[Guest]

I have had my Nitro in the shop three times for what feels like the break rotors rubbing :shakehead:. It's what you would expect after say 30Kmiles...not at 1000/3000/5000 miles as is my case (10 mos/5k miles). Has anyone else had this problem :i_rolleyes: ? Also, when I release break the Nitro will buck almost as if to stall. Perhaps I'm being picky but i think there is something up. My Dodge dealer mechanic feels the same stuff but just can't figure it out. Thanks for any info anyone might have.

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

Hey GasserGuysNitro,
A few people have the same concerns, read this thread for more info...

http://www.nitroforumz.com/showthread.php?t=5098&highlight=brakes

 

[heavychevy]

I have had my Nitro in the shop three times for what feels like the break rotors rubbing :shakehead:. .

Now I own an auto repair shop and in all fairness "rubbing isn't a good description of your problem. Brakes rub so thats a natural thing and that rubbing which creates friction is what brings the car to a stop. Now the noise you hear does it have a metal to metal sound? Squeaking? squeal? Just it does do it when you apply the brake? One of the first rules of auto repair is to verify the customer complaint and back when I was a line tech in big dealerships we had the guys (service writers) who knew (in most cases) to ask the right question. If it is a metal to metal sound (just assuming because you have it at the dealer) it could be one of a dozen things. Now it's hard enough to diagnose a vehicle when you have it in front of you, really tough over the phone and near impossible in a one dementional format like the internet. It almost sounds like you may have a bad caliper. Never discount bad parts on a new car. If it wern't for new cars with bad parts dealership service departments would go belly up. I had an 07 Ford Fusion in a week ago some people on vacation stopped by and had a brake noise. The rear caliper would not release and the only sign anything was wrong was the noise. The outboard pad was fine but the inboard was almost gone. Nothing but half the metal backing plate left. Never pulled but had a little jerk when pulling from a light.
I would have them pull ALL the wheels and check inboard and outboard pads. The first thing I would do in that situation if I had the car in my shop is take it for a test drive and make several 60-0 stops and as soon as it rolled bay into the bay I'd break out my lazer thermometer and check all the rotor temps. Any rotor/caliper that is a problem will show a big temp differance from the rest of the brakes.

 

[HighVoltageNITRO]

heavychevy-I don't know what GasserGuysNitro is doing, but I can tell you a little more about mine.

I can get in a parking lot and drive around. I hit the brakes and bring the Nitro to a virtual crawl - lets say 1-2 mph. Then when I accelerate again to lets say 10-12 mph and let off the gas, my Nitro slows itself down again as if the brakes are dragging or exactly like you were driving a standard and it is in first gear... So, I don't know if the electronic control on the transmission is holding it in first gear and that is what I am feeling, or if the brakes are pulling it back down. I actually guess I could watch the tach, but only now have I thought about that.

Why don't you take yours for a spin in a parking lot or on deserted street and tell us what you feel. Mine just doesn't coast well at slow speeds. It seems to coast at 40 mph, but then again is does coast down in speed fairly quickly. I will put this another way. I am rarely off the throttle even in town on 40 mph streets, otherwise I wouldn't keep the posted speed.

 

[KenCary]

heavychevy-I don't know what GasserGuysNitro is doing, but I can tell you a little more about mine.

I can get in a parking lot and drive around. I hit the brakes and bring the Nitro to a virtual crawl - lets say 1-2 mph. Then when I accelerate again to lets say 10-12 mph and let off the gas, my Nitro slows itself down again as if the brakes are dragging or exactly like you were driving a standard and it is in first gear... So, I don't know if the electronic control on the transmission is holding it in first gear and that is what I am feeling, or if the brakes are pulling it back down. I actually guess I could watch the tach, but only now have I thought about that.

Why don't you take yours for a spin in a parking lot or on deserted street and tell us what you feel. Mine just doesn't coast well at slow speeds. It seems to coast at 40 mph, but then again is does coast down in speed fairly quickly. I will put this another way. I am rarely off the throttle even in town on 40 mph streets, otherwise I wouldn't keep the posted speed.

When you say yours does not coast well, do you mean in N or D?

I know mine coasts great when in neutral and with the clutch in. Even in 6th gear I tend to coast right along. Since our brakes are the same, this may be a tranny thing.

 

[HighVoltageNITRO]

I never have pressed very hard on my brakes. Never found the need. This morning I noticed a little noise when I pulled into a parking space at work. So I backed up and tried it again, this time really stepping on the brakes. Terrible noise. Sounds like grinding rocks, with pops and clicks and all kinds of things. I thought maybe it was a fluke, so I tried it again. Even worse! Now I know the front brakes do have a problem. So next week, I guess it's off to the dealership.

____________________________________________

Later today!. I went out and found some deserted roads. I pushed the vehicle harder that I ever normally drive it. 40 mph then emergency stops. The grinding noise went away after the third time. Now it is quiet when stopping. It stops better than it did this morning with less pedal effort, which is saying something because it never has required much.

So, I think the whole noise situation is simply noisy brake pads. In the future, I will put my brakes through a little more hard use. It seems to eliminate the noise. I have not been able to tell if it has eliminated the squeal I was hearing also.

 

[JOHNNY]

I have had my Nitro in the shop three times for what feels like the break rotors rubbing :shakehead:. It's what you would expect after say 30Kmiles...not at 1000/3000/5000 miles as is my case (10 mos/5k miles). Has anyone else had this problem :i_rolleyes: ? Also, when I release break the Nitro will buck almost as if to stall. Perhaps I'm being picky but i think there is something up. My Dodge dealer mechanic feels the same stuff but just can't figure it out. Thanks for any info anyone might have.

I am bringing back this thread for everyone might use it as reference and have this problem . We had the same problem on our 2 Nitro's sxt '07.

We have come to realise that it comes from the brake pads.
Dodge seems to use pads with high metallic content and that makes the gr-gr, jeek-jeek at low speeds. This is the reason these pads do not dust the wheel, and maybe they last longer.
When you are on a bad country road you will hear it more. When it started on my Nitro i heard it only on bumps but now it happens on old roads as well. Because the tiny vibrations make the pads hit the rotors, on all occasions at low speed when not braking.
If you turn slightly the steering wheel it goes off and then in sometime back on. If you hit the brakes the sound disappears as long as you keep the pedal pressed, cause then it closes the gap between the rotor and the pads.
The fix for this was to use ceramic brake pads or even better to match those with drilled / slotted rotors which are sold on E-bay for around 140 $ pair.
Dodge dealers will not perform this either because they are unaware or because they do not sell other parts than the original brake pads.

Threads report this screeching
http://www.nitroforumz.com/showthread.php?t=27598
http://www.nitroforumz.com/showthread.php?t=26871

http://www.nitroforumz.com/showthread.php?t=5174

http://www.nitroforumz.com/showthread.php?t=5098