asanti

Hi all, I have an '09 SS (non Brembo) with 23K miles. I heard a squeaking sound last night on the way home from work on the driver's side. It came from the driver's side front brake pad and happened anytime I hit a bump on the highway, or was turning left. At first I thought I might have some kind of animal stuck in the undercarriage! I inspected the pads and calipers but didn't see any obvious signs of damage or loose parts, and the SS stopped fine except for the intermittent squeaks. There's no play on that front left tire so it's not a suspension issue, and the only thing I see is that there's heavy brake dust buildup on the front rims/brake assemblies (I NEED to wash the SS!). My question is would heavy brake dust buildup cause a squeaking noise as if the pads were worn? BTW I visually inspected the front pads and they look like they have lots of material left in them (1/4" or more).

Later
Allex

pitbull76

Did you check both inside and outside pads? It is possible that the inside pads are more worn and setting off the wear sensor.

asanti

Hmm, no I didn't check the inner pads. I'll either bring it to the dealer or pull the rims and do a better visual inspection this weekend when I have the time. It's intermittent too which is aggravating. Drove to work with no problems or squeals; I tap the brakes and the squeal popped up out of nowhere....

Thanks
Allex

Don06

Do you drive in areas where yo have to do a lot of braking? Seems like it would be a real short life if they are worn out in 23K.

asanti

My town is very hilly, but the only "major" hill I go up and down is the one leading to my house. Everything else is flatland or modest grades on the highway. I don't do any 'hard' braking either. Crazy thing is that I drove the car yesterday and the brakes NEVER made a sound!! Either way I've got a date at the dealer's for tomorow just to inspect the brakes. I'll let everyone know what's going on.

Later
Allex

pitbull76

I know one or two others have complained that the stock SS pads don't last long. Once mine wear out, they're getting replaced with longer-lasting ceramic pads. I don't care if I loose a small amount of performance. The LS/LT's use ceramic pads, and outside of rotors sometimes warping the pads on them last longer and don't put out much dust.

mrarff

Had the same problem. Come to find out that all I needed was some brake pad "compound" on the part of the metal backing plate where the piston contacts it. This stuff can be found at any parts house, and it resembles really thick, sticky grease. Also when changing pads, if you don't turn the rotors (which you can do IF the pads didn't wear all the way down) an abrasive disc used with a variable speed drill cleans up deposits that ARE on the rotor. Just use a fine/medium grit to dress the rotors up.

Sunflowerhippi

I'm having same issue dealership couldn't figure it out. No suprise there lol

BlackknighT

Rule of thumb is if you hit the brake and the pads make noise it is due to "glazing" (build up of brake dust and high heat from stops glazes the pads and the rotors. If you have brake material left (get a dust mask) remove the pads & rotors, (are they shiny?) if they are sand off the glaze on them with emory cloth (yes that means by hand). The pads will look dull when the glaze is off of them as will be the rotors. Or spend the money and have the rotors cut & new pads put on-but who has money-just do it by hand you Mary's!!! And don't forget to use permatex green synthetic brake lube on the caliper pins. This is when GM has had problems for years on every car after 1990 that I have done brakes on (mechanic work on the side) especially with rear calipers-poor GM greasing (even from factory on my passenger side front caliper-Dealer couldn't find my problem with glazing on that side and making a grinding type noise while driving in traffic-yeah thanks dealer for saying it's the rust from the rotor from the HHR sitting too long and no use-yeah 15,000 miles in 10 months is no use-ended up sanding the pads and greasing the floating caliper pins myself because the caliper was becoming seized-maybe the dealership needs OUR help. Sorry-all those words just spilled out)

The other rule is if they make noise like a high pitch squeeling when your foot is NOT on the brake, or even when you make a turn, it is the brakes telling you to change them.

Step on the Brake + drag noise like driving over gravel with a steam roller Noise =Glazing (or possibly no pad material left)
Not on brake + high pitch Noise=pad sensors are squeeling
Mike

asanti

Thanks Mike. Here's the funny thing: I had the SS washed last friday and the brakes haven't made one squeak AT ALL. I'm betting I had an excess buildup of brakedust which caked something up. Now the new thing is that I'm starting to feel that "pedal vibration" when I hit the brakes on the highway SOOO new rotors are coming in my near future. At that time I'll dump the OEM pads from hell and upgrade to all new rotors + pads.

Later
Allex