Q: Squealing noise at front wheels when slowly accelerating or coasting?

asked by on November 15, 2016

When I accelerate, I can hear a screechy sound coming from front tires/axle. When I hit around 45 mph, it stops, but when I am coasting along at 10-30 mph, it also does it. Is this something that needs to be checked or are these just "car noises"?

My car has 145,000 miles My car has an automatic transmission.

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Hello. The sounds you are hearing are likely related to the brakes. There are tabs that are manufactured onto brake pads. These are called wear indicators and they are doing exactly what they are designed to do. When the brake pad wears down to the point it needs to be changed, the wear indicator is exposed. When the brakes are applied or the car is driving slowly enough, you can hear the audible warning that the pads need to be changed. If you inspect the brake pads, and the wear indicators on the sides of the pads are not exposed, you may be looking at a different issue. Something is obviously stuck in the wheel somewhere and a thorough visual inspection may be the best way to find the issue at that point.

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