squeeling brakes
 

anyone else have a problem with squeeling brakes? i have slight brake squeel when applying brakes either lightly or hard for about 2 minutes after starting the engine... then it goes away. its like the brakes need to be warmed up or something. i dont know what the problem is. im from florida (im in michigan for college) so im not used to the cold weather and how it affects a car.

anyone that live in wintery weather have any advice or comments about this?

thx!

chris

btw, a friend told me that the brakes squeel when the pads are worn down but i had new ones put in around december and the problem still persists.

:bawling:

Did you have the rotors turned when you had the pads replaced?

Always do both at the same time and you shouldn't have any squeels.

is that something i have the tell the guys in the shop to do? because i didnt tell them to do anything. i just told them i needed new brakes.

so im unable to answer the question. hm, would that really solve the problem?

Most mechanics should offer to do both while they have your car there. I guess if you dealt directly with an employee he might want to take the lazy way out and not tell you that the rotors need to be turned (It takes them a while to turn the rotors. They put them on a machine that slowly spins the rotor while a bit etches a even texture onto the rotor.)

The first time I got a set of brakes replaced, they just put on new pads and they squeeled like crazy. I took it to another mechanic and he told me about the whole rotor-turning thing. He re-did my brakes and they didn't squeel at all when he did them.

Note: They will sound kinda "gritty" for about the first week until the new on the pads where off.

how much is it to turn the rotors?

Everytime I have gotten my rotors turned and pads replaced it has cost a total of about $80. That is only for the front ones. The back ones for some reason don't have to be dealt with near as often.

thanks dood, ima look into getting my front rotors turned!! :D

turning rotors
 

I changed the pads on my 89 and only had the rotors turned when there was uneven wear. And I find most shops want to turn the rotors. Understandable but you can only turn rotors a couple of times before Nissan (and others) will want you to replace them and that gets expensive.

Replacing pads on my 89 was pretty simple. I suspect that my 02 is a little harder (as I've read that the rear calipers have to be turned as well as compressed) but still doable. Hope this helps.

Usually you get squeal because the shop has used generic pads and parts instead of OEM. As I understand it, there is some difference that causes the squealing. I've been through it with my wife's car and a friend had the same problem. Both were cured by - argh - having the dealer do the job.

Icf,

I know what you're talking about. I didn't have any problems with my brakes until a little while after they performed they brake rotor technical service bulletin at the dealer at about 35000 miles on my car. Then during the winter, I'd notice the brakes squealing like hell, and it was much louder the colder it got. The noise definitely went away when the brakes warmed up, and I've got plenty of brake pad left all the way around. That would be pretty lame if simply turning the rotor cures the problem.

tell me about it!! the cold weather makes the squeeling even worse! this is why i wonder if its a problem stemming from something else. shrug.

regardless, im going to have the rotors turned. i called the shop and they told me its going to be $40. since the rotors seem slightly "grooved," and other .org members say that turning them may eliminate the squeel, im going to give it a try. 40 bucks is worth getting rid of the ghetto squeeling. i'll let you know what happens.

:goofy:

The reason the rear brakes don't have to be dealt with as often is becasue most cars use 60% stopping power in the front and 40% stopping power in the rear each time you hit the brakes.

the squeel is coming from your metallic pad and the metal rotor rubbing to slow your car down, different cars and different pads sound different but most all metallic pads will squeel somewhat, you can get some sort of anti-squeel treatment but i dont know if it works, if you only hear the squeel when using your brakes your fine but if you her the squeel constantly then it is your wear indicator and its time to get them checked out,

Re: squeeling brakes
 

Did u have aftermarket brake pads installed? if so that along with not having the rotors resurfaced MAY be the problem. aftermarket brake pads very commonly cause break squeaks/squeals due to having a a much harder compound to help the pads wear longer because often times they have a "lifetime" warranty. sure, they will replace your brake pads @ no cost but what you DO have to pay for is the brake rotors and "siezed" calipers (i have seen 1 real caliper failure in the last 3 yrs and maybe 5 in the past 20yrs) they will sell you or they won't warranty the next set of pads. either get oem or the more agressive hi-perf pads/rotor setup and get the added power along with the possiblity of noise. always have the rotors resurfaced when doing a brake job, it allows the new pads to "seat" properly, when done properly you may never have a noise and the rotors will last upto 3 sets of pads. as far as rear lasting longer than frts they do, the frts do approx 60/70% of the braking on most vehicles under normal driving which keeps the rears fresh longer. squeaks/squeels are very common under certain driving conditions such as light pedal pressures and low speed stopping and is mostly noticed when coming to a rolling stop with the brakes applied lightly and will usually stop after several "hard" stops.

SS