Brakes

We just had new disc breaks put on our car about 3 weeks ago and when we apply the brakes, they sound terrible – squealing, rubbing, grinding noise. The mechanic who put them on said it was because of what they are made of, but replaced them. Now this set is doing the same thing. Do I need to be concerned?

Is it just the first couple of times that you brake when you get in the car for the day? A lot of rotors will get a thin film of rust on them and give an off sound when braking the first time or two that day, especially if you live in a wetter climate.

There is no cause for alarm. No damage occurs and your stopping power is unaffected. All you have is an irritating noise.

I’m surprised your mechanic did not smear that anti-squeal goop on the back side of the brake pads. That’s the standard cure for squealing brakes. I thought everyone knew that.

By 3 weeks they should probably have stopped making noise. Is is all the time? Do you have discs on the front or on all 4 wheels? If you have drum brakes on the rear you should have them checked if they haven’t been. If you know and trust the mechanic, you can probably take his word for it that everything is safe. But it’s not normal for brakes to make noise all the time after a break-in period.

Thanks for your reply. The mechanic says the noise is because of the material they have to use to make the brakes (they cannot use asbestos like they use to). It’s been 3 weeks since I had them put on the front. The noise seems to be worse in the morning when first driven. The more I drive the less I hear the noise.

I am thinking it is the rotors and not the pads. The rotors are rusting some over night and the pads “clean” the rust off in the morning. It should have nothing to do with the pads being organic, semimetallic, ceramic, or asbestos. Now if he put on metallic pads, which no one would do unless they race, it would be making all kinds of noise.