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Why Do My Brakes Squeal?

Posted on Tuesday, October 17, 2017
By: Dave's Auto Service
Categories: Brakes  |  Kia  |  Buick  |  pontiac  |  chevrolet  |  ford  |  chrysler  |  dodge  |  honda  |  subaru  |  toyota  |  mazda  |  tires

Kim, Our service manger received a call from a client about “Why do my brakes squeal“. Not until we can inspect the brake pads, I would have to say that they are at their end of use. There is a tiny piece of metal located on the pads that will touch on your rotor when braking and will make a high pitch noise  alerting the driver that the pads are ready to be replaced.

Wondering Why Do My Brakes Squeal?

There are three types of brake pads on the market:

  • Organic Brake Pads: Organic brake pads are the lowest cost brake pads and are cheaply made and not meant to last very long. They are a softer composition brake pad and sometimes will not perform properly. When you see a lower price on brake pads in a store, these are organic pads and are their loss leader.  Dave’s Auto Service does not carry, recommend or sell these types of brake pads.
  • Semi-Metallic Brake Pads:  Semi-metallic brake pads will last longer than organic but typically create that dark brake dust that coats the outside of your vehicles rims. The front tires are usually more heavily coated than the rear, as the front brake pads typically provide the majority of stopping power (roughly 70%). These pads will make more noise than organic brake pads and the driver at times will hear squealing and grinding. While they provide much more stopping power than organic pads, they are still not as superior as ceramic brake pads. Based on the year of the vehicle being serviced at Dave’s Auto Service, we prefer to use ceramic pads… and here’s why:
  • Ceramic Brake Pads: Will usually leave only a very light dusting on the rims when used, versus the dark dusting of semi-metallic and will last often twice as long with almost no brake squeal complaints. This reduces the cost of ownership and maintenance while ensuring great stopping power.

 

If you are hearing a grinding or scraping noise or even a loud squeal when you apply your brakes, it may be time to bring your vehicle in our shop for your free brake inspection at Dave’s Auto Service, a AAA approved auto repair facility.

Dave's Auto Service located in Boyertown, Pa. is a also a full service Brake Shop performing all types of Brake Repairs. 

We recommend only using premium brand brake pads, discs, drums and rotors. Please call (610) 367-1844 to schedule a brake inspection appointment so our ASE certified mechanic can inspect your brakes today. Please also visit our Car Repair Appointment Scheduler to set up your brake inspection at our Boyertown, PA auto facility….

Tagged:brakes, brake pads, squeal, squealing, inspection, Kia, pa. state inspection, brake, stopping, brake shop, brake repairs, brakes repair, boyertown, gilbertsville, oley, douglassville, amity, pottstown, bally, barto, bechtelsville, car repairs, auto repair, car repair, auto repairs

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I didn't know that semi-metal pads have more braking power but do squeal louder at times. I have been thinking about getting my brakes service because they keep squeaking. I can see how it would be smart to have them replaced soon because they don't have the same ability to slow down as they used to.
Posted by scott on Thursday, January 4, 2018, 6:39 PM
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