Creaking steering or brakes after washing

[C2atb]

This is the second time this has happened after having the car washed , especially in warm weather . I get creaking when doing tight slow manoeuvres and a scraping sound from discs which usually disappears after some hard breaking but the creaking lasts for a week or so . Last time it happened I booked it in but disappeared again before I could get it in garage and not heard again for 4 months ! 

[SurreyJohn]

When you say washing, do you mean a bucket of soapy water and a sponge, or are you jet washing.  If it it the latter almost certainly dislodging particles (including road grit) which then dry on the discs and need the hard braking to clean off

 

I assume it was a typo and you meant braking, (rather than breaking)

 

[MrTrilby]

Scraping sound is usually because you left the discs wet and they corrode slightly, which gets scraped off next time you use it. The only real options are to take the car for a short drive after washing so the brakes warm up and dry off, or put up with it. 

[silver1011]

As above, the working area on the brake discs is unprotected steel. When I wash mine they've already tuned orange (rust) before I've finished drying it.

 

If your local car wash is using overly aggressive acidic wheel cleaner (most do), then this can make the situation worse.

 

Leave it overnight and the brake pads can stick / seize onto the discs. The best thing to do is either leave the Electronic Parking Brake off (and leave in gear instead), or take it for a quick drive around the block to dry the discs.

[C2atb]

Figured it out after washing yesterday , the build up on the back of the front drivers side disc actually catches on the dust guard . It’s very very close and even after breaking there’s still a lip on the outer edge where the pad doesn’t touch and  on tight manoeuvres I’m guessing causes it to somehow get even closer . 

Even when wiggling the steering stood still you can hear a creaking .

 

quick pushing / bend of the shield and it disappeared. 

 

And after a quick quick drive out my nice clean black wheels have a nice brown dusting .

 

This is the first car I’ve experienced super  large build up on discs after washing 

[Foudah]

I am also noticing more than usual brake dust

[silver1011]

Brake dust is generated through the use of high friction pad compounds that offer high bite even when cold. The trade-off for this cold temperature performance is that these pads tend to be quite dusty.

 

It's a small price to pay for effective braking throughout the widely varying temperatures we can see.

[C2atb]

it’s the colour I hate , rusty brown mess . I’ve used numerous different brands or performance pads in different cars before and whilst yes some made a bit more dust it was always black and never this bad 

[silver1011]

The brown dust is the rust from the discs, rather than brake dust from the pads.

 

There are two issues at play here.

 

1) regular brake dust generated from the friction between the pad and the disc, which is black / grey...

 

 

2) rust coloured dust / residue, from the removal of surface rust off the non-treated steel surfaces of the disc, that occurs within minutes of washing the car.

 

 

Taking the car for a quick drive, immediately after washing the car will prevent the rust from forming. By the time you get back a good proportion of the water on the car will have run off, making drying it easier / quicker 

 

Try an alloy wheel protector, or just use regular polish. This helps to prevent either rust residue or brake dust from adhering to the paint / lacquer, and makes removing it during washing much easier. More often than not I'd say 90% of the brake dust on mine is removed with the initial jet washing of the wheels.

 

This stuff is great too, but it all depends on your attitudes to car washing!

 

Iron X (lots of other brands available), spray it on, leave it for a few minutes, agitate if necessary (really stubborn / baked-on brake dust), then simply wash off...

 

 

Its non-acidic / caustic, so much safer than the stuff the local car wash uses. Expensive, but very effective.

 

Edited 3 May, 2019 by silver1011

[C2atb]

Yes I think the main issue is back to where I started . These discs seem to get crazy rust compared to any others I’ve had before . 

 

I wash protect drive then re dust of the brown rust after a drive out . It comes of easily just annoying 

[SkodaVRS1963]

On 18/04/2019 at 14:57, silver1011 said:

Leave it overnight and the brake pads can stick / seize onto the discs.

 

^^^^ exactly this.

 

I had it with a Ford I used to own; to this day, I *never* use the handbrake when parked.

[silver1011]

7 hours ago, C2atb said:

Yes I think the main issue is back to where I started . These discs seem to get crazy rust compared to any others I’ve had before . 

 

I wash protect drive then re dust of the brown rust after a drive out . It comes of easily just annoying 

 

The quality of Skoda factory-fitted discs is often questioned and a common cause of frustration with members on here.

 

I'm not sure how they compare to other manufacturers though. All of mine have been OK, but then I'm sure to give them a good clean regularly through hard braking.