I have a 2003 Mazda Protege with 80K miles. Every time I apply the brakes to stop, the car makes a bump-squeak sound that starts off sounding like rubbing, but by the time the car almost comes to a full stop can be clearly heard as a bump (or rub) and a squeak.
I had a front and back brake job done about 15K miles back, and I took it back to that shop for a check up. They drove it, pulled the rear brakes, turned the drums and adjusted the brakes… to no avail. The car stops just fine. But the noise is really loud.
Is it possible my suspension needs lubrication or is going out?
Any suggestions appreciated,
Keith
Were the rotors in the front replaced for that brake job?
You may just have squeal from brake vibration. This is “normal” but braking systems have various kinds of anti-squeal hardware that are designed to keep them quiet. The anti squeal hardware is often not replaced with the brakes. This doesn’t interfere with the braking but it does produce really annoying noises.
Hi, thanks for the tips. I don’t remember if we did replace the rotors or not, I’ll have to pull the paperwork. I think I’m going to take it to the local dealer and see what they come up with. Although the sounds seems to be coming from the back, perhaps it is the front.
The brake job I referred to was actually the second one in 10,000 miles. The first shop used non-Mazda parts and the grinding was worse… the second shop used Mazda brake parts, which I was informed were ceramic and would not make the grinding sounds and didn’t for more than 10K miles.
Didn’t know about the anti-squeal system, will ask about that at dealer as well…
Thanks and I’ll post what happens next after I know more.
Keith