My car makes a metal on metal sound when driving at high or low speeds. Sounds like front wheel are but hard to be certain. It comes and goes and pressing the brakes doesnt cause it or make it go away. All the brake components: pads, rotors, parking brake have been changed. In hopes that was the issue as my mechanic could not find what the cause was. It didn’t do it for 2 weeks after I got the vehicle back but is happening again.

A dust shield is responsible for keeping debris, such as rocks or water, from contacting or getting trapped on your rotor. It’s especially helpful in areas and climates where vehicles are prone to rust. For example, the dust shield minimizes large splashes of water that could contact your rotor so it won’t rust as quickly.

Have you been hearing a scraping, scratching, or grinding noise while driving or turning your car? Our mechanic shows you how to identify what’s causing that scraping noise coming from your wheel while driving in this article and video.

Inspect your brake pads’ thickness. Typically, brake pads are 8 to 10 millimeters thick. If you think the pads are too worn, you may need or want to replace them, along with your rotor.

Check your wheel bearings for any play, which may cause your rotor to shift and contact the dust shield. In this case, the scraping noise may be more apparent when you’re turning. You may also notice that your rotor’s edge has rusted unevenly because of that play.

Safely raise your vehicle off the ground with a jack and jack stands so you can inspect the area where the scraping noise is coming from.

After gently prying the dust shield away from the rotor, go for a test drive to find out if the scraping noise has stopped. If it hasn’t, you’ll probably need to replace your rotor and pads.

If you find that your brake pads and rotor look like they don’t need to be replaced yet, you can instead gently pry the dust shield away from the rotor with a flat blade screwdriver. That will prevent it from contacting the rotor until you do replace your brake pads and rotor.