QuestionQUESTION: I have a 2003 Hyundai Elantra with 4200 miles on it. Twice the car has developed a clicking sound in the rear, and twice the service department has worked on the brakes, first to "clean and adjust rear brake shoes", and second to"clean and adjust brakes cut drum". It's less than 2 months since the last work, and already the sound has returned. I don't think I should be having so many brake problems with a late model, low mileage car. I would appreciate any advice you can give me.
ANSWER: If you have a 2003 vehicle with only 4200 miles, I suspect that the largest part of the problem is that the vehicle is not driven very much. As the vehicle sits without being driven, rust accumulates on the braking surfaces, which can cause grinding or clicking noises as well as vibration when the brakes are applied.
I have two vehicles, with one of them used as a back-up to my primary vehicle. I make a habit of driving my back-up vehicle once a week about 35 miles round trip to work. This helps rub the rust back off the braking surfaces. If you drive your vehicle about once a week for a similar distance, that will help reduce the incidence of your problems. Also, if you have a garage but have been storing the vehicle outside, storing the vehicle in the garage will help minimize rust accumulation.
Hyundai also has a technical service bulletin (TSB) regarding a "chattering noise" when the brakes are applied. According to the TSB, the brake shoes should be replaced with part # 58305-2DF00, which has a revised composition from the original shoes. Unfortunately, since your vehicle is over a year old, the warranty on the brake shoes has expired, so if you wanted to have this done, you'd need to pay for the parts and labor to do it. If you decide you'd like to try the new shoes, be absolutely certain that the part # above is used. The original part (58305-2DA10) is still available, so if you just request a brake shoe replacement, you may get shoes with the same composition as those that were taken off.
If you'd like to read the TSB, you can do so at www.hmaservice.com. You'll need to register for a free account, and the site requires Internet Explorer.
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QUESTION: I understand your thorough, helpful response, and I guess the only question that remains for me is, why have I been able to drive the same way with my former cars and never had a problem. Do Hyundais have a different kind of brake?
AnswerI know of nothing different about the type of rear drum brakes used on Hyundais in comparison to other cars. Unfortunately, Hyundai doesn't specify any the difference in friction material composition in the TSB, so I cannot tell you what specifically has been changed.
The rusting I've talked about will occur with any car, but the noise your experiencing may be more likely to occur on your car for some unknown reason. Small variations in design can cause certain problems to be more likely to happen. A good technician can tell by looking at your brakes whether the noise indicates a problem that must be corrected or is simply an annoyance. Unfortunately, without seeing your brakes, I'm unable to offer such an opinion.
