[redneckversaguy]

My 2012 versa sedan makes noise in the rear drums when the brakes are applied lightly. I took it to the dealership while it was under warranty but they said all they could do was clean it out since they saw nothing wrong. It's out of warranty now and I want to do something about the noise. I was thinking about just changing the shoes but idk if that will take care of the noise. Ideas???

 

[Kennethbokor]

My 2012 versa sedan makes noise in the rear drums when the brakes are applied lightly. I took it to the dealership while it was under warranty but they said all they could do was clean it out since they saw nothing wrong. It's out of warranty now and I want to do something about the noise. I was thinking about just changing the shoes but idk if that will take care of the noise. Ideas???

Hi I have a 2008 Versa which I purchased as used dealer demo in spring 2009. In the fall of that year I had a lot of squealing noise from the rear drums/shoes. Turns out it was the type of shoes that Nissan was providing at the time that caused the noise. They were not low in thickness. The materials used in some types of cheaper pads/shoes can promote more noise. Nissan changed the shoes for me under warranty with a different oem set that solved the problem. I believe there was even a TSB out on this as well.

In your case, could be something similar in the composite materials making up the shoes. I know in the mornings or sometimes after sitting for awhile in damp weather, there is a bit of rust build up which wears off quickly and can promote some noise.

My opinion is if the shoes are not low and triggering a wear indicator, the drums are not warped and you are off warranty, you may want to replace with Nissan-approved shoes. Going with cheaper aftermarket/non-oem shoes may not solve the noise issue. It's all about the composite materials in the shoes/pads.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[redneckversaguy]

I was thinking it was the material as well but wasn't sure if it would be worth trying to replace the shoes or not thanks for the input

 

[JoshG]

How is your car out of warranty already? Too many miles?

 

[redneckversaguy]

Warranty was for 36,000 miles and I just rolled over 38,000

 

[Paul79UF]

They may have used metallic drum shoes from the factory.

Some ceramic shoes should be a lot quieter.

If you do swap out the shoes, be sure to buy the drum brake spring tool.

My bro and I did the drums on my girl's Corolla and it was a pain with just needle nose pliers.

 

[stumbler]

I'm noticing an array of noises coming from mine (2012 sedan also). Sometimes grinding, sometimes a kind of howling. Mostly after driving the wet slushy roads and after parking overnight. I know you can get a film of rust but geez, its annoying...

 

[SammiMD]

I had the exact same issue - grinding from the front pads and squealing in the back pads. It gave me the sh*ts because I'd only recently replaced the disks and inspected the pads, so...

I took the pads off and inspected them and noticed two things -

1) There was very minimal pad wear
2) There were coppery specks and lines throughout the pad

The brake pads that the cars are sent out with from the factory is what we in Australia call a "taxi pad". They are designed to be long-lasting and hard-wearing - great for taxis but they aren't so good when it comes to performance - they don't stop anywhere near as efficiently and tend to make awful noises once the copper inner core is exposed. They also eat through disks at a high speed.

I replaced the pads on my brakes for Bendix Basics (let me know if you need a link to work out what model your car uses) and they have been beautiful ever since. No noises, perfect stopping, smooth as. I also wiped down my disks and drums with some methylated spirits just to clean off any brake dust or road dust that was on them as well.

So...the short story is....change your shitty factory pads for something that is decent quality and the noise will go away. You'll also notice that your brakes need less pressure to stop.

DON'T FORGET TO BLEED YOUR BRAKES WHEN YOU REPLACE THE PADS!

 

[SammiMD]

They may have used metallic drum shoes from the factory.

Some ceramic shoes should be a lot quieter.

If you do swap out the shoes, be sure to buy the drum brake spring tool.

My bro and I did the drums on my girl's Corolla and it was a pain with just needle nose pliers.

Agreed on the metallic shoes. Ceramics are a bit hard-core though unless you're changing out the disks as well for some nice slotted ones. I still have metallic ones on mine, just a decent brand.

Also, the Versa pads are pretty easy to "race change". That is - just drop the old pads out of the caliper without having to do anything too painful to change them. Simple as pull off the wheel, release the caliper bolts and flick the two pads out of the clips. You can then just clip the new pads in.

I would strongly advise bleeding the brakes though, because those factory pads are a LOT thicker than some nice Bendix ones, so the caliper needs to be tightened down onto the new pad.

 

[robj80]

What does the noise sound like? Drums are usually silent. Also the rear brakes wear much less then the fronts. Sorry your having an issue so soon with your car. I am at 121k miles and my stock brakes are dead quiet still and my front pads still have alot of meat. My rotors are on their way out though.

If were me I would take off the drum and inspect myself. I hope nissan didn't put crappy parts on the newer cars. I am so impressed with my stock parts I'm considering buying OEM when it is time to change despite the prices being triple of aftermarket companies.

 

[VinnieVersa]

Warranty was for 36,000 miles and I just rolled over 38,000

Just got my 1.8 HB 2011 back to the dealer a few miles under the 36K window and they are replacing the brake booster under warranty. Pedal was not responding 100% and intermittent on the pedal return.

 

[sooner4x4]

What does the noise sound like? Drums are usually silent. Also the rear brakes wear much less then the fronts. Sorry your having an issue so soon with your car. I am at 121k miles and my stock brakes are dead quiet still and my front pads still have alot of meat. My rotors are on their way out though.

If were me I would take off the drum and inspect myself. I hope nissan didn't put crappy parts on the newer cars. I am so impressed with my stock parts I'm considering buying OEM when it is time to change despite the prices being triple of aftermarket companies.

+1 on the quality of the factory brakes (on my 07). I recently did a thorough inspection of my brakes all around (60,000 miles) and the front pads have lots of material left. I anticipate over 100k miles on the front pads. The rears will go longer than that. I have never had a car that got that amount of service from the factory front pads/rotors.

With that being said, it is entirely possible Nissan went with a different supplier (cheaper) for their brake parts in the recent past, which could affect wear and noise in a negative way.

Back to the topic of brake noise. I had some brake noise front and rear prior to my inspection. What I found was dry (no lube) on the caliper pins, and the contact points on the back of the pads. Also the rear brake noise was a faint squeak when letting off of the brakes. I applied high temp brake grease to the contact points where the rear shoes contact the back plate, and I lubed the caliper pins and contact points on the back of the pads.

No more noise and excellent pedal feel.

 

[SammiMD]

+1 on the quality of the factory brakes (on my 07). I recently did a thorough inspection of my brakes all around (60,000 miles) and the front pads have lots of material left. I anticipate over 100k miles on the front pads. The rears will go longer than that. I have never had a car that got that amount of service from the factory front pads/rotors.

With that being said, it is entirely possible Nissan went with a different supplier (cheaper) for their brake parts in the recent past, which could affect wear and noise in a negative way.

Back to the topic of brake noise. I had some brake noise front and rear prior to my inspection. What I found was dry (no lube) on the caliper pins, and the contact points on the back of the pads. Also the rear brake noise was a faint squeak when letting off of the brakes. I applied high temp brake grease to the contact points where the rear shoes contact the back plate, and I lubed the caliper pins and contact points on the back of the pads.

No more noise and excellent pedal feel.

I had grinding in my front brakes during sustained braking and when wet. I inspected my brake pads and there was a LOT of meat left on them. However, as mentioned earlier, it was obvious they had been made out of a low-wear metal and the rubbing of the metal in the pad against the rotors was causing the horrific noise. A $60 upgrade to a decent set of Bendix pads all round has the grinding noise gone and my braking distance reduced.

OEM pads are never going to be as good as a decent upgrade.