Here's the deal: On cool, damp mornings, my 2001.5 Passat GLS V6 has a very loud whine when light to medium pressure is applied to the breaks, but only in reverse. I asked the dealer, and they told me that it was due to cold brake calipers and problems gripping the discs. Okay, small squeak I can handle, but this is so loud it's embarrasing. I find myself backing into my parking spot at night to avoid the whine. Got any ideas/suggestions?
Whining brakes?
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Re: Whining brakes? (c-dev)
Interesting. We've had our '01 RX300 for about a year, and this just started to happen to it in the past 2 weeks. Although it's not as loud as you've described, it is an annoyance to have squeaking brakes on a new vehicle. It happens only during the first few minutes of driving. After the pads/calipers warm up, the noise is gone.
The usual cause of this sound isn't metal-on-metal like most dealers will describe it. It's a vibration (cyclical) on the pad itself in the caliper. Most of the time the noise goes away after driving a few minutes because as the pads and calipers heat up, they expand. When they expand, there's no room for the pads to vibrate. If they still squeak after warming up, a visit to the dealer may be necessary to find out what's going on.
There are a few "solutions" (not necessarily pertaining to the Passat in particular):
1. Remove the pads, clean the dust off (both pads and calipers), and reinstall
2. Install "shims" that go behind the pads
3. Some auto stores sell some "gunk" that acts like an epoxy/buffer between the pad and the caliper. Sorry, I don't remember the name of it, but it was made to eliminate squeaking brakes.
I had a '98 Volvo S70 T5 that had sqeaky brakes. I tried #1. It worked for about a week. Then #2 didn't work because no one made shims for that model. #3 did work. Unfortunately, the gunk I bought was bright orange, and could be seen through the 5 spoke wheels.
Hopefully one of these will work.
-Craig
Interesting. We've had our '01 RX300 for about a year, and this just started to happen to it in the past 2 weeks. Although it's not as loud as you've described, it is an annoyance to have squeaking brakes on a new vehicle. It happens only during the first few minutes of driving. After the pads/calipers warm up, the noise is gone.
The usual cause of this sound isn't metal-on-metal like most dealers will describe it. It's a vibration (cyclical) on the pad itself in the caliper. Most of the time the noise goes away after driving a few minutes because as the pads and calipers heat up, they expand. When they expand, there's no room for the pads to vibrate. If they still squeak after warming up, a visit to the dealer may be necessary to find out what's going on.
There are a few "solutions" (not necessarily pertaining to the Passat in particular):
1. Remove the pads, clean the dust off (both pads and calipers), and reinstall
2. Install "shims" that go behind the pads
3. Some auto stores sell some "gunk" that acts like an epoxy/buffer between the pad and the caliper. Sorry, I don't remember the name of it, but it was made to eliminate squeaking brakes.
I had a '98 Volvo S70 T5 that had sqeaky brakes. I tried #1. It worked for about a week. Then #2 didn't work because no one made shims for that model. #3 did work. Unfortunately, the gunk I bought was bright orange, and could be seen through the 5 spoke wheels.
Hopefully one of these will work.
-Craig
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2 Posts
Re: Whining brakes? (outrun)
Just installed Mintex pads, then the sound appeared, more like a constant moaning over all speeds, forward and reverse. Went back to the chaps who installed the Mintex pads, turns out one of my brakes was kinda jammed..callipers could not fully release the brakes, hence the noise
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They took aparts the brakes , reassembled the brakes, sound gone
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Whew! Hope this helps !
Just installed Mintex pads, then the sound appeared, more like a constant moaning over all speeds, forward and reverse. Went back to the chaps who installed the Mintex pads, turns out one of my brakes was kinda jammed..callipers could not fully release the brakes, hence the noise
Whining brakes - update
Just talked with a couple of people in the service deparment. They said it's a normal, known phenomenon. It has to do with the metallic brake pads, and them becoming cold and some developing rust as the car sits for long periods of time. The Passat's not alone in this problem...it happens in Nissan Maximas too (among others). They are gonna check my brakes when my car goes in for its 10k checkup next week anyway just to be sure.
Just talked with a couple of people in the service deparment. They said it's a normal, known phenomenon. It has to do with the metallic brake pads, and them becoming cold and some developing rust as the car sits for long periods of time. The Passat's not alone in this problem...it happens in Nissan Maximas too (among others). They are gonna check my brakes when my car goes in for its 10k checkup next week anyway just to be sure.
Re: Whining brakes - update (c-dev)
Not so sure about that diagnosis. I just traded in a '96 Honda Accord EX with 4 wheel discs/ABS. Last I checked, it used brake pads as well. Even with visible rust on the rotors (ungaraged for 6 years), the only audible difference was a "rubbing/swooshing" sound until the rust was peeled off by the pads.
Rust shouldn't cause squeaking. And after the first 2 or 3 stops, all the rust is gone.
-Craig
Not so sure about that diagnosis. I just traded in a '96 Honda Accord EX with 4 wheel discs/ABS. Last I checked, it used brake pads as well. Even with visible rust on the rotors (ungaraged for 6 years), the only audible difference was a "rubbing/swooshing" sound until the rust was peeled off by the pads.
Rust shouldn't cause squeaking. And after the first 2 or 3 stops, all the rust is gone.
-Craig
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