Hi all,

So I have a 2007 Civic EX Sedan. I live in New Jersey and today we have a major snow storm coming through.

I was started my car earlier today and let it warm up for a few minutes then started to drive in my development before going on the main street.

When I tried braking to slow down for the speed bumps I could hear a vibration and scraping type sound coming from the front brakes with some steering wheel shake. This happened every time as I depressed the brakes towards the bottom of the pedal.

Is this caused my snow or ice forming inside the wheel? This can't be normal as my previous car (Acura Integra) never had this problem.

I didn't bother to drive anywhere because of this.

I plan on taking it to the dealer but want to know if anyone may have had a similar problem or know what the issue may be?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

If you have quite a bit of travel in your brake pedal and a scraping sound, I would say they are no brake lining left of the front pad/s.

You should have heard that before the storm.

I doubt it would have anything to do with snow and ice, it was a good idea to park it until you have it checked out.

 

Thanks for the reply.

Actually I didn't hear any noises or sounds from the front brakes until today.

 

Just had a similar problem last week on my mom's civic. She called me all worried because she got on the highway coming home from work and said she couldn't drive over 40 MPH because the car would shake horribly. This was right after a snow storm and freezing temps. I went over and she took my car to work and I put hers in the garage with torpedo heater for an hour or so to melt all the snow. Took it up on the highway and no problems doing 70. It builds up inside the rims and creates an unbalance. If you didn't have these problems before the storm than chances are this could be your issue.

 

Thanks for the reply.

I wasn't even going as fast as 40 mph but more like 10 mph. The vibration and noises came only when I depressed the brake pedal to almost the max.

I will check the wheels tomorrow. Unfortunately I don't have a garage or heater to melt the snow/ice

 

THIS ^

Snow/Ice is probably formed and stuck to a part of the wheel and has become unbalanced.

My first idea was maybe you were actually hitting the ABS? Do you now what the ABS feels like when it engages? It generally doesn't feel pleasant.

 

Hi Jon,

No I never has a car with ABS. So not sure if that would be the cause.

Would it be similar to what I'm describing?

I will take it out for a drive tomorrow and see if it does the same thing.

Thanks.

 

Everything except for the scraping noise is normal, first i would check around the brake pads, maybe you have a rock or piece of Ice stuck in between the brake pad and rotor. If that isn't the case, drive on normal plowed road and see what happens, if you were driving on Ice or really packed snow it's possible the ABS was coming on instantly.

 

My guess is your development is like mine and by all stop signs and speed bumps snow collects, and whenever I even lightly hit the brakes it will kick in abs, and yes it almost feels like vibrations and an almost uncontrollable shake in the steering wheel, especially if the car doesn't stop right away, I'd say try to take it where you have a clear patch of road, and try the brakes, abs is scary feeling, especially the first couple times, I feel ya on the nj snow, 32 inches all around my car when I got out,