My 96 Maxima has a problem with squealing brakes. Bought the car used about a year ago. Have replaced the pads twice (different brands) and had rotors turned. The brakes work very well, but the Squeeeeealing is very frustrating!

 

I had the same prob even my max is '99. The only suggestion I have is to buy the brake squealer eliminator at any auto part stores.

 

Brake squeal is a common complaint with disk brakes, on all makes of car. Volvo is especially bad in this regard. Blue Goo anti-squeal compound applied to the steel backing plate of the pads is effective in many cases. Please refer to the Haynes repair manual, page 9-7.

 

I just did all of my brakes, and I didn't put any of that Anti-Squeal Compound on them. Is this going to be a problem? It would be the biggest ***** to go and put it on there now.

 

There's no way to predict this. Some Maximas seem to have noisy brakes no matter what you do. Some Maximas have blessedly silent brakes. Seems as if there is some Black Magic involved...

 

hmmm....Black Magic you say....muahahahha

 

I think the pads make a difference also. Genuine Nissan pads (not the key value ones) don't seem to squeak.

 

That is right. No black magic here. It is all in the pads. Buy lousy pads and get the squeak.

 

What brand of brake pads do you recommend? I'm on my second set of pads in the last 10 months and they still squeak. Should I get the Nissan pads, or is there another brand that is better?

 

I'm using Stillen Metal Matrix Pads on Stillen X-drilled rotors right now.

 

For sure genuine Nissan will not squeak (on stock rotors). Other brands may be good as well (non stock rotors may require different pads to eliminate squeaks) but I dunno what other brands work well with stock rotors.

 

When I first replaced the pads, it had genuine Nissan on (what I believe to be) stock rotors. Wasn't squealing quite as bad, but it was enough to get me to change them, and they still had alot of wear left in them. Anyone know if changing out hardware and/or installing shims will make a difference?

 

Having the right shims in place definitely will affect brake noise.