I have a '07 Camry with a heckuva brake squeal and the shop has been unable to correct it.

A quick breakdown, I use a very good independent shop, I highly recommend them, very solid place. In August they did a front brake job and turned the rotors. Everything was fine for a few months. Then brake pulsation started and processed to being a very bad pulsation. I took it back in November, they said the rotors had warped and were now too thin to turn. I agreed, and new rotors were installed. (I paid for the rotors, labor was not charged.) And to clarify, I never had any brake noise before the new rotors were installed a couple months ago, now I do. There was no brake noise after the new pads were installed when turning the rotors in August. The noise only started when new rotors were installed a couple months ago.

About 2 or 3 weeks after the new rotors it began to give a brake squeak-squeal. It started off lightly and has progressively gotten louder.

I've had it back twice, they say they couldn't get it to make noise, but they took it apart and lubed everything that moved on the front brake system. Problem is not fixed.

It doesn't always do it, but when it does, it can be really LOUD and embarrassing. I mean, people stop, look, and come to me hey man, you need some brakes put on your car. This morning I was parked next to a police car, cop sitting in it, and he gave me a "look" when my car did that obviously really loud squeak-squeal noise. Murphy's law, right?

To clarify, it is intermittent when braking to a stop from forward forward motion. Most of the time it is quiet and normal, but a fair amount of the time it will squeal-squeak and it may be anywhere between not-too-loud to down right embarrassingly loud. I can NOT get it to make the noise when I want to demonstrate it.

However, I can, almost every time, to get it to make noise when braking while backing backing up. It can be very loud and embarrassing.

I took it to the shop this morning and had the owner come out and listen to it while I drove it. It would not squeal-squeak in forward motion braking, but would while braking while backing up. They can't get to it until Friday, so I'll plan on taking it back then. He seemed to be mystified as to what is wrong, since they've looked at it twice,but was clearly eager and happy to fix it, no issue there.

So my question is, since all sound is a vibration, what's causing it? It occurred to me that it could be the rear brakes, but they were replaced 18-20 months ago and the shop said they were fine. I seem to recall a previous complaint from someone and the fix was to either put some shim or lube on the back side of the brake pad.

And, BTW, the shop owner says they DO NOT use cheap auto parts from the mass retailers, he only buys parts from a wholesaler who stocks the factory brand and OEM type parts, eliminates most headaches for him to deal with.

Sorry about the long story and thanks in advance for your thoughts. Gene

quote:

And, BTW, the shop owner says they DO NOT use cheap auto parts from the mass retailers, he only buys parts from a wholesaler who stocks the factory brand and OEM type parts, eliminates most headaches for him to deal with.

I'm not suggesting he does otherwise, but even brands of parts you pay a premium for are often Chinese-made. Sometimes, rarely, the rotor itself can create a resonance and noise. It may be from the metal the rotor is cast out of, the internal shape of the internal cooling fins and hollow spaces or the thickness of the metal. Parts from the Toyota dealer (and make sure they are Toyota OEM) might be necessary. It wouldn't be unreasonable for you to pay the difference. But before doing that, try putting the same high temperature grease used on the slides on the backs of the pads wherever they contact the caliper. Obviously not on friction surfaces. Good pads should already have had the shims.


(I just pulled that picture off Google. It doesn't need to be gobbed on quite that thick, and that grease on the exposed surface serves no purpose, but that's the general idea.)

Are the new pads made out of the same material as the old ones?

Put some of the best splintered pads on the motorcycle and you could hear me for blocks. When back to OEM organic pads and all is well

I'm guessing it's the combination of pad material and new rotors don't work well together. Doesn't mean they are cheap, just not compatible.

Squeels indicate a vibration somewhere between the pads, bracket, caliper, and rotor. Sometimes lubrication and a micro-finnish on the rotor is all it takes, sometimes you can chase the noise for days.

Fix it =OEM parts and big $. Have a chance at fixing it = lube and pad change.
This is a constant battle and mfg. spend a bunch to work on it and add silly parts to deal with it.
Me I'd ignore it, its not a safety issue.

Sometimes the new rotors have a very smooth surface and need to have a non directional finish put on them, or they can squeak. If it has gotten progressively worse, either the pads or the rotors have been polished/burnished which can also cause noise.

The top picture where it says lubricate where the back of the pad contacts the caliper. Actually needs to be a silicone type product called brake quite. It dries to semi soft and stops that vibration that causes the noise.

Were it mine, I would have sanded those pads as flat as possible before putting the new rotors on to ward off just the noise you are getting. They grooved in to the old rotors. In the condition it is now, I'd say a light machining on the rotors and a good flat sand on the pads followed by a nice bedding in (a few harder applications after install) would fix your problem.

Just replacing the rotors without any attention to the pads is kind of asking for noise, at least in my experience.

If it were me, I'd go make some HARD stops & see if it goes away. Probably too late now, but won't hurt to try.

Did they bed/burnish the brakes when they put the new rotors on?

Please let us know if and how you get this fixed. I've been through 3 sets of different pads. The proper areas were lubricated and they were seated correctly but I can't get rid of the squeal.

They are using cheap jobber pads that they get for $13. They will always squeal, and the only way to fix it is to replace them with higher quality pads.

The top quality house pads from the your local Advance Auto (Wearever Platinum Professional) are REALLY nice pads for the money. They have anti-squeal shims on the back - several layers of them. They WILL be quiet as a brand new car. Highly recommend. Buy them online with their 30-40% off code, and they are pretty darn affordable too.

These pads WILL fix your problem. I am 100% certain.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
I'm guessing it's the combination of pad material and new rotors don't work well together. Doesn't mean they are cheap, just not compatible.

Unless an anti - squeal wasn't used on the pads, this (^^^) is the likely culprit.

Have the mechs put in a cheap set of pads

I get pads, rotors, calipers, etc. from Napa and never have noise issues. I don't use any grease on them either. Just the factory shims which are attached to the pads.

On my Tundra, i use OEM Toyota pads and rotors, and have started using the Bosch premium rotors. Along with that purple synthetic brake lube (Amazon) on the shims and backing plates (that the pistons contact). No squealing with those parts. Tried the super duper TRD pads once. Cooked the OEM rotors in a couple of months. Never again. I put about 20k on the truck a year.