That noise is the underside of your car meeting concrete. The driveway usually isn't too steep; the slope just changes faster than the car can follow.
A long, evenly steep driveway is often fine. A gentle one with a sharp kink at the bottom scrapes every time.
Three places it happens
- At the street. The most common spot, and the one you take at an angle.
- Mid-driveway. Where a steep section flattens off, often at a landing or a slope change.
- At the garage. Where the driveway meets the level slab, usually on the way in at low speed.
In each case the wheels follow the surface and the car's middle or ends don't.
Why your car and not your neighbour's
Three measurements decide it:
- Ground clearance. How high the lowest point sits.
- Overhang. How far the body extends past the wheels. A long front overhang is the usual culprit.
- Approach and departure angles. How steep a break your car can enter and leave without contact.
A ute and a low sports coupe meet the same transition with completely different results.
What can be done
What works depends on where the contact is and how much room you have. Fixing a driveway that is already too steep goes further. In rough order of cost:
- Rubber ramps or kerb ramps at the contact point. Cheapest, least tidy, and often not permitted on council land near the street.
- Grinding the high point. Works where contact is light and localised, limited by slab thickness and reinforcement.
- Re-forming a section. Cutting out and re-pouring the transition to lengthen it. The usual real fix.
- Re-pouring the driveway. Occasionally the only option where the underlying profile is wrong.
If it is not built yet
This is by far the cheapest moment. Concrete gives you one chance, and a driveway that grounds a car comes out and goes back in.
A driveway long section with levels, zone lengths, gradients and transition lengths can be checked against your own car before anyone pours.
More in why rate of grade change matters and how steep can a driveway be.
Disclaimer
General information, not advice. Whether a particular remedy suits a particular driveway depends on the slab, the site and the approval conditions. Work on the vehicle crossing between the kerb and your property boundary is usually subject to council requirements. Seek advice from your council or a qualified contractor before altering an existing driveway.
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