GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

My girlfriend has a 2003 Pontiac Vibe (base version). Her brakes have been squeaking for a long time now and really loud. I of course figured this was because the pads were low. A couple months ago I replaced the front brake pads. The squeaking stopped all-together for about 2 days and then all of a sudden came back again. The squeaking has continued since then. My girlfriend took her car to her friend's dad's house last weekend because he is a mechanic. He looked at both the front and rear brakes and said both of them were good for probably another 20,000 miles.I'm confused now. Why are her brakes squeaking if they do not need to be replaced for 20,000 miles? Why would the squeaking stop completely for two days after I replaced the front pads and then magically start up again? What's going on?? Any help would be appreciated.

How are the squeaking? Is it with the brakes applied, or not? Hard stops or light stops? Worn out brakes will chirp then squeal as the wear indicator comes into more contact with the rotors. Did you put the anti squeal compound on the backs of the pads? If they do not have enough, the pads will vibrate and squeal when you apply them. Also the moving parts should be lubed so they won't cause noises either.

The brakes only squeak when the brake pedal is depressed and the brakes applied. When the brakes are not applied, they do not squeak. I did put that anti-squeal lube on the back of the pads when I installed them. It stopped for 2 days and then started up again with the brand new pads. I've never dealt with pads that continue to squeak even after you install brand new ones.

I have ran into this probs on a fue cars its the pads. if the materal is to hard it will make noise on some cars. my old neon and cav where bad for that. used a el chepo brand went away but had to change them more often due to softer compound.

What kind of pads did you use? Semi-metallics will squeak no matter what. Ceramics shouldn't make any noise with enough anti-squeal on the backing.

What brand of pads did you use? Did the new pads come with shims?

I don't remember the brand or if they were ceramic or not. That could be the problem. I know they came with new shims. I might just have to buy cheap ceramic pads and try again. See if that takes care of the problem.

Quote, originally posted by CaliManDan »I might just have to buy cheap i think i may have located your problem.

...try "washing" the brakes at the car wash using the wand...if that lessens the squeeking, it MIGHT have been accumulated brake "dust."...if not, it's probably a "glazed" spot on one of the disc pads...which your dealership or tire shop can easily remedy.

I had bought really cheap semi-metallics at advance auto & they squeaked like crazy !!! Used the same ones for my sisters van and it did the same thing. Turns out it was the pads. The next time my sister did a brake job a freind of ours used ceramic pads. Noise was gone....