Squeaky brakes.

[Ron Tanner]

When I reverse the brakes squeak. I have been told that this is a warning to pedestrians around. Is this correct or am I being had. Look forward to receiving your feed back.

[ Edited moderator: fix spelling in heading for easier searching. ]

 

[Coulomb]

I have been told that this is a warning to pedestrians around.

Heh, that's a new one on me.

I believe it's something they put on for transport, and sometimes they forget to remove it with the pre-delivery inspection. I believe that it's fairly easy to fix, then they are silent as they should be. [ Edit July 2022: I now think it may be a more common issue, perhaps even a design quirk. ]

Mine squeal too, but only for the first few seconds when reversing down our slightly sloping driveway. It hasn't bothered me enough to go in to the dealers' as yet, but it may soon.

 

[Ron61]

My MG5 did this for the first 2 or 3 months it's now stopped, It might have something to do with the brakes bedding in.

 

[Alb]

It's quite common and almost certainly nothing to worry about.

 

[Lovemyev]

This is a subject close to @Les burrows heart.
After trying to get the brake squeal ( when reversing ) on his MG5 sorted a few times at the dealer.

 

[Ding]

I have the same noise when reversing down slope parking. now at 2700miles it is getting better.

 

[Vipar]

Someone is pulling your plonker

 

[N2STY]

Someone is pulling your plonker

I agree making his nuts squeak

 

[Ron Tanner]

Thanks for the feedback. The funny part is, that the brakes only squeal when I am reversing down my drive way ( a bit of a slope) and NOT when I am driving the car.

 

[N2STY]

Thanks for the feedback. The funny part is, that the brakes only squeal when I am reversing down my drive way ( a bit of a slope) and NOT when I am driving the car.

May be find a empty car park do a lot of braking in reserve pads could be fethard a bit Hay it might be fun?

 

[Lovemyev]

This appears to be a common issue on the MG5.

 

[John Griffiths]

Yes I had this for about two months but the problem then disappeared.

 

[Coulomb]

Huh. I've had it since new, bought 10½ months ago. If anything, it's gotten worse. But not long now till first service.

 

[Lovemyev]

When the pads are assembled into the callipers at the manufactures they are all assembled dry.
No anti seize grease is used on the contact points between pads and calliper body.
Only removal / clean and lub will cure this squeal problem IMHO.
Dealers will be very reluctant to do this unless the owner is willing to pay and very unlikely that it will covered under a warranty claim.
At service times, brake pads are only checked for wear by the means of a visual inspection, then a rough guess of there percentage / state of wear is indicated on the service sheet.
Wheels are not removed to carry out this very quick visual check.
Wheels are very rarely removed anymore, unless access is required for other types of work.
Many EV are finding the need for a “Brake Service” after a while, because the brakes have less work to do due to the advantage of Regen braking.
Lack of use causes corrosion to build up and pads to stick and squeal.
In the case of a new car, the corrosion is not the issue, but the pads can still stick slightly and cause the squeal.

 

[Gadget Geek]

When the pads are assembled into the callipers at the manufactures they are all assembled dry.
No anti seize grease is used on the contact points between pads and calliper body.
Only removal / clean and lub will cure this sequel problem IMHO.
Dealers will be very reluctant to do this unless the owner is willing to pay and very unlikely that it will covered under a warranty claim.
At service times, brake pads are only checked for wear by the means of a visual inspection, then a rough guess of there percentage / state of wear is indicated on the service sheet.
Wheels are not removed to carry out this very quick visual check.
Wheels are very rarely removed anymore, unless access is required for other types of work.
Many EV are finding the need for a “Brake Service” after a while, because the brakes have less work to do due to the advantage of Regen braking.
Lack of use causes corrosion to build up and pads to stick and squeal.
In the case of a new car, the corrosion is not the issue, but the pads can still stick slightly and cause the squeal.

All four of my wheels were removed at 2nd service and a guage was used to measure the pad thickness. I know because they sent me the video.

 

[Eclectic]

Just find an old fashioned garage with an old fashioned mechanic. He'll whip the wheels off, whack a bit of copper slip in all the relevant places and have it all back together before you can say," How much? A dealer wanted £250 for doing that!!"

 

[Lovemyev]

All four of my wheels were removed at 2nd service and a guage was used to measure the pad thickness. I know because they sent me the video.

