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Sparky and his wife brought their car in the other day and wanted us to take a look at their squeaky brakes – I think they were about to drive her crazy!  Sparky gets his tires from us here at Treadworks, but wasn’t sure if we worked on brakes.  I assured him that we provide that service as well as many other auto repair services.

Reasons for Brake Noise

While a certain amount of brake noise is normal, Sparky’s brake noise was pretty excessive.  Excessive brake noise certainly points to a problem with your brake system, but there are several things that can cause this noise.

Excessive Vibration

Excessive vibration is the leading cause of brake noise.  While a certain amount of vibration is normal during braking, excessive vibration will cause abnormal brake noise.  Sometimes this may happen with new brakes, but we’ll cover that in “What Causes Brake Noise? Part 2.”  What causes excessive vibration?

Brake Dust

As your brake pads wear, small particles of the pad flake off as dust and remain between your brake pads and your brake rotors.  This dust will cause excessive vibration, and can cause slippage, which can cause brake noise.  Because we live in the desert here, we are no stranger to blowing dust and off-road conditions.  Dust from these conditions can also cause vibration, slippage, and brake noise.

Worn, Pitted, or Warped Brake Rotors

Your rotors are what your brake pads squeeze in order to stop your car.  If these rotors are worn, pitted, warped, or have irregularities of any kind, this will cause uneven contact with your brake pads and may cause brake noise.

Worn Brake Pads

Brake pads come with a built-in safety feature called wear indicators.  Wear indicators are thins strips of metal embedded in the brake pads that are designed to cause brake noise when they contact the rotors.  When your brake pads wear down enough to expose the wear indicators, they rub against the rotors when you brake and cause a squeak or squeal to warn you that your brake pads are worn.  After all, it’s better to listen to the noise each time your brake until you can replace them than to stomp on your brakes and not have the ability to stop because your pads are worn down too much.

What Can You Do?

Your brakes are one of the most important features on your vehicle.  Any squeaking or squealing coming from your brakes should be checked by a trained professional to ensure your safety.  While not all brake noise is a sign of your brakes not functioning properly, it is better to be safe than sorry – get them checked.

At Treadworks, we can inspect and repair any problem with your brakes to ensure the safety of you and your family.  Take a look at the Brakes section of our website and give us a call at (505) 327-0286.