Had new discs and pads - now dodgy noise?

Soldato
Joined
22 Dec 2002
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10,165
Location
Minehead
Hey all,

Had new discs and pads fitted to my car by the main dealers and now I have an odd noise with light brake pressure - it doesn't seem to be audible if you brake hard but its loud when just following traffic down slight inclines etc.

The noise is kind of hard to describe but its like a (consistent with speed) silent...... grabby/squeaky/rubbery noise.................. silent....... repeat.

Anyone have any ideas?
 
Do a bed in procedure first.

It's pretty rare/unlikely that a dealer mechanic will screw up a pad and disc replacements*.

* Waits for the scaremongers saying that the low end jobs go to the 16 year old apprentices and they don't fit parts they bill you for.
 
Do a bed in procedure first.

It's pretty rare/unlikely that a dealer mechanic will screw up a pad and disc replacements*.

* Waits for the scaremongers saying that the low end jobs go to the 16 year old apprentices and they don't fit parts they bill you for.

Bed in procedure? I've always been told to use them gently for the first couple of hundred miles?

Off to google I go ;)
 
I gave them a ring and service gent said it doesn't sound normal. Asked me if I put any grease ( I assume copper ease) on the pads to which I replied - you did them, so did you? He said they should have done so.

I can't see any, the back of the pads look to be new to me - I've normally been able to spot the odd bit of grease through the caliper but these are dry.

He's going to call me back. I didn't pay for the discs or pads front and rear (goodwill). Will see what they say! As far as I'm aware there aren't any apprentices down there at the minute :)
 
I have the nearly exact same noise in my Toyota when braking and not really sure what it is ( sounds a bit more rubbery at me I think).
I inspected the brakes and found nothing peculiar except perhaps one caliper pin that wasn't moving too easily, I didn't have the proper heat resistant grease though so I just cleaned some crud off it and put it back, I can't really be bothered to check myself atm till my pads are worn as the noise doesn't seem to be getting worse ( have had it for months now) and the braking performance is fine. Could theoretically be a CV joint too. I'd usually think old pads or discs, but seeing how yours are new...

You could ask to be sure if they extracted the caliper pins, gave em a good clean ( or even sand if corroded), and put new grease in, or well: checked if they move smoothly in the first place ? Not using grease on the back of the pads results in a much more ''squeaky'' type of sound.

Will be following this to see what it is in the end.
 
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I have the nearly exact same noise in my Toyota when braking and not really sure what it is ( sounds a bit more rubbery at me I think).
I inspected the brakes and found nothing peculiar except perhaps one caliper pin that wasn't moving too easily, I didn't have the proper heat resistant grease though so I just cleaned some crud off it and put it back, I can't really be bothered to check myself atm till my pads are worn as the noise doesn't seem to be getting worse ( have had it for months now) and the braking performance is fine. Could theoretically be a CV joint too. I'd usually think old pads or discs, but seeing how yours are new...

You could ask to be sure if they extracted the caliper pins, gave em a good clean ( or even sand if corroded), and put new grease in, or well: checked if they move smoothly in the first place ? Not using grease on the back of the pads results in a much more ''squeaky'' type of sound.

Will be following this to see what it is in the end.

I'll report back with whatever they say it is on Monday regardless. I hate finding what appears to be the same question with no solution ever posted!
 
I'll report back with whatever they say it is on Monday regardless. I hate finding what appears to be the same question with no solution ever posted!

If it's a standard brake setup then going easy on the brakes for the first few hundred miles is the correct way about it, as it lets you see that the pads are settling and giving a uniform pressure across the face of the disc.

Please don't go out and stamp on the brakes straight away like a lot of sites claim - going from circa 60mph to 10mph. This shouldn't be done until a consistent contact patch on the disc has been achieved, as if the pad hasn't settled then you will end up getting areas on the pads where the brake-in coating has burnt off and others where it still remains; giving inconsistent wear/performance.
 
^ Although it's a slightly different power level to most I've always done the 60-10mph about 8-16 times on my fast cars (RS6, R34, 740 - maybe not that quick but heavy) and never had any issues.

However on my normal cars (Mondeo etc) I do the standard "gentle" bedding in and, again, had no issues.

I've never reversed it (hard in Normal cars etc) to see if there would be any difference.
 
