I brought my Corolla in to the dealership to have the brakes checked since they had started intermittently squeaking. They replaced the rear brake shoes, which they said needed replacing, but I found the brakes still squeaked even after that was done. Brought it back, they said it sounded like the front brakes, but they looked fine in terms of wear and that there was nothing more they could do. Can that really be the case? They squeak fairly often when I apply pressure to the brakes – only when I press about halfway down on the brakes, the noise ceases when I apply full pressure to stop. Any advice?
The noise is just a vibration, and does not affect braking performance.
However, properly installed brake pads shouldn’t make noise. There are sometimes shims behind the pads, and/or anti-squeal compound, both of which are designed to eliminate brake squeal.
If the dealer won’t help you, find an independent mechanic who will.
My 2006 Corolla S makes kind of the same noise. I am coming to a stop so the car is slowing down , I press on the brake slowly and then apply pressure to fully stop. Throughout this process I hear this Whaaa…Whaaa…noise then a squeek (as if the brakes needed to be replaced or something). So I think we might have the same problem. I took the car to a independent mech and he replaced the front brakes, checked the tires, tire pressure, brake fluid was flushed and replaced, the rear brakes he said were fine, yet still the noise. Then I took the car to the dealership, they checked and the brakes were fine. The ind mech. said the noise is normal because of the car’s calipers (not sure what those are and do) he said its not worth worrying about. yet Im with you on the frustration of the noise.I’m going to get a 3rd opinion. Car Talk help us /lol