[Lopaka]

Aloha all,

I have had my car for 8 months, and 4700 miles. The brakes sqeal very badly with light brake pressure when you first drive off in the car after it has been sitting a while, and the brakes are not warmed up yet. It is getting to the point now that it has started to sqeal most of the time even after you have ben driving a while. It only does this with light break pressure on the pedal.
It will be going in for the 5000 mile service soon, I had already had the dealer change the oil at 1000 miles, and now break sqeal then.
I wonder if it will be covered under warrantee? The pads are a wear item, but so fast?

 

[cb391]

We have 21,000 miles on our Eos and haven't heard the brakes except when they are cold and that generally goes away. IIRC didn't you try driving with the emegency brake on? The dealer would replace the pads if you hada bad caliper but not for wear. You need a BMW for that. You can take it back to the dealer at your 5K and have them look at it (brake inspection is part of the maintenance package). They will either say it is normal, needs repaired at your expense, or they may try cleaning the pads and rotor maybe even for free.

 

[Rathbod]

squeaky brakes

"sqeal very badly with light brake pressure when you first drive off in the car after it has been sitting"

I am sure you will get responses from those far more qualified than I, but brake squeal under light braking pressure is usaully from the build up of brake dust which collects on the disc, light pressure is not normally burning it off.

When I was working on the "tools" it was a failry common complainst from people only doing low mileage, the dust which builds up generally, is not getting moved away.

Derek

 

[silvershadow]

"sqeal very badly with light brake pressure when you first drive off in the car after it has been sitting"

I am sure you will get responses from those far more qualified than I, but brake squeal under light braking pressure is usaully from the build up of brake dust which collects on the disc, light pressure is not normally burning it off.

When I was working on the "tools" it was a failry common complainst from people only doing low mileage, the dust which builds up generally, is not getting moved away.

Derek

Spot on Derek,

My usual corrective action if this problem arises is to take the vehicle out onto a suitable length of lightly used road and do about 4-6 hard stops [i.e. the wheels are close to locking up and the ABS does not activate] from 80Km/hr. Drive the car home, allow the brakes to cool and give the callipers [both front and back] a good wash with a hose nozzle through the wheel from outside and behind from under the wheel arch to wash out the dust. Let the brakes dry and then do one or two average stops to warm them up to evaporate any residual moisture. If you do not do this and leave the car overnight or longer after washing the callipers, it is possible the rotors will develop some light surface rusting and a grating noise might be heard on the first one or two brake applications until the rust dust is ejected from the pads.

The problem is more likely to arise with "hard" [premium performance] than with "soft" brake pads.

 

[Lopaka]

Thanks for the feedback

Aloha Fellow EOS owners,

I will try the hard braking drill. It will go in for service in a month, but I think your right about the continual light braking. I have gotten so parinoid about the brakes that I do brake them as gently as possible all the time. I thing the squeeling is from front and back brakes. If I have to pay for pads at service, I will deal with it then.

Thanks again,

Lopaka

 

[silvershadow]

Aloha Fellow EOS owners,

I will try the hard braking drill. It will go in for service in a month, but I think your right about the continual light braking. I have gotten so parinoid about the brakes that I do brake them as gently as possible all the time. I thing the squeeling is from front and back brakes. If I have to pay for pads at service, I will deal with it then.

Thanks again,

Lopaka

G'day mate,

Please let us know how you get on - I doubt if the pads will need to be replaced unless you have picked up some road debris that is now embedded into the pad. If this is the case, you will also have a scored brake rotor which will need skimming or replacement depending on the extent of damage.

Hooroo from Downunder

 

[Lopaka]

Update,

Took my EOS in today for 5000 mile service. It went much better than expected. I was honest and told my service advisor what I had done (drive with the parking brake partially engaged). We had a good laugh, and he said it happens a lot more than people would think. The parking brakes on the EOS are directly working of the rear discs, no seperate brake housing. The dealer took the rear brakes apart, checked all conponents, cleaned them, and reasembled brakes. Like new! No sqeeks!

Had synthetic oil & filter change, plus checks, totol cost, $144.00 US! If it had been a BMW, it would have been $900, just for the brakes!

Gotta love my EOS!

Lopaka

 

[thricey]

Ive had the same brake squeek problem for about the past 4 months and taken it into the dealer about 7 times... and yet nothing has been done. ive complained to all the available managers of the dealer but apparently they have done everything they can, and it is just part of the car

they initially said it was build up on the discs but they cleaned them and it still squeaked. they did diagnostics tests on the brakes and all the specs came back normal so it wasnt the brake pads or nothing like that. they buffed the dics because they said they might be hitting but nothing happened. i honestly dont know what to do.

when i first got my car in february, my seat belt buckle literally came off the seat and i was in a rental for 2 weeks as they ordered the wrong part TWICE. and just recently, my 12v blew out for the third time and i came to find out that my drivers airbag wasnt EVER installed.

ive had 3 VWs prior to this one and i have never had problems like these...

