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[Danielle E]

Lately when I travel at parking lot speeds (5 to 10 miles an hour) I hear a
mettalic squeaking noise.

My local shop has recently checked my brakes and said that I had 25% wear
left on the front brakes and 75% wear left on the rear. These are the
original brakes and the car has 88,000 miles on it. He suggested I plan on
doing the front brakes in the spring.

If the brakes are OK, any idea what is causing the noise? I only hear the
noise when the car is actually moving. It does not seem to be related to
engine speed. Silly me forgot to mention the noise the last time I brought
the car in for new tires. (I bought Toyo Proxes TPTs)

Danielle

[remcow]

Hi Danielle

Does the noise go away when you brake? If so, most likely it is brake
related and I'd do them sooner than spring, if I were you.
I am assuming you have disk brakes at least in the front, but similar
caution applies to drum brakes.

Unless they took the wheel off and carefully inspected the whole brake
assembly, it is hard to say that the brake is not the problem.

It could be that the wear indicator is causing the noise - it is just
notifying you that the brakes need to be replaced.
It may be that one of the brake shims has come loose or became unseated.
These are very thin pieces of metal that actually make sure that the brake
does not squeal (in conjunction with an anti squeal compound).

If the noise goes away when you press your brakes, I'd have the brakes done
soon. I'd hate to suggest this, but perhaps your dealer wants you do more
damage to your disks (suggesting replacement in spring) so they can stick
you with a larger bill at that time. Replacement of pads and machining of
disks is much cheaper than replacement of both pads and disks - not all
dealers are honest.

At 88K, I'd say you would be due for a brake job.

Hope this is of use to you.
Remco




"Danielle E" <danielle@reply.to.group.com> wrote in message
news:IVjpd.32321$Qv5.31719@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...

[Danielle E]

I still do not know what the problem is.

The noise does go away when I brake.

When I brought my car in for service this morning, it was cold and dry with
no noise. They checked the brakes again. This evening its damp with
temperatures near the freezing point. Now there's noise again. After a 2nd
check they say the brakes look OK.

Danielle



"remcow" <whybcuz@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:09ppd.49$JC3.35@fe10.lga...

[whybcuz@yahoo.com]

Hi Danielle

It is not uncommon to hear noise when metalic pads get wet, especially
well worn pads as yours are. At 88K, you've gotten very good mileage
out of your orginal brakes. Your original post didn't mention that the
noise was more pronounced when wet.
The noise is annoying, but your dealer could be right suggesting
nothing is wrong to the point of it being in need of being replaced.

My wife's pads (acura integra) were doing the same thing recently so I
replaced the pads at 60K - they still had some life in them, albeit a
squeeky life. The pads I was replacing were metalic pads, so I changed
to using non-metalic pads. Perhaps ask your dealer if that is an option
in your case. These will be less noisy, but do wear quicker.

Brake assemblies often trap dust and dirt.The disks are often rusty and
it being wet outside contributes to the problem. Providing your brakes
are safe, maybe your dealer's suggestion is not a bad one. - wait
until after winter and get the brakes done.
Hope this info is useful.
Remco

[whybcuz@yahoo.com]

Hi Danielle

It is not uncommon to hear noise when metalic pads get wet, especially
well worn pads as yours are. At 88K, you've gotten very good mileage
out of your orginal brakes. Your original post didn't mention that the
noise was more pronounced when wet.
The noise is annoying, but your dealer could be right suggesting
nothing is wrong to the point of it being in need of being replaced.

My wife's pads (acura integra) were doing the same thing recently so I
replaced the pads at 60K - they still had some life in them, albeit a
squeeky life. The pads I was replacing were metalic pads, so I changed
to using non-metalic pads. Perhaps ask your dealer if that is an option
in your case. These will be less noisy, but do wear quicker.

Brake assemblies often trap dust and dirt.The disks are often rusty and
it being wet outside contributes to the problem. Providing your brakes
are safe, maybe your dealer's suggestion is not a bad one. - wait
until after winter and get the brakes done.
Hope this info is useful.
Remco