Squeaky brakes 2001 GMC Yukon XL

yukonxlowner

I have a 2001 GMC Yukon XL. It has around 73K miles on it. The brakes squeak almost every time they are applied. I have had them checked at 2 different places and my husband even looked at the pads with the mechanics, who both told him that they brake pads and rotors were fine, and did not need replacing. Is there anything else this could be, or just a chronic thing I should learn to live with? Thank you.

bryang22

I have a 2005 Yukon Xl with the worst brakes. Every time I use light pressure they squeak. this has been going on for about 4 months. The car only has 32,000 miles. I took it to the dealer and they showed me in the manual where it says the brakes may squeak with light pressure. The noise I get is beyond normal. I have inspected the pad and rotors myself and had an expert look at them. We can find no problems. I am afraid to have the pads replaced and spend a few 100 dollars and get no results.

Any suggestions or help will be appreciated.

brianlittke

I have had the exact experience with my '05 XL. Dealer says this is normal. I disagree. It is a shame that GM says that is OK. Not surprising they are losing more of the market everyday. The last time I took it in, they said there was about 80% life left on the pads. If I knew that replacing the pads with another brand would help, I would. I am afraid that it won't make a differnece.

bryang22

I finally found a solution to this problem. I was told by a service advisor at a local GMC Dealer to go about 40 MPH on an empty street and lock the brakes up. The ABS will activate and it will knock the glazing off the rotors. I did this and got the car up to about 45 and stood on the brake peddle. The ABS kicked in. I did it one more time and the brakes didn't made a noise for about 3 weeks. Once the problem came back I did all over again.

A crappy solution but it works and is better than driving around with everyone looking at you. I considered selling the car just becasue of the noisy brakes.

rsht

Glazing on a rotor is a normal thing, each time we use our brakes will cause the rotor to glaze; certain type of brake pads will cause the rotor to glaze sooner than others... Using the "lock the brakes up" method is only a short term patch, and it sounded to me is not something I would want to do (What was this service adviser thinking!!).

It is my opinion, the proper way to minimize or even eliminate (in most cases) the squeak noise to your brakes is to first clean the brake dust off the calipers and pads, then install a properly sized/fitted shims to each brake pad... Good Luck!

ccvilla

Well there's only one reason disc brakes squeak on any vehicle and that's the fact that the back of the brake pad is metal, usually cheap carbon steel, and only because its only function is to hold the brake lining material in place as the steel back is secured into the caliper by whatever means the auto manufacturer has designed, and it is in contact with the piston on the caliper, which is also metal, which pushes against the backing of the brake pad when you apply the brakes causing metal on metal contact. So each time you step on the brakes at a given speed there is some movement or shimmy in the brake pads due to the clearance needed to allow them to slide along with the piston that's pushing it, which can cause it to vibrate within the caliper and rub against the piston. Different speeds cause different vibration frequencies and since we can only hear frequencies between 20 Hz to 20000 Hz, we only hear the squeaking at certain speeds even though the noise is actually happening throughout the braking process at any speed. (I'm sure your dog hears allot more squeaking than you do)

Many people have their brakes checked and re-checked only to have their mechanic tell them their brakes are fine, which is true from a braking standpoint, but what the mechanic fails to do sometimes is actually address the customer’s issue, which is the noise, not the brakes per se. Any mechanic who has even some experience should already know how to remedy the noise problem and those that do not should make you worry about their experience. Those that tell you to drive 45 mph and slam on the brakes should scare you to death and make you run from them never to return! (Unbelievable) Although this may stop the noise temporarily and only because the brake pad is now jammed against the caliper piston for a short time preventing it from vibrating, but as soon as it moves freely again you get the noise again.

There are many aftermarket applications you can use to stop the noise, from disc pad shims (custom cut to fit the size and shape of your pads) which stop the metal to metal contact thus stopping the squeak, to sprays which don't need to match the shape of your brake pads and can be used on all sizes and shapes of pads.

I prefer Permatex® Disc Brake Quiet myself. It stops brake squeal by dampening the shimmy or vibration at caliper/brake pad interface. Provides tighter fit and allows for easier disassembly. Protects against corrosion and is compatible with anti-lock brake systems. This product contains an elastomeric polymer that once sprayed on the metal backing of your pads (yes, you have to remove your pads, clean them and spray this coating on, usually 2 coats then allow them to dry thoroughly) they provide the same barrier between the caliper piston and your brake pad backing that shims do. You can use this spray (or any brand for that matter i.e. CRC makes the same product) on any disc brake pad, outboard and inboard, for all disc braking systems on disc brake pads without anti-squeal shims.