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Squeaking brakes?

14K views 27 replies 14 participants last post by  EcoBu 
#1 ·
I bought my Malibu last April and about 2 months after my right front brake started to squeak. It is quite annoying. Well, I didn't take it to get checked on for a long time because I didn't think the brakes would be bad after 2 months. I just recently took it to get checked on and the guy said that it is completely normal for the brakes to sound like that and said they were 50% used so they didn't need to be changed. He said it was the type of brake that Chevy put on their Malibu's. It is more of a metal brake, and they last longer but the back thing is sometimes they squeak. I find this a little weird that you have to put up with that awful sound and it's only coming from one brake. Is he correct or just shooting me some sort of story? I just don't find it right that I should hear that noise being it should be a quiet car.
 
#6 ·
Me too. Can not tell which brake(s) are squeaking, but mine only squeak at a low speed, i.e. when in "stop and go" traffic, under 5 mi. If I brake normal when approaching a stop sign or light, or have to brake sudden while driving -- no squeak. Car has 12K miles, had car little over a year. I am going to take into the dealer and see what they say.
 
#8 ·
Not a problem to worry about. Good brakes squeak under the correct circumstances. Don't get new pads that don't squeak they will not be as good as the pads you have. Better to have a squeal than having crap pads. There isn't anything to be embarrased about.

There are so many people that complain about this a lot of mechanics just started installing ceramic pads since they don't squeak. Ceramic pads do not stop the car as well but the mechanics don't have come backs for stupid reasons.

Worry about something important.

Bill
 
#9 ·
Ceramic pads do not stop the car as well but the mechanics don't have come backs for stupid reasons.
I disagree with that. Ceramic pads work rather well. Certainly better then a standard semi metallic pad. The only thing about ceramic brakes is that they hate chemicals, and they need heat before they really start to perform well.

Also most mechanics (outside of a dealer) either use dealer parts or get the cheapest crap they can find. They try to keep the cost down so they are more likely to sell the job. Do not trust back yard mechanics (as I like to call them). I prefer to have a 5 y/o with a wrench work on my car. Either way you will get the equivalent work. Do it yourself or take it to a dealer.
 
#11 ·
There are a couple of reasons. The pad clips could be bent. The caliper pins could be sticking, the caliper could be sticking, the shim might have not been put on or come put on, the tech could have not put grease on the pad shim, or the grease came off.

If the caliper/caliper pins were sticking you would see uneven brake wear. If the car is under warranty I would take it to chevy and have them take a look.
 
#12 ·
Thanx very much. These all sound like logical reasons as to why only one brake has a problem. I may need to take my car somewhere else to get looked at because the mechanic said there was nothing wrong, but squeaking to me (or my experiences with bad brakes) always means something isn't right plus it's just plain annoying. :p Plus this mechanic also said my windshield wipers were fine when in fact they were horrible. Thanks again!
 
#13 ·
You took the car to chevy? Don't take the car to another shop. They may say something is wrong and not replace anything and just put some grease on the pads. Then you pay for replacing a caliper....

If you are taking it to chevy ask for a second opinion from another tech. When a car comes back to a dealer they return it to the same tech because they know what they've done and have not done. I work for a VW dealer. I know how it works.
 
#15 ·
Yea, I took it to the dealer where I got the car from. I just have a feeling the guy is either too lazy or has no idea what he is talking about. There is another Chevy dealership in the area so I can take it there or I can just ask for another opinion from the same place like OnDaGround said.
 
#17 ·
I am sorry if I sound like a hard xxx.

However, there is a high likelihood you will get the same story from the other dealer. Brakes squeak and they are just fine. They squeak at one wheel and not the others and are just fine.

When the pads are worn to the point the wear indicators start to make noise you will be able to tell the difference between that noise and the normal squeaking. If the caliper is stuck you will also be able to tell the difference between that noise and the normal squeaking.

The ones on my Malibu will squeak every now and then as well. I know from the sound that it isn't a problem.

