I have a extremely problematic 98 Land Rover. I just purchased new brakes, rotors master cylinder, vacuums, etc. A few days after they were installed they started making a horrible sound everytime I brake. I took it back to the mechanic to see why and he tells me that I must have heated the brakes up too much within the first 100 miles of using them and that it created a film on my brakes that will now cause them to squeak for the there lifetime. He than hands me the Bendix brochure that explains how I should handle my brakes in the first 100 miles, with warnings and instructions that I shouldve probably received a bit earlier. Does anyone know what hes talking about? Should I expect a free repair to this problem for not instructing me earlier on how to avoid this? My car now makes such horrible sounds everytime I brake that if I didnt know better I would think Im in desperate need of new ones. Ive spent over 1400 with these guys in the last week on brake related issues, I would think Im owed info on how not to ruin my new investment and not after the fact. Help? Oh and my check engine light is now on!
This mechanic is handing you a bunch of baloney. You did nothing wrong. It is quite common for new brakes to squeak, especially if the brake pads were the cheap kind. The problem can be cured by removing the brake pads and applying some anti-squeal goop to the back of the brake pads. I can’t say if you are entitled to this as a free service – probably not. Or you can live with this problem; your brakes are not compromised.
The check engine light is a separate issue. Go to any of those auto parts stores that read the computer codes for free. Report them back here for further advice.
I would back it through there window and when they bitch Tell sorrty I guess like you guys the dealer told me too later about what gear does what. R is realy fast to get out of here. I know the LR is on the top of suv for repairs.unless you run down the road at 7o miles an hours with foot on pedal you should not have hurt the pads in 100 miles. do you knoe the miles when they got suv and the miles inthe car when you picked it up may a quick lunch trip. most pads have a one time free replace from store see if they return the pads.what brand did they use I bet if you check it is a geneic low grade brand some times a suv like this calls for only one type of rotors and pads. look at what they put on, the pads have code numbers on them to tell you the rating like heat and wear. look at the pads if the rating is not what to factory calls for tell them thid they fault and do it over free at no cost. remember these suv are made for off road and under water. check the type of metal
the rotors are made from if metal is cheap and not what the factory calls for yes there is different grades of rotors. not let let them tell uou ask where they got them and the cost they paid. even the dealer will use non factorty parts but charge factory prices. if you must have another garage to do the checking try a place 25 miles away so they might know each other keep their to yous self just say another place.
good luck let us know
Something’s really weird here. You just spent $1400.00 and they’re not doing anything for you? Did they drive the car- I mean after you took it back to them? Were they able to actually hear the sound you’re talking about? If not, how do they know what’s causing it? There could be little clips that hold the brake pad to the adapter or whatever the pad goes against. If they’re out of position and touching the
rotor there would be squealing and that would really, really be their fault as opposed to pads just plain squeaking. Don’t take this question personally, but do you wait till the last possible moment to hit your brakes before, say, a red light or whatever? That can overheat pads and it could be really hard to stop brakes from squeaking from here on out. I’m not a lawyer but it would have been ethical
for them to tell you not to overheat the brakes- especially right after replacement which is the crucial time. kdawn, please post back and answer all the above questions- as much as possible. Then people on this post can help you better. A precise itemized description of all the work done would also be very helpful. Do what SteveF said and write down all the info they read off of scanner which is the hand held computer they hook up to your car. Write down all codes especially the one’s that start with "P".
Man, you got the biggest line of B$ both from those mechanics and some posters here. “Breaking In” the brakes is called “Bedding” and it involves putting on the brakes hard from about 60 mph. This does heat up the brakes, but it does not cause a film to build up. In fact it burns off any film build up.
The mechanics should put some anti-squeal compound on the back sides of the pads and they should not charge you for this. They should have done this in teh first place. They may have also failed to replace the shims on the back of the pads if called for.
A good brake job is expensive, but $1400 seems a bit excessive to me, especially on a 98. Those Rover parts must be very expensive.
The brakes should have been bedded in by the shop in the first couple of blocks. It does not take a 100 miles to do anything.
They should also have used some disc brake quiet on the backs of the new pads.
So NOW they produce a brochure after the fact and warn you, huh? If they want to play this game then I would firmly ask them where this brochure was at when you picked the vehicle up. If they want to use that paperwork as a defense then they screwed up by not giving it to you.
