Sqeeky Brakes

Rathbod said:

"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

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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.

thricey said:

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...

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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.