Hi,

I am having some issues with the brakes on my car. They really squeal a lot and make a lot of noise.
They used to make some noise so I changed my brake pads to Centric semi-metallic ones and I just have 26K miles on my car. After changing the pads, they squeal a lot and this is not the kind of noise you get when the brake pads go bad or something. They make noise only when I use brakes at low speeds.

I went back to the same mechanic who got brake pads and he mentioned that my brakes need to be reseated. I don't know what that really means though.
He just mentioned that I need to use my brakes really hard(like from 50-60mph to 0) and gradually that noise will go away.

I have never heard anything like this before. Any idea if this is true or there is some other way to fix the noise?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

I only have 6k on the odo on a 2013. In the last week or so, they've been squealing like crazy as I come to a stop (towards the very end of the stop). Pretty embarrassing. Wonder if it has anything to do with the frigid weather we have here in Chicago?

 

I think the colder weather will make them louder.

I had a '12 X and my brakes started squealing from 3k miles. They would always squeal no matter if it was hot or cold.

My X now has over 5k and rarely squeal at all, even in this cold weather. The one thing I try to do is get the water house and spray out that brake dust from time to time. Maybe this has helped.

 

your new brake pads need to go through the bedding procedure.

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/tech/....jsp?techid=85

 

The above often helps, but the recent cold is likely the core problem. Not much you can do about this without changing compounds or adding shims with a layer of anti-squeal. My brakes can shatter windows and kill small animals in the winter. On the bright side (assuming that you don't see broken glass and dead squirrels as enough of a good thing), I am much less likely to run over a phone-using and jay-walking undergrad on my way to or from work.

 

yup, it seems the cold does make it squeal more

 

been squealing for years.. my only solution was to get a loud exhaust and a better stereo system

 

Brake stop squeak its sprayed on the outside of the pads is helps a bit. Can be bought at a local parts store

 

Most people say back and front, not inside and outside. I'm terrified that you just suggested putting anti-squeal on the side of the pad that faces the rotor.

 

Cold weather sucks with the stock pads. I switched to the Racing Brake ET500 pads and haven't had any squealing since. The low temp this weekend was 18 degrees and still no squealing.

However, you must follow the recommended break in procedure (same with any new pad). Just go to the Racing Brake website and they list the correct break in procedure. Pretty simple.

 

Yep, - my stock brakes were squealing at low speed since my car was at 10k miles (I'm at 20k now). One thing that helped was to carry around a spray bottle of plain water - and spray the wheels every now and then (helps to also get rid of that black dust). It didn't stop the squeal altogether, but it happened much less.

I recently replaced my brakes pads with Stoptech (309.10010 front, 309.13680 rear) and the squeel is gone (knock on wood).

 

Stock-ish brake pads with stock-ish rotors really shouldn't be making any noise...

Bedding procedure is worth a shot simply because it can only help the pads / rotors to perform...did you install new rotors as well?

 

I didn't get new rotors. My mechanic resurfaced them and with thew stoptech pads the squeal is nonexistent. For daily driving, this set up works for me.

 

Yes, rusty rotors do squeal less.

Of course, they also stop the car less....

ps. resurfacing is roughly the same thing as new rotors; the pads need to be bed

 

I think your mechanic is right about hard braking to "break them in", i've heard of that before as well