If this shop is reputable (and considering the type of work, dollar amount, and time frame) they should resolve this problem for you quickly and free of charge IMHO.
I’m quoting from a book entitled “Automotive Brake Systems” published by Harper Collins. Author: Check Chart Automotive Series. ISBN:0-06-454010-3 (set). Used in 2 year trade school/technical colleges. Chapter 7: “Disc brake Service”, p. 136. "BRAKE PAD BURNISH-IN: Whenever new brake pads are installed, they require a short time of relatively light use called a burnishing-in or bedding-in period. There are two reasons for this. First, regardless of whether the rotors have been refinished or not, new pads do not make full contact with the friction surface. A short period of light braking allows the pads and rotors to become “familiar” with one another and wear into better contact.
The second reason a burnish-in period is needed is because new brake pads are not fully cured when they come from the factory; there are still binding resins and other chemicals that have not completely evaporated from the friction material. Final curing takes place over the first few hundred miles of driving as the pads are repeatedly heated and cooled.
If new brakes are used hard immediately and become too hot, residual resins boil out of the pads as gasses and liquids. When these gasses and liquids come out in great enough quantities, they lubricate the friction material and cause a type of brake fade called green fade. Once green fade occurs, the pads will be glazed when they return to normal operating temperature. Glazed pads do not have the proper friction coefficient for smooth operation, and must be replaced.
Pad Burnishing Procedure…When you deliver the car to its owner, caution them that the brakes should not be used hard for approximately 100 miles of in-town driving, or 300 miles of highway driving. This will insure that the brakes become properly burnished in." (Emphasis mine)
This shows that the shop should have cautioned kdawn not to brake hard for first 100 to 300 miles and also that the pads, now glazed, should be replaced; so; I think the shop owes kdawn a new set of pads. If the noise is caused by something other than the above I still couldn’t imagine a scenario where it wouldn’t be the shop’s responsibility.
What’s interesting about that is, I have purchased brake pads before that have included a little instruction insert which instructs you to make 3 or 4 panic stops (threshold braking) from 35 - 45 mph after installing the pads.
Interesting indeed. I have no objection to the author except 100 miles for city, 300 miles for highway thing. (when compared to conventional products)
Wonder… How do you drive in a city like Shanghai without using brakes hard? I’m pretty sure you can hit more than 100 bicycles in the first 10 miles, or even more if the car remain drivable (which I doubt anyway). Hope every driver with new brake pads get a waiver or something.
Here’s another bedding procedures (PFC/ carbon metallic)
http://www.performancefriction.com/pages/Race_tech_pages/20020924_burnishing.pdf
I think that 100 mile recommendation is nothing more than a “keep us off the hook” maneuver by the brake pad company. Let the car owner and shop fight it out over who’s at fault.
I have too. EBC pads come with this recommendation. I followed these instructions and my brakes work just fine, sometimes a little too good.
Hoiwdy, i replaced the brakes on my wifes 2001 corolla 4 trimes as it had the worst grinding noise i ever heard. Then i had the rear brake drums turned and no more noise. Does it have rear drums? were they turned? I inspected the drums over and over each time they looked perfect. But am still amazed once the drums turned no noise at all. good luck
I still don’t buy the 100, 200, or 300 mile thing.
If this were true then 99.999% of all brake jobs are going to come back very quickly because how many shops are going to caution a driver to go easy for a while?
How many drivers are ACTUALLY going to drive easy even if they were told?
Why is it that I’ve been to countless service schools for different types of vehicles and that has never been mentioned during any brake class nor can it be found in the service manuals?
Why is that warning not found in the owners manuals of all cars since one thing a car maker does NOT want is every new vehicle coming back the next week with squeaking brakes, which means the car maker pays?
I also don’t buy that bit about new pads not mating against the rotor completely. Not for one second, and I don’t always put a lot of faith into what is written in some of these publications since many of the writers are mechanically illiterate.
A good example that is used repeatedly is that bit about rolling down the windows and turning on the heater full blast if you have a car that is severely overheating. This method can eliminate some heat on a vehicle that is running somewhat hotter than normal but it’s ridiculous to think that it will eliminate severe overheating and blown head gaskets as is commonly portrayed.
Heat is the enemy of all kinds of things on cars. The cooler you run the brakes the less problem you’ll have with noise and warpage. Of course brakes and other things on car do have to warm up when you start out in the AM. By the way, why do these posters never get back to us?