Brake problems?

[Danoff]

Ok, so I don't know a whole lot about car repair and I don't have my own hydraulic lift. I do, however, own a car, a car that has squeeky brakes.

I'm thinking that it's nothing but my '01 honda squeeks when breaking at low speeds coming to a stop. I never hear it at high speeds and I don't think that I'm losing braking ability. The noise does seem to be getting louder and more frequent.

Any reason to be concerned? How would I know if my break pads on my front discs needed to be replaced? I checked around online and found conflicting stories.

 

[IDAFC21]

could be the low wear indicator on the brake pads? if youre not comfortable checkin it out yourself take it to a brake shop and have em check it out

 

[boombexus]

Yep, more than likely the "wear indicators" on the brake pads. They are put in place to give you a warning that your brakes are starting to wear out and get old.
Prolonged driving on brakes that are worn out can lead to large repair costs.

 

[Danoff]

thanks guys. I'll get it checked out. I've heard about squeeky brake pads being totally normal. I've also read about squeeky brake pads being an indication that they need to be replaced.

It concerns me because the car has been doing it for a while now and the last thing I want to hear is the squeek turning into a grind on my rotors.

I'll take it in and get it checked out. Thanks for the advice.

 

[///M-Spec]

danoff,

It is not uncommon for performance brake pads to squeel a little, especially in cold weather. In fact, my M3 has a set of high performance street/semi-track pads (Axxis Ultimate) that squeek like hell in the winter time.

Pads that are close to giving out make a low grumbling noise, and don't usually squeek. In addition, you should also hear this noise even at higher speeds when you're close to the end of the pads.

You can easily check pad thickness through the spokes of your wheels... unless you have steel wheels with hub caps. If so, you simply need to jack your car up with your emergancy jack or perferably, borrow a real floor jack from a buddy (don't forget to chock the wheels!)

What kind of Honda do you have? How many miles on it? If it's an '01 I can't imagine you have already gone through your original pads. In fact, I doubt it, unless you track your car.

It could be as simple as one of your pads getting loose (they are held down by clips).


///M-Spec

 

[Frustrated Palm]

That can happen if you usually forget to take the parking brake off as well...

 

[Danoff]

It's an accord with crappy steel wheels that I can't check the pads through. I have 40k miles on it. I've never tracked the car, I'm not hearing it at high speeds, and I don't brake hard when I drive.

Normally I ignore squeeky brakes, but these are really persistant. I'm guessing it's been at least 3 months now that they've been squeeking. It happens all day no matter how long I've been driving, but only when I'm coming to a complete stop.

I might try to get some water in there to try to clean out any dust or smog that's been collecting...

 

[///M-Spec]

You can also try (if you want to save a few bucks) removing the pads and greasing down the BACK of the pads with some brake pad grease (its like lithium grease... forgot exactly what its called, but you can get it at any auto parts store). Sometimes the squeeling is actually the back of the pad vibrating against the caliper.

Of course, if you've got the pads out, you may as well change them


///M-Spec

 

[Duke]

danoff, try this. Take the car to a self-service car wash and remove the hubcaps if it has them. Then, using clear high pressure rinse water, poke the wand through various holes in the steel wheels, and wag it around a little. You'll blow a surprising amount of crapola off of the calipers and pads. It could be that dust is causing the squeek as well. Just remember to dry the brakes out with a few good stops before you really really need them.

If it was the wear squealers you would here them on every stop and if you were down to the end of the pads like ///M-Spec said it would most likely show up as a rumble or a truly horrific scraping-metal sound.

 

[rollazn]

same thing with my brakes... take it to the dealership and let them check it out....

ROll

 

[rollazn]

may indicate brake ware...

ROll

 

[Danoff]

Thanks for the help everybody!

I gave them a few good hard stops yesterday and it seemed to eliminate a lot of the noise. They still squeek a little but not nearly as loud or as often. I listened carefully on the way home yesterday for squeeking at high speeds or while the brakes weren't applied, but I couldn't hear any. It seems to only happen at 10 mph or lower.

Duke, I'll take it to a car wash and try to spray off brakes. I'm sure they're really dirty, the car hasn't been rained on in quite a while.

I stuck a flashlight in the holes of the wheels and tried to check out the pads, they look good - there seems to be plenty of pad left, but I'm not sure if I'm looking at the right part or what they look like when they're worn down.

The rotors look good. Small circular grooves that look like lines go all the way around but no canyons or anything. They look pretty normal.

I'll let you know how it goes after a car wash. Thanks again for the advise.

 

[Jay]

most likely an excess of brake dust like previously meantioned

 

[LancerEVO Boy]

Hmm it's a Civic just playin around.

 

[Danoff]

It started squeeling when I was going downhill so I got on the brakes pretty hard to see what it would do.

Grinding....


I'm going to take it in tomorrow morning to have it checked out.

 

[Danoff]

... not open on sundays. Taking it in over the week is going to be difficult. I'm hoping it will last until next saturday.

 

[halfracedrift]

Don't do the brakes while theyre hot though.. don't get any water on em, brakes warp like that.

 

[Danoff]

The grinding must have been my imagination or I'm too aware of the noises the car makes or something...

I took it in to have the brakes looked at. They recommended well over 600 dollars worth of repairs (which I turned down). I told them to swap the pads for new ones... even though my current pads still had a little life left in them.

Must have been brake dust afterall. Oh well. Got new pads, no more squeeking. I was going to have to change the pads in like another 10k miles anyway. Besides, Midas has a free oil change with new brake pads.

They recommended that I replace my front right strut because it's leaking... it hasn't caused me any problems so far. Is this really a big deal? Just because it has some oil on the strut?

 

[Duke]

Well, if it's leaking, it's losing a little pressure, which means it probably isn't damping as effectively. If it's minor weeping, you can probably ignore it for now, but keep an eye on it.

I might suggest that you consider doing brake pad work and oil changes yourself. Disc brakes are easy to work on and good practice for tackling more difficult work. I can talk you through it next time.

 

[Danoff]

Thanks neon. I totally agree. After sitting for over 2 hours while they change the brake pads (which I have done once... a while back), and when I saw the bill... I decided that when I get a place that has a flat parking lot / garage and a good jack, I'll do brakepads myself.

Oil changes I'm a little more concerned about. Like where to take the oil when I've drained it, how hard it will be to get the oil filter off... will I need to jack up that car... that sort of thing.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

And another recommendation. Don't take your car to Midas, or Jiffy Lube, or whatever. They BS you, and make stuff up. Ask around, and find a good indipendent mechanic. My family has had a great mechanic for years, and what's especially great about this guy, is that, while he does regular maintenance, his shop also does a lot of mod work, on both pro show and race cars. So he's a great shop to go to for performance work, because they really know what they're doing.

 

[Frustrated Palm]

Not all the big company chains are bad though, it matters where you go. Personally, go to a few places and get their prices, and see what they say needs to be fixed. Though TF's idea is a good idea as well...