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I recently replaced the rear brake pads, rotors, and all hardware clips on my 2007 Lexus ES350. Right after the work, both rear wheels began making a metallic grinding/rubbing sound while coasting at low speed. It’s not a squeal and it’s not only when I press the pedal—it’s a steady metal-on-metal scrape that was loudest on the first drive and has gotten a little quieter after a few miles, but it’s still clearly noticeable. The first set of new rotors even left metal flakes, so I replaced them with a different brand. The second set made the same grinding/rubbing sound, just without flakes.
To rule things out, I removed the entire brake assembly on each side. I loosened the parking-brake adjuster until the rotors spun silently with the caliper and pads off, so the e-brake shoes are not touching. I then cleaned and reinstalled the caliper brackets, pads, and calipers. I checked the slide pins—they move smoothly with just a slight suction feel from the rubber boots, no binding or stiffness. After reassembly and proper torque, the noise persisted exactly the same.
I also double-checked the hardware setup. Using the same clip layout with the old pads and rotors, I confirmed the old parts made no noise at all. The only difference when reinstalling the old hardware was that I used one squeal clip on each pad instead of two. Despite matching the previous clip arrangement otherwise, the grinding/rubbing remained.
So far I know the parking brake isn’t dragging, the slide pins are free, and the rotors are brand new and evenly torqued. The grinding remains only with the calipers installed and is loudest at low speed while coasting. I’m wondering if the problem is something subtle like the dust shield touching the rotor, a rotor that isn’t sitting perfectly flush on the hub, or a pad or clip alignment issue that isn’t obvious when everything is apart.
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