I have a 98 Chevy Lumina which the brakes squeek loudly until I get rolling for a few minutes then no more squeek. Recently we have had a hot weather spell and the brakes don’t squeek at all, even at start up. Any suggestions so that everyone in the neighborhood doesn’t know its me when I leave the house? Thanks
It would be best to try to give a better description of the squeak, and a little background on the car. E.g. Are you really sure that it is brake noise (as opposed to, e.g., a belt)? Has anyone looked at the brakes recently? When was the last time the brakes were done, and about how many miles are on them? Does the squeak come from the front or the rear? Stuff like that.
Assuming that it is the brakes, are you saying that the brakes squeak merely by moving the car? Or only as you apply the brakes? If the brakes are squeaking without you applying the brakes, and it is first thing on cooler mornings that later goes away, then you might have a mildly sticky caliper (or wheel cylinder if the problem is in the rear and you have drum brakes). If it doesn’t seem to happen when the weather is hotter, you may only be looking at a relatively simple re-lube of the brake hardware and caliper slides. On the other hand, if this is the problem and you let it go, you’re looking at greatly accelerating wear on your brakes.
Either way, if you’re sure it is the brakes, you need to inspect - or have someone inspect - your brakes.
I agree. It could be that the low pad indicator clips were squealing, to tell you the brake pads were low. One thing I noticed was that with some pads, the clips can break, stopping the squeal, but giving no other indication of low pads until metal hits metal. More expensive, and very dangerous.