Why Do My Brakes Squeak on My Car?

Reader Question

My Car – Skoda Octavia (maybe 08/09 or something – not the fantasia look the one before it)

When I’m braking (specifically, right before I’m about to come to a complete stop) I hear a high pitched squeaking sound. But I got to the point where this is what I know.

1 – My brake pads are fine; they are still ‘new.’ I know the sound when your brake pads are out, it has happened to me like 3 times with this car. It’s much louder. This is a more high pitched but not nearly as loud sound – nevertheless very annoying.

2 – I tried the whole drive fast, and stop thing. It might have worked for a bit but the sound came back. I’m not sure if I did it fast enough (i.e. both with respect to speed and stopping speed) but I will try again later today when the roads are emptier and I can find a good spot.

3 – the mechanic (officially licensed Skoda, VW, Audi, Peugeot, Benz, bmw, etc…) guy said something about rust, and that maybe washed my car/rims when the metal was still hot and it ruined (i.e. eroded/rusted) it.

4 – When I told him about the supposed anti-squeaking gel that you put on the back of the rotor I think, he said they don’t have it or maybe the car doesn’t have that. So I’m not sure about that one either. Also, when I told him about the ‘wire’ that can be used to remove rust he said he doesn’t know about that either. So those two things I will try to find another licensed place and ask him.

5 – We cleaned the rimes/brakes/etc… (We did not remove wheel, we just air cleaned it) and he sprayed them with what I think is good quality stuff (looked foreign – live in Egypt and don’t trust local stuff) and it was fixed but for less than a day.

Help plz….

Hi there from Egypt,

It sounds like you probably just have a set of squeeky brake pads, which can be annoying but not hurting anything.  If you really want to try and fix this I would recommend replacing the brake rotors (or maybe try to resurface them) and try another set of brake pads. I have good luck with Bendix brake pads, and I use their “desqueek” sealer that comes with the pads on the back of the brake pad when I install them.

Also make sure that all “anti rattle” clips are properly installed on the brake pads, sometimes they get broken or left out when a brake job is done.

Blessings,
Austin Davis