There are 2 major causes of brake grinding. When your brakes are making a loud grinding sound when you press on the pedal, this is almost always caused by contact of the rotor disc with part of the caliper. This is usually because of extreme wear to the brake pads or rotors.

With so many variables, our general rule for changing brake pads is pretty broad: they should be changed every 20,000 60,000 miles. Keep in mind that front brakes do most of the heavy lifting, so those pads will need to be changed more often than the back ones.

Here are some signs you need new brakes:1. You hear a squealing noise.2. You hear a clicking noise.3. Bringing the car to a stop takes more time than it used to.4. The nose of your car pulls to one side when you brake.5. The brake pedal vibrates when pressed.