IS price range that I would swap the Lexus for. They all have faults and noises, it's just everyone expects so much of their Lexus.I'll stick with mine!

[TheDon]

hmm, will take the pads out at the weekend and have a damn good look i think just to see if there is anything at all.

cheers for the responses guys

[Rob]

ahem!

go forward a few metres btw

do something for me:

car stationary, move forward a bit apply brakes  (enough to stop) - what happens?

repeat but go backwards - what happens?

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[TheDon]

car is still in body shop. will do this sunday or saturday

[NIcad7]

I have the same problem when braking just before i come to stop or apply a fair amount of pressure i get a 'clunk' sound.

Has only just started over the past week!!!!

if any of you find out what it is please let us know!

[Rob]

it is the pad slightly moving in the caliper bracket, just take the pads out, clean them then apply a small amount of copper grease or ceramic paste to the ends of the the pad backing pads.

[crazylex]

i had same problem, it really p***d me off for ages. Garage (not lex) said the pads springs were missing, Charged £ 37 - yes £ 37 for them + fitting. I had not had it long and did not know what they were. Anyway it stop for a bit and came back.

Changed brake pads my self about 3 months ago , and when I saw the springs the words "robbin b*****ds came to mind.

Never heard it since. But I think its just a case a copper grease on the back.

Just grease the back of the pad and the shims - the instructions to change pads are in the technical part of this website - its incredibly easy.

Minor set back today (nothing to do with clanking brakes) more like glowing brakes :

Unfortunately, when washing the mud off this morning after sons football game, could not see front wheel for steam.

Top piston in caliper not pulling/sucking back when pedal released.

Seems OK now after 20 minutes of pedal pressing and pushing it back in

[TheDon]

well i have re-fitted the anti squeal shims and all seems to be fine now with regards to the brake squea.

And while i was fitting them i took a little bit of spray PTFE grease and applied it to each of the moving joints in the front end assembly.

the creak has since vanished! im assuming it was a dry joint now. i will keep an eye out tho! or is that an ear?

[SHAHZ]

do you know how much the shim kit is? might have to invest in one, knowing my luck its going to be £1000 just because it has lexus/toyota printed on the side!     :)

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sorry Jason, youve probably already sorted it but it was 20+VAT :)

[Fever]

I have the creaking and clunking noises too...its coming from the front end when the car is coming to a stop, can be worse if the wheel is turned at the time or you hit a speed hump!...it's definately brake related though!

Trouble is, last week, i took the front brakes apart cleaned everything up and copper greased all the shims and pads, but the problem is still there....I wish I could get to the bottom of it! People standing near the car as I'm stopping must think its falling apart!!

>>>Chris, where did you get the anti-squeal shims from and how much did they set you back?

Like Zee said in a post on another thread, I'm gonna take a look at the metal gaurd that surrounds the discs too, could be some contact going on there!

P.S. I think this thread should be kept alive as a lot of members are reporting this problem at the moment...a list of resolutions and suggestions at the end of it would be good!!

[TheDon]

well one thing i did was to spray grease (liquid lithium) onto every single joint of the front end suspension and steering system and it went away

could just be dry joints etc?

[Zed82]

Please help me with this! I´m embarassed every time it creaks!! It´s a Lexus for gods sake!

BTW, does anyone know if the sound is hearable from outside?

[jasestu]

Please help me with this! I´m embarassed every time it creaks!! It´s a Lexus for gods sake!

BTW, does anyone know if the sound is hearable from outside?

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Ummm, tried winding the window down and listening?

[Zed82]

Please help me with this! I´m embarassed every time it creaks!! It´s a Lexus for gods sake!

BTW, does anyone know if the sound is hearable from outside?

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Ummm, tried winding the window down and listening?

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Yes i did, but i can´t determine if it is hearable from outside....