my new brakes are squeaking. any quick fix?

October 3, 2011 5:05 PM

my new brakes are squeaking. any quick fix?

I got new rear brakes on my audi tt last week and about a day after I got the car back I started noticing they're making that odd squeaking sound whenever I step on them. this happens in any weather condition and at all speeds. it's fairly loud and bothers me when driving with the top down.

unfortunately the mechanics are 200km away and I won't have time until the end of the month to see them. is there anything I can do meanwhile to fix this?

posted by krautland to travel & transportation (11 answers total)

This is normal for new brakes on most cars with disc brakes. Give it some time, and it'll go away. For whatever reason, it seems to happen more often on European cars. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
posted by schmod at 5:24 PM on October 3, 2011

Before I clicked "more inside", I figured you for a cyclist, because this is also common with new brake pads on bicycles. The common cure is a few hard stops. Don't hold me to this carrying over to cars.
posted by supercres at 5:32 PM on October 3, 2011

Try getting up to a quickish reverse and slamming on the brakes. I would have to do that on my old Fiat after putting on new brake pads. Something like the pads 'float' in the metal clips that hold them into place and it takes time for them to wiggle about and settle into place. A couple of times doing the forward/backward hard stop thing would set them into a non-squeaky place.
posted by zengargoyle at 5:55 PM on October 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Try backing up about 25 ft. and stopping a few times. It seemed to help on my '65 chevy malibu (ymmv).
posted by jabo at 5:55 PM on October 3, 2011

Find an empty road, speed up, slow down quickly (but not quite to a stop). Repeat a few and you'll have the brakes warmed up. Be sure you drive around for a bit before coming to a complete stop - keeping your break pads locked on hot rotors for an extended period of time is not good.
posted by itheearl at 6:02 PM on October 3, 2011

You just need to "bed" the brakes. Itheearl's procedure is how to do it.
posted by VTX at 6:09 PM on October 3, 2011

Citroën used to be very specific about "bedding in" the brakes, and I cannot now find the original reference for an ID 19, but this site both confirms itheearl's comment and my recollection.
posted by jet_silver at 7:56 PM on October 3, 2011

Don't be surprised if the bedding in procedures don't work. Sometimes you just get a set of noisy brakes for reasons that are completely inexplicable.

I say this from experience. I had one set of very expensive, high-end, ceramic brakes that just wouldn't stop making noise. They made noise from day one and they made noise until it was time to change them.

I had them checked repeatedly. They were installed correctly. They fit correctly. I took the time to bed them in. They were just noisy.

I should have just thrown them out right from the start, but I didn't want to fork over more money for another set of brakes. If I ever wind up in a similar situation, I'm spending the cash and replacing the new brakes ASAP. There is just no point worrying about brakes, and even though I knew there was absolutely nothing wrong with them, hearing brakes always puts that little niggle of doubt in your mind. Additionally it's embarrassing if you're carrying passengers (friends, co-workers, etc.). No matter what you say to them, you can't reassure them that your brakes are good and that they're just noisy.
posted by sardonyx at 8:22 PM on October 3, 2011

You may want to look in to getting them checked.

Sometimes when you get new brakes, they don't sit on the brake caliper the way that they should, and they might require an "impact adjustment" which means hitting them with a hammer.
posted by Sphinx at 11:07 PM on October 3, 2011

I feel that given that I've driven 200km home with the car (at high speeds on the autobahn, no less) the brakes have already gotten quite a workout. I also drove across town for a few days to work and back. but I will try what itheearl recommends and report back tomorrow. thanks!
posted by krautland at 2:47 AM on October 4, 2011

Yeah, some pads are just noisy. And nothing will change that, so you either live with it, or change them.
posted by GeeEmm at 8:08 AM on October 9, 2011