i have noticed my car seems to suffer quite a bit of brake squeal after a bit of driving, more so when its wet.

i asked my local service manager who told me that its to do with the compound of the brake pads containing iron, and when its damp they tend to squeal a bit and i should start braking harder.

is this the case? i'm fairly hard on my brakes as it is and it still seems to be there. :confused:

Almost all brakes squeel, you need to remove the pads, clean them, grease them and re-fit them.

which only works for awhile unfortunately.

the squeal is not on braking, its more afterwards, as if the brakes are sticking slightly when driving.

hi mate,

i had the same problem with mine. took it so simpsons at colne who said there was a service bulletin for it. apparently its a caliper bracket thats to blame. they have a modified version that they fitted to mine and its sorted. only took about 30 mins too!

Brake squeal on modern cars is quite common and it is because manufacturers are no longer allowed to produce friction materials containing asbestos like they used to do years ago. Nowadays they use a compound which contains metallic particles which unfortunately does cause squeal if the surface of the pads become glazed over. If you are heavy on your brakes then the pads will be glazed over and just need removing and using a flat surface and some emery paper rough up the braking surface again to remove the glaze. Refit the pads ensuring that the guides etc are well greased and cleaned of rust. If this is done it should remove the queal problem. If it is making the noise after braking like you say it could be due to the pads being a bit stiff in the guides and not releasing the rotor properly. Doing the above ensuring that the guides are well cleaned of rust etc will rectify this. Make sure that you are not heavy on the brakes for a couple of hundred miles after doing the above or after fitting new brake components. This is to ensure that they are well bed in and will reduce the chances of brake squeal developing and also of the friction materials wearing out quickly.

Steve

Almost all brakes squeel,

They do?! In none of my cars, performance or otherwise, have my brakes squealed! :confused:

Chris

Lucky you mate...

i had it back to the garage and they checked them, seems the pads were breaking up so they skimmed the discs and replaced the pads, all has been well since.

Happened to me 3 times ( trackdays or Glencoe road. )

A little bit of noise from the brakes usually means they are working

Squealing during breaking is caused by vibration of the relevent parts. Sometimes there is a little bit of play (Did you know that the pad never quite leaves contact with the disc?) which is why pads come with shims usually stuck to the pack of the pad. After a while (Sooner if you use them heavily) these will degrade and the brakes can start to squeal more and sound like they are rubbing. Not always a worry but sometimes annoying.

Take the pads off, and clean all the carrie/caliper to remove residue, then copper slip the back of the pads and refit. This will help a lot.

Mine squeel when driving at a steady pace. Worrying thing is now they've started to have a whirring/grinding noise too...eek! need to get it booked in n checked, although i did this about 6months ago and the mechanics couldn't hear a thing (or so they claimed!!!!)

wonder if my discs have wharped.... or as someone mentioned above it's a know service bulletin..

With this in mind, how long should your pads/discs last normally?