new (used) car advice :)

[Jenny]

Please be gentle. I was a little scared about stepping into this forum. lol

We just bought a 1995 Buick Regal on Saturday. LOVE the car. Had 62000 miles on it, 1 previous owner, bought it from a dealer, etc.

My hubby noticed a noise the other day, though. When you turn the car on, before you take it out of park, when you press on the brake, it makes a clicking noise, like up under the dash somewhere. (I mean, it's up front, not really right under the brake.) It doesn't do it when the car is out of park, but for example, when I pull into the parking space and have my foot on the brake, I put the car into park, let my foot off and it clicks. That type of thing.

Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

[Ice-9]

Is this one click or a series of them?

Clicking noises are often either climate control or electrical system related. Possibly the brake-light relay (if your car has one)? Or maybe some other relay which is activated when the brake is on and the car is in park, such as a warning beep or signal.

If you bought it from a dealer, shouldn't it have some kind of warranty that would take care of this? Good luck, Jenny!

(see, we don't bite in here... )

[Jenny]

It's one click when you depress the brake, each time you depress it, it is a click.

And the warranty we have on it is a 10% parts/10% labor, so.... (Since it is a 1995 and the original manufacturers warranty is up on it...)

[Ice-9]

Hmm, well...

Let's see, anything else you can tell me? Does the brake pedal feel normal? Do the brakes have appropriate "grab"? Does it ONLY click when in park, or is it just a soft enough sound that that is the only time it's noticeable?

There are a bunch of other parts in the brake system that can go bad, and if it's only one click, it could be a bunch of them. It could be something really simple and mechanical, like a bent metal piece that's clicking on the pedal or something. Or it could be a bad seal in the master cylinder, but that would usually cause mushy pedal feel and/or other symptoms. And it's always possible that it's something I'm completely unfamiliar with, since I know German cars much better than US cars.

[Blu]

I'm pretty sure it's the switch that allows the car to be shifted out of Park into Drive. Alot of cars have this "feature" to keep the car from being knocked into gear, this switch is just louder than most.

Blu

[Jenny]

Okay, Scott & I both agree that other than that, it feels completely normal, with normal grab and braking etc. And it isn't very quiet...It is a loud single click when you press on the brake pedal or take your foot off of it. Scott also said it sounds like it is coming from in the steering column.

[Ice-9]

Well, if it's not affecting anything else, don't worry about it. If it ain't broke...