They must be the exception to the rule then !.
The service schedule sheet must call for this function, which is then included into the price of the service of course !.
I mean seriously, if the pads had more then 75% of their fiction pads remaining, which is very likely on an EV, why would you even need to remove ALL of the wheels, to get a more fairly accurate measurement of the fiction pad thickness ?.
If you where a high usage case, covering LOADS of miles and was heavy on he brakes, then yeah.
But for low / normal usage cases, removing all of the wheels on the second service is a bit OTT.
I know a certain manufacture had problems with cracks appearing in the alloy wheels of cetain models, then there is good reason to follow protocol and remove the wheels.
I assume they did a front to back wheel rotation at the same time, as they had bothered to remove ALL of the wheels !.
My previous car was a VW Golf PHEV which we owned for over four years.
It that time it received 4 services at the same main VW dealership.
On the 1st service, front brake pads where recorded at 95%.
At the second service it was reduced to 90% - but on the third service it jumped back up to 95%.
When I challenged this, I was told that without removing ALL of the wheels and removing ALL of the pads and then comparing them with new parts from stock, then it is totally unnecessary and is added to the cost for the customer.
And to honest, the customer just wants to know that their pads are within the safety requirements limits set out by the manufacture.

 

[Alb]

I think it's a bit more complicated than you suggest.
Ideally, you also want to check for asymmetric wear (both inboard v outboard and across the face of the pad). There is no easy way to do this without removing the pads.
I know in the real world this rarely if ever happens because I've seen both effects on my other car without a comment being raised during service or MOT.

 

[Lovemyev]

I had a MOT licence back in the day and my friend of over 40 years ( who I served my time with at college ) still has his own MOT testing station, passed down from his late farther.
The first item that greet's you when you enter his workshop, is the twin roller brake machine set into the floor.
Front foot brakes are checked first as 75% of the braking of the car, comes from the front brakes. The car then moves forward on to the rear wheels.
Foot brakes tested first, then the handbrake effectiveness are compare across both sides.
This gives him a clue / idea of what the state of the brakes will be BEFORE it even hit's the ramp.
Cars with drum brakes on the rear gives little / no indication of the condition of the brake shoes, unless it fails on the brake machine or the drums are removed ( Not happening on an MOT ).
So a pass / failure is based purely on what the brake machine tells the inspector.
If foot and back brakes passed on the brake machine, then a quick visual inspect will take place looking for brake disc's that are considered badly worn ( undersize ) or badly pitted / corroded etc.
This is where a lot of MOT stations ( who have the facilities ) pick up some extra work by providing the facility to offer the remedial work.
If the brake pads are low ( but the brake efficiently still passed ) then could be marked down as purely as an advisory on the ticket.
Any evidence of brake fluid leaking leaking from the back of the drum, is a straight FAILURE !.
Uneven brake pad wear happens for a reason.
Duel / Multiple piston callipers display this type of symptom when either one of the pistons are in some state of becoming seized, or the steel backing pads has become seized in the calliper body.
A small exception to this, is when you are dealing with a single piston calliper, like found on the rear of the ZS.
With only one piston, the leading brake pad gets to the disc just in front of the trailing pad, so a LITTLE uneven wear is acceptable over the life of a set of pads.
If the pad is "binding" in the calliper body, this will see drag on the disc and premature wear takes place.
This behaviour is all to common on cars as they age, as rust / brake dust and "crud" builds up.
Should not be common place on a car that is less than three years old, unless there is an underling problem with the braking system.
This is why I don't think it is totally necessary to remove the wheels at this early stage in cars life.
But if they feel its necessary, then go ahead !.
When brake pads require replacing ( especially on the front ) some totally unskilled people will take on the job of installing them themselves.
I have lost count of the amount of people who have turned up for a MOT and the first thing they say is :- "The brakes will be fine mate, because I have just fitted new front pads".
As the car is driven onto the ramp, the pads are squeezing in pain and difficult to move the car.
"Have you ever fitted pad's before" - NO was the answer.
"Feel the heat coming from the hub - how did you get the pads in"
Knocked them in with hammer mate !.
That's WHY we need to have MOT's - They protect us form people like that.
MOT inspectors are responsible for what they testing at that present time of the test, not even the next day.
But over the years, you learn to read people almost instantly.
On a couple of occasions, when commenting on a nice set of wheels and tyres, fitted on an banger that is held together with glue and string.
The reply I received, is this :- "Thanks, they are off my mates car".
Which means of course that his tyres are knackered !.
Strictly ( because of "condition of the car on the day" ) you can't fail the car !.
Switching parts to get through the test is a very dangerous practice, but has been seen.
Enough said on that subject !.
James of "James & Kate" fame on YouTube, is a brilliant dedicated mobile EV Tech.
A lot of his work is carrying normal services, together with brake services on older Tesla's / Leaf's etc - rear pads in a lot of cases.
Pad's totally seized solid in the calliper body and the brakes dragging and not releasing correctly.

 

[Kithmo]

Having had a few second hand cars in the past where the alloy wheels have not been removed for several years and the wheels were stuck on the hub due to corrosion, I would not be happy if the dealer didn't remove them every couple of years. It's not nice trying to change a punctured tyre on a cold dark rainy night and the wheel being stuck to the hub.