Hi,

I bought a cheap little Fiat Uno a few weeks ago just as a little run around.

When the car is in motion (normally more than 10 miles per hour) there is a rubbing/squealing noise coming from the front end that makes the noise whether in gear or just free wheeling. When you jack up the front end, the wheels turn freely with no grating/rubbing noises. The noise is the same when the wheels are straight or turning.

She's a fiat uno 1.4 M reg

Anyone have any ideas of what it could be?

Hi, welcome to the forum!

Check that the tyres are the correct size - should be 155/70 on the standard 13" rims. If they are simply '155' then that implies they are '155/80'. This might give a rubbing noise on the plastic wheelarch liner. Likewise for larger widths such as 165/70.

But that doesn't account for the squealing noise... I suspect the wheel alignment and that you are actually hearing the tyres scrubbing/squealing on the road surface. What about in a concrete-floored multistorey carpark? If the wheel alignment is out, it will make a constant squealing there even if driving in a straight line.

So I suggest a trip to a wheel alignment shop - before starting on the alignment, get them to check the control arm balljoints (lower balljoints) both sides, since these are the most common cause (when worn-out) for the alignment to be wrong. The control arms are not expensive to replace these days, and you will notice a huge improvement in the steering and general stability once these are replaced and the alignment is correct.

Hope this gives you something to go on!
-Alex

I'm probably stating the obvious, but I would have the brakes checked out thoroughly too. Had the car been stood before it was bought by you? Is there any surface rust build up on inside/outsides of brake discs? I appreciate you have had the car jacked up, and you couldn't hear the noise, but perhaps it would be more evident when the car is in motion with weight on the road? Just a thought anyway!

Hi, thanks for the reply. There's a brand new set of brake pads on the front and the discs are fine too. Thanks again

Thanks for the reply. I can't see any of the track rod ends or such like would have gone as the car as just been MoT'd (an annual inspection in the UK) and this wasn't picked up. There's no clunking either. I will check the tyres on the weekend and due to the alignment being a cheap job to get done, I'll give that a go too. Thanks again

FIATSJM said:

Hi, thanks for the reply. There's a brand new set of brake pads on the front and the discs are fine too. Thanks again

Click to expand...

If the pads and discs are brand new, then it a possibility that the calipers are sticking, especially if they are trying to get used to the new thicker pad material and new discs etc. Again, symptoms may appear worse when car weight is on ground.