Bill
 
#18 ·
I took my car to the dealer last week and got the pads replace, my car has less than 5000 miles and the squeaking was driving me crazy. Didn't have a problem from my dealer told them about the problem and they fix it (so far). The service manager at the dealer was telling me that a few 09 bu's are coming for service for the same problem.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Question for you all..what is the frequency of your squeal? ;-) I ask because we have an 09, no high pitched squeal but occasionally- when stopping slowly I'd say, there is a sort of "grinding" noise or something that we hear. It doesn't happen all of the time. My wife says it's like an "airplane taking off" but it is NOT loud. I haven't taken it in because it seems to be ok, and I only hear the noise occasionally. I have felt all of the discs and they don't have any weird grooves or anything.

Note: There may be aTSB on what I'm experiencing see TSB on Brakes thread.
 
#25 ·
I have an '08 LTZ and notice it probably every three days whiling pulling into the parking lot at work or into my garage on the way home. To the point I checked my pads and rotors last night but both are fine. ~10k miles on them/the car.
 
#21 ·
I have squeaky pads, but I know they are new... 3 month new... and they squeak 40% of the time.... a bit annoying but one of my friends mechanic told me that if it squeak that is mean you disks are strait and not wrped or anything like that :)
 
#22 ·
I love how many of you are saying that squeaking brakes are normal. Out of the 4 new vehicles I've had, and all the new vehicles my parents have owned, none have ever had squeaking brakes. It may not mean there is anything wrong with them, but it is not what I would consider normal. It could be a defective pad, or they just need some anti squeal stuff added to them.
 
#23 ·
I have a squeak in my brakes also but I am going to put the pads on myself along with the metal clips that come with the pads. We use a special grease that we put on the back of the pads and a very thin coat on the clips. Works very well on our police cars. I would say that 90% the time it's glazed rotors on our cars that squeal not the pads. Just my 2
 
#26 ·
My 08 LTZ 'Spring Edition' started to have these "squeaky" brake at about a 1000 miles ago at 11,000 miles on the car.
I just rotated my tires so I just check the pads and they are probably at about 80% new or better. So the "squeaking" has been under only light foot slow traffic slow speed braking... until today.
Today at almost 12,000 miles, a metallic SCRAPING noise develop at lunch ONLY when I first pulled away. If I inched slowly it was loud, going down the street it was loud for a few minutes. THEN IT WENT AWAY.

Until I left work and this time it took a little longer before it went away and it was present at ALL speeds even when the brakes weren't applied. Then after about 3 minutes, it went away again.

This got me thinking. It sounded as if SHEET METAL was dragging on the rotors. The onlything 'sheet metal' type metal near the brakes are the rotor back heat shields.

I only had time to look to them through the wheels but they are VERY VERY close to the rotors on this car (fronts). I used my finger to bend them slightly away from the rotor but it is VERY hard to do in spots.

I will see if the car does it again tomorrow and if it does, I will take off the rotors to see if the heat shields are scraped.

My guess is that the heat shields are to close and upon many heat cycles they bend inward in places just enough to scrap the rotors.

It seems that these cars don't do it until about 10,000 to 12,000 miles.

Anyone else look at the rotors and heat shields? Maybe its not the heats shields but the rotors warping? (Chrysler rotors would warp something fierce usually by this mileage on Grand Cherokees, etc)

BTW, the "squeaking" is annoying but very minor. The "scraping" actually is LOUD, annoying and make the car sound like a POS old clunker that will draw a ton of attention.
 
#27 ·
Squeaking isn't something that should upset people but it does. I try not to pay attention to their whining so rarely look at a thread such as this.

However, what you are describing indicates there was a sudden major change in the brake sound. Scraping is something you do not want to hear as it usually indictes something is wrong. I would pull those wheels and see what is scraping. A brake pad may have disintegrated leaving you with metal to metal contact between the pad and rotor, something from the road could have gotten into someplace where it is making the scraping noise, a parking brake shoe may have come loose, etc, etc, etc.

Bill
 
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