 

[silvershadow]

Ive had the same brake squeek problem for about the past 4 months and taken it into the dealer about 7 times... and yet nothing has been done. ive complained to all the available managers of the dealer but apparently they have done everything they can, and it is just part of the car

they initially said it was build up on the discs but they cleaned them and it still squeaked. they did diagnostics tests on the brakes and all the specs came back normal so it wasnt the brake pads or nothing like that. they buffed the dics because they said they might be hitting but nothing happened. i honestly dont know what to do.

when i first got my car in february, my seat belt buckle literally came off the seat and i was in a rental for 2 weeks as they ordered the wrong part TWICE. and just recently, my 12v blew out for the third time and i came to find out that my drivers airbag wasnt EVER installed.

ive had 3 VWs prior to this one and i have never had problems like these...

Looks like you are receiving the classic run-around from a dealer who doesn't know let alone care - at least dealers here that have the same attitude to this problem just swap the brake pads for a soft compound and turn you loose. The squeaks disappear along with your braking performance after more than one stop when the inevitable brake fade occurs.

The squeaks are due to your driving habits as your car is not being braked hard enough to remove the "glazing" on the pads - this is a situation where the best cure is in your hands. Read my post above and give the suggestions a go in a safe location - you have nothing to lose other than some time and your squeaks. If the squeaks reoccur, just repeat the cure or do a couple of hard stops on a regular basis when driving the car.

The cure is in your hands and is not a fault in your car let alone one that can be blamed on VW. From a safety point of view, I much prefer a car with brake pads that might be prone to squeaking but give consistent braking performance in repetitive stopping situations to a situation where squeaking does not occur yet the car cannot stop safely and consistently from freeway speeds due to brake fade.

 

[Lopaka]

Hi All,

My sqeeky brakes have come back. I do a lot of stop and go traffic and I believe this is contributing to the problem. I have a friend with a 2008 Mercedes C350 with the AMG sport package that has the same problem. Both cars have all disc brakes with performance brake pads. My friend has taken his car in repeated times also, with the same answer from the dealer.
I have choosen to just live with it as long as the dealer says it is safe, and it has been serviced and notated for warrantee purposes. The EOS has powerful brakes when needed, and just love to take it out on the weekends for a drive around the island (no traffic then). Happy driving!

Aloha,
Lopaka

 

[Lopaka]

Update

Aloha all,
Decided to crawl under my EOS this morning and verify how the parking brake is set up. It has two brake cables, one for each wheel, and works directly off the rear brake pads. The dealer was telling the truth. It is amazing how everything is put together under there.
While checking things out, I must let you all know that the rear bumper has nothing under that plastic cap to protect the car. I was shocked. It looks like if you were to get a good bump from the back, the car would be toast. I would have thought there would be some kind of bumper under there, especially with nothing protecting that fancy roof.
My 13 year old Bimmer has thick aluminum bumpers with shocks mounted at each end under the plastic cap. It is an E34 model, 5 series, and still is going strong. I tend to keep my cars for a 4-5 years, but the Bimmer is my baby also and has had about $10 K put into her over the last 2 years.
Sorry EOS forum, I just appriciate German engineering!
Lopaka

 

[ChrisM]

Hello everyone - I have a new 2009 EOS, and the brakes are horribly squeaky. I especially notice it when the weather is cold. I took to the dealer, but they said it is normal. I told them my neighbors are making jokes about my 4 month old car with only 5,000 squeaking so much. I drive both the freeway and local streets. i try to brake extra hard to make it stop, but nothing seems to help. Is this only happening with certain EOS cars, or is it all of them? I appreciate any advice anyone can offer. I'm also adding a hitch so I can add a bike rack.

 

[bretagne]

I thought it was just me. I should have known others were having this problem. I am taking mine in first thing in the morning. I think the rotor is grinding too.

 

[CIB]

My right side break squeaks only at two specific corners ever - turning into my lane on the left side of the road and turning into my drive on the right - !!???!

 

[LauralovesherEOS]

I'm so glad to read this. I have the same squeaking problem in my otherwise perfect 2007 white Eos, and I keep getting a stone face of "there's nothing wrong" at the dealer. I am going to try the hard braking and hope it does the trick. Thanks Eos lovers!

 

[Rybky]

I suspect the EOS has very soft brake pads fitted (is why they work so well!), the trouble with soft pads is that they can pickup dirt and dust very easily.

If I had brake squeeling like people are reporting here I would be looking to completely change the type of pad I have on the car, maybe even go ceramic.

Adam

 

[Lopaka]

Hi All,
Took my car in for 25K oil change / service and told a new dealer that my rear brakes sound terrible with sqeel, however my regular dealer said nothing was wrong. Well guess what, I was driving with metal on metal and had to replace rotors, pads and some other parts to the rear brakes. Cost $511, but wow, what a difference! Like new or better with blissful quiet! Think I found me a "New Dealer" that actually listened.
Happy driving!
Lopaka