Whistling from front driver side

KAYFAY

MEMBER
2018 KIA FORTE
AUTOMATIC
38,000 MILES

I had an issue with my brakes a few months ago and had the pads and rotors replaced. Since then, there has been a quiet whistling sound coming from the front driver's side. It’s quiet enough that it can be drowned out by the air conditioning or the radio. My car is also noticeably bumpier while driving. I took it back to the mechanic who fixed my brakes, but he wasn’t able to find any problems (though he also couldn’t tell me exactly what he checked when I asked later). Any ideas what this could be?

Also in advance, I don’t have anyone who can drive with me to record the sound.

7 Replies

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Just to be clear the noise is only there when the vehicle is moving. If that is the case, do you know what type of brakes were used? More than likely they were semi metallic.

Here is a guide that will help with whistle noises but I suspect this is a brake noise so it may not apply:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-whistling-noise

More than likely if you have ceramic pads installed the noise will stop but it is not something that you have to do.

Basically, what happens is when your rotors are turning the pads are slightly dragging making contact and due to them having metal in them, they cause a noise.

If this is the cause, what I would do is not worry about it for now and then the next time they are changed, just use ceramic.

Let me know if you can get a part number of the pads you used, and I can look it up to find out what they are.

Thanks

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Thursday, March 24th, 2022 AT 4:39 PM

KAYFAY

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4 POSTS

Yes, it's only while moving, and it usually starts once the car hits around 35 MPH. Sometimes it sounds lower in pitch, more like a whirring sound. Also, would the metal pads cause the bumpiness?

The number for the pads on the invoice is 171828, though I'm not sure if that's the part number or some in-house number.

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Thursday, March 24th, 2022 AT 6:17 PM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

This issue does sound like they are semi metallic pads, but the bumpiness would not be related to the pads. Do you only feel this when you are pressing the brakes? If that is the case, does it feel like the pedal is pushing back on you or that you feel the pedal vibrating?

If that is the case, then the rotors are warped. Did they replace the rotors as well or machine them or did they just replace the pads?

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Saturday, March 26th, 2022 AT 9:37 AM

KAYFAY

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4 POSTS

No, the bumpiness is all the time. It's not major, it's just more noticeable than it was before the brakes were fixed. They did replace the rotors along with the pads.

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Saturday, March 26th, 2022 AT 10:43 AM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Okay. Then here is my suspicion as to what has happened: Granted I have not seen the vehicle and only basing this on what you are telling me, but I think the noise you are hearing is due to the new pads and may get better as they wear down a little. It may not but it is not a problem but if it is annoying then you would have to have them changed again.

The vibration that you are feeling is most likely a tire issue. Did they happen to rotate the tires when they did the brakes? If so, the front tires may have a wear pattern on them that you are now feeling but because they were on the rear of the vehicle, you didn't feel it.

Here is a guide of what to look for on tire wear:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-car-tires-work

Below is a chart that talks about the same thing.

I may be way off, but I have a feeling this is the issue.

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