I wasn't sure where to post this and my car isn't even a Protege but I appreciate your feedback here on the Protege board and you guys have been helpful in the past with regards to my questions about the protege and other mechanical questions.

Here's the situation. When I'm driving along and begin to press the brakes ever so gently, a high pitched squeel comes from the brakes. I took it to the VW dealership, they said there was nothing wrong with the brakes or the rotors and just cleaned them up.

Yesterday, I was driving along - I came to a complete stop. When the car started rolling again slowly, I noticed the high pitched noise was there without me even pressing the brakes. It only happens when one of two things happen :

a) Brake gently
b) car is rolling really slowly - I mean really slowly ie: barely moving.

What could this problem be? I also noticed when b) occurs, sometimes it isn't a high pitched squeel sound but more of a hollow whistle sound as if there's some serious need for lubrication somewhere.

I have no idea what to do since the dealership says it's fine. Any helpful hints on what might be causing this? Thanks.

PJStyles

 

I was thinking that it may just be the brake wear indicators, but you said it happens when the car is rolling slowly as well...So you're not pressing the brake at all in that instance then?

 

That's correct... I'm not pressing the brakes when the car is rolling from a complete stop.. it I just let the car roll on its own ever so slowly, it'll make the squeel still. Also, you would think the dealership that checked the brakes and rotors would tell me that I needed new brakes if that truly was the case - but they didn't.

PJStyles

 

Some brakes just like to squeek. If your brakes have low miles on em and the dealer says they're fine then it's probably not the wear indicators, although I'd still be inclined to check the pads first.

My favorite fix to cure noisy disc breaks is to pull the pads and apply a layer of aluminum exhaust tape to the back of all the pads. This will dampen the harmonic vibration that causes the squeek. This sounds strange, so you're not likely to find a mechanic that will do it for you, but it works.

 

What you may be hearing are the pads just slightly touching the rotors. From the situations you described, this may very well be the case. Unlike drums, disc brakes don't have return springs and many times they are often just slightly touching the rotors. Slight squealing is very normal for disc brakes, especially with very gentle braking. Accumulation of brake dust and slight vibrations of the pads will cause squealing in these situtations. Now, if it starts squealing loudly, especially when you brake hard, you need new pads as the sensors are contacting the rotors.

Just perfectly normal brakes...

Try this link for a brief but good tutorial on disc brakes.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/disc-brake1.htm

-Jerry

 

Could it also be that there isn't enough silicone grease behind the brake pads? I've heard many people say that in many cases, there isn't enough grease and once you put the right amount there, the squeel will disappear.

PJStyles

 

have your wheelbearings checked also....i had a car that did the same thing,it gradually got worse and I had procrastinated on it so long i ended up having to replace the entire hub

 

I have similar problem....
My problem starts when after replacing a new set of pads...

Then whenever I slowly rolling the car forward or going uphill,
I got some WOO-WOO-WOOOOO sound coming from the front,
I took it back to the shop, and they found out it is from the loose
wheel bearing, so you might want to check it out~~~

 

Under no circumstances should grease of any kind be used on brakes, especially the pads! What I think you’re talking about is silicone caulk, which is another way to dampen the vibration, but I’ve found that it doesn’t last and the squeak will come back all too soon.

A bad wheel bearing should be more of a growl than a squeak, but a good way to rule that out is the apply sharp strearing input to rock the car back and forth while moving. A bad bearing will make more noise when the weight of the car is loaded to that side, and much less noise when weighted to the other.

 

It's definitely not a growl... I'm having it looked at on Friday by my friend who owns a shop and he's going to get his mechanic to look at it. I just want this problem resolved because I'm most likely selling the car next week.

PJStyles