Hey,
I have a 1999 Toyota Corolla with 58,000 miles.  My brakes are a bit
soft, but I haven't had any scraping or other noises.  But something a
bit worrisome has happened the last 3 weeks.

Maybe 1 out of every 2 times, I will pull out of my driveway, which
slopes down steeply, and while my foot is on the brake on the way
down, there will be a bit of an abrasive feel, like a grating.  I am
not sure there is any noise, but I can't hear anything much inside the
car.  But that lasts only for about 3 blocks, and then it doesn't
happen anymore.

Being winter in Kentucky, we have intermittent snow and rain, and I
first thought this was just wet brakes, but it happens sometimes even
when there wasn't any precipitation recently.

To make it weirder, this doesn't happen every time, like I said.
Just  out of every 2 times.

Any ideas?

Also, if I take the car into Midas, should I accept any recommendation
they make, or might they try to push an official-sounding overhaul
that I don't need?  I won't really know the difference between good
and bad advice.  I have a good track record though:  my car was 2
years old and a mechanic in a "christian" garage said I needed my
brakes tuned up (by him).  That was 6 years ago and I have had no
issues until now :-)

Thanks,
Dan