I have a 2000 Camry and have a high pitched squeal from the rear end of my car. It sounds like a metal on metal sound you would get if you need new brakes. However I have had the brakes checked by 3 places and they all tell me I don’t need new brakes and not to worry about it. I hear the sound mostly when I am going slow, the windows are open, and I put on my brakes. However I have heard the sound occasionally when I am not applying the brakes but am going slow.
Although I have been told not to worry about it, it is annoying and my neighbor has looked at my when they heard the noise and said I should get that checked out it doesn’t sound right.
Any suggestions?
If this squeal is always associated with the brakes then it is probably just vibrating brake hardware. It is annoying but otherwise normal & harmless.
Who installed these brakes? The solution to squeal varies, but involves anti-vibration hardware and strategically placed brake grease. Any good shop should be able to take care of this for you. A “good” shop does not mean a national chain-type brake shop. It would be a local, independent place.
I am having the same issue with my 2000 Camry. Did you finally get an answer? I have been dealing with this for about 3 months now, I tried to take my car back to the original shop that installed my new brakes 4 months ago and they were no help at all. After I took half a day off work they just drove my car around the block to listen to the brakes and then told me I would have to come back for an appt! I thought that’s what I did when I scheduled 3 hours for them with my car!
I then took my car to another mechanic that came to me with great referrals, he took the brakes off and investigated the issue, said they looked to be in great condition and wasn’t sure where the noise was coming from. I was also told at this time that brakes sometimes new to be worn in. The noise stopped for about a week then started again. At this point it was a mild annoyance so I dealt with it and hoped it was just temporary.
A few weeks later it started sounding like an old school bus when I put my brakes on and would squeak a little when I was moving slowly. I live in Seattle and deal with traffic daily. (I apologize to everyone on I-5 next to me) I took it into Midas as it was Saturday and no one was open. They did say things looked good but offered to resurface the drums an rotors and tightened the pedal anyway. It was amazing to not hear anything when stopping…for about 2 weeks. Sure enough slowly the noise came back. I stopped back by another midas to make sure I was not crazy or driving an unsafe car. They did pretty much the same thing as before. It was nice to dive for another week and a half with no noise…
Not sure what to do at this point.
Since all appears good it may be a hard spot on poor quality pads. Rust on the rotor is another source. The next suspect would be a wheel bearing.