Braking Sound 2002 QX4

[Israelpr]

I've recently noticed a sound coming from the back brakes when I apply the brake pedal. It's not a metal on metal or grinding sound....it's like a "whistling" sound kinda sorta. I recently had the front brake pads changed (about 2 months ago) but was told that the rear shoes were ok. Is this something I should be worried about? Is there something I should do? The vehicle stops fine, it's just the sound that's a bit concerning to me. Thanks.

[atraudes]

If it's only when you apply the brakes, they probably just need to be lubed or adjusted. Personally, I'd let it go for a week or two and have it looked at if it's still doing it.

[yeldogt]

Some shoes have little tabs that hit the drum to tell you they are low -- the OE's don't. Did the person who looked at your car actually take the drum off -- or did they try and look inside.

The only way to properly inspect is to remove the drum.

The rear drum brakes are the only thing I don't like about the Pathfinder -- I hate drum brakes. All three of mine have needed attention to the rear brakes on a regular basis ... drum brakes accumulate dust and moisture inside the drum.

last year at 80k I rebuilt my 02's -- new shoes and drums .. all new hardware and new cylinders. I noticed my parking brake was sticking. Drum brakes are designed to auto adjust when you back up -- often the adjuster stopes working. The drum brakes can last so long on the Pathfinder -- why .... because they are not working ... non working brakes don't wear out

[attofarad]

I've had noise like that happen on my wife's QX4 a couple of times. Both times were fixed by lubricating the appropriate points on the brake shoes, and of course cleaning and adjusting while I was at it. I don't know whether a shop did it before I met her at ~50k miles (don't think so), but I've only done it twice, and her car was at 200k last time I did it. That is something that should be done maybe every 30k miles or so, whether there is noise or not.