^ Although it's a slightly different power level to most I've always done the 60-10mph about 8-16 times on my fast cars (RS6, R34, 740 - maybe not that quick but heavy) and never had any issues.

However on my normal cars (Mondeo etc) I do the standard "gentle" bedding in and, again, had no issues.

I've never reversed it (hard in Normal cars etc) to see if there would be any difference.

Not sure I understand the logic behind changing your bedding in procedure for different cars. Why would the engine power have a difference on what the braking bedding in procedure does? Surely a disc and a pad is essentially the same regardless of the engine power? Unless you're talking about different brakes (i.e. carbon ceramic) then I've not got a scooby!
 
Update :

I got a call from my usual mechanic today asking me to help him as he couldn't open his invoices up. Drove over there in my lunch hour and sorted his pc for him. In that time, he'd test driven my car, identified the noise, and had the wheel off stripping the brakes.

I'm pleased to say the awful noise has been fixed and was due to the fact that the dealership hadn't cleaned (my terminology may be wrong here) the caliper/sliders of rust/brake crud nor had they put any copper ease/slip on anything. He only had time to do the one problem corner but said he'd sort the rest next time I stop in.

The guide pins (?) were also given a good clean as they had crud on them. He also put some rubber lube ( :D ) on some rubber boot things - I think the guide pins live in those?

I'm not too impressed at the dealerships work, the brakes clearly hadn't been cleaned at all before slapping the new discs and pads on.

Question now is - Do I take this up with the dealership on Monday when the car is in for its cooling fans and a judder as they were meant to be looking at the brakes or do I let him do the rest and know a proper job has been done.

It's rare to find a garage that you can trust, let alone one that goes out of their way on their lunch break to sort your problem out. It also makes you wonder what full dealer service history is worth - when they appear to do the bare minimum.
 
Personally wouldn't mention it if it's something they have fixed under warranty for you - can be awfully techy abkut other people touching something theyve done.

This is the thing with dealers, its worth reminding yourself that they aren't always very thorough despite the cost (which I always negotiate). That history can make your car stand out though

Personally I'm happy for them to service my car and make sure it gets any updates etc, but I tend to either do other bits myself or have someone I trust do it.

Depends how old it is though, mine is a 2009 car so getting on a bit I guess
 
Personally wouldn't mention it if it's something they have fixed under warranty for you - can be awfully techy abkut other people touching something theyve done.

This is the thing with dealers, its worth reminding yourself that they aren't always very thorough despite the cost (which I always negotiate). That history can make your car stand out though

Personally I'm happy for them to service my car and make sure it gets any updates etc, but I tend to either do other bits myself or have someone I trust do it.

Depends how old it is though, mine is a 2009 car so getting on a bit I guess

The car is 2008 so older than yours! Does currently have full VWSH though. They did it as goodwill as the brakes were awful when I purchased it and should have been rectified pre sale. I'll have to tell them I've had the noise on the brakes sorted as its in next week for other bits and they were going to look at those then.
 
Not sure I understand the logic behind changing your bedding in procedure for different cars. Why would the engine power have a difference on what the braking bedding in procedure does? Surely a disc and a pad is essentially the same regardless of the engine power? Unless you're talking about different brakes (i.e. carbon ceramic) then I've not got a scooby!

If you had a 500hp+ car you'd know how hard it would be to drive "normally" for a few hundred miles to gently bed them in, hence the 15min bed in procedure and then you can play again about 2hrs later (or once they've fully cooled) :D
 
Update :


I'm pleased to say the awful noise has been fixed and was due to the fact that the dealership hadn't cleaned (my terminology may be wrong here) the caliper/sliders of rust/brake crud nor had they put any copper ease/slip on anything. He only had time to do the one problem corner but said he'd sort the rest next time I stop in.

The guide pins (?) were also given a good clean as they had crud on them. He also put some rubber lube ( :D ) on some rubber boot things - I think the guide pins live in those?

Thanks for the feedback, my noise is most likely from the caliper pins/sliders too then, as one of em wasn't moving too smoothly, no biggie as long as it doesn't cause uneven wear imho.

Next pad replacement I'll give em a clean, sand ( most likely needed for a '93 car) and new ''blue''grease.
 
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