nihar15

My 2014 RDX FWD base has 19K miles and the brakes have started squealing. Is this the normal time when this happens? My altima did not do that for atleast 40K but then it is a hybrid so goes easier on brakes.

My question is do you recommend doing this at the dealer or my trusty old mechanic should be able to do that?

nihar15

Update: I called the dealer and they say I am hitting the brakes too hard and overheating the brakes. Even if we change the pads and resurface the rotors, the squeal and shuddering at high speed braking can come back the next day!! This does not make any sense! None of my cars have done that. His argument is that this is a heavy vehicle! So what?? Do all SUV's do that?

Kaputnik

When you talked to the dealer, who was "they?" Unless you have unusual braking habits, I find their rationale a bit hard to believe. You should be able to get a visual on the pads if they are prematurely worn, or feel/inspect your rotor surfaces for any unusual wear. I changed out my OEM pads at 45k, even though they still had quite a bit to go, as they were noisy. They had become a bit "glazed" as the previous owner put very few miles on the car over several years. There was also fair amount of rust in the non-contact area of the rotors, so I had the rotors resurfaced and the brake noise (grind/squeal) went away - smooth as silk now.

Sounds like you are driving regularly, so any thin surface rotor rust building up while the car sits around (in rain?) should not be the cause. I'd bring it in and ask them to check it out, something is not right. Especially since you are under warranty if it is not a wear issue.

nihar15

I talked to the service department from the dealer I bought the car from. They are 45 mins. away.
Next I talked to the mechanic I have used for my other cars and he did say that suv's end up with warped rotors more often than not and he advices his clients to buy new rotors off the internet.

Should I stick to OEM acura rotors and pads or does anyone have recommendation on 3rd party rotors/pads which are better?

Kaputnik

Are you getting vibration, that you can feel in the pedal, when you brake? That could indicate a warped rotor(s).

Is the brake squeal constant, but disappears during braking? That suggests the wear indicators are contacting the rotors, and they need replacing. Or rather, does the squeal occur during braking? That could indicate glazed pads.

The brakes (at least on my 08 RDX) are really easy to work on. There should be no reason your trusty mechanic cannot handle it. If he finds something that should be covered under warranty, he should send you to the dealer in that case.

Replacement rotors and pads are a very subjective topic, and you will get every opinion under the sun. OEM really should be just fine, and I am still surprised about the rotor warpage issue. Unless you smoked them barreling down the Rocky Mountains and then drove through deep water!

lmacmil

As a retired brake engineer, I can tell you that brake squeal is one of the most difficult things to engineer out of a brake system. There are so many factors and despite having half a dozen PhDs working on it, my former company never arrived at a reliable fix that would work on every vehicle.

You have a couple choices, the easiest and cheapest of which is to live with it. Since it took 19K miles, you could try replacing the pads which is probably the least expensive fix. Your mechanics, whether at the dealer or independent, will just be guessing if they start replacing parts. They may be lucky and find a temporary fix. It's up to you to decide if it's worth the cost. Good luck.

Kaputnik

When I replaced my original OEM pads, I noticed Acura updated the new pad set with additional vibration and anti-rattle clips. Overall changing pads and resurfacing rotors made a huge difference - but that was in my particular case.

I also don't know how the OP can be braking to hard on a 2014. First gen RDXs like mine are known for their undersized brakes, and braking requires an extra a bit of effort. By comparison, I nearly launched the sales guy through the windshield a few times when I test drove a 2015 last year, as I was not used to the much better braking in the newer models!

nihar15

Thanks for your insight. The bigger issue is shuddering when I brake at highway speeds. Depending on how hard I brake, the shuddering can happen. Would that warrant a rotor change?

Kaputnik

You may indeed have a warped rotor(s). Maybe you can whine a bit at the dealership and get them to cover it under warranty! Otherwise they are not too expensive, and there are lots of aftermarket options in addition to OEM. But like I said earlier, you will get a 1000 different opinions on whether they are really any better than OEM for regular driving.

Rocket_man

You don't have warped rotors, but I'm sure that sells a lot of brake jobs. Your braking habits have resulted in uneven pad deposits on your rotors. Sort of the same way a gravel road gets a washboard on it. I'm sure it probably has something to do with the pad composition that Honda/Acura chooses for their pads. They usually don't put anti-squeal on the pads either.

Before you go replacing the pads and rotors, try a brake bed-in procedure. But be warned, more is not better. You can over do it and heat your pads/rotors too much. The basic process is a series of increasing braking action that heats up the pads and rotors and evens out the pad material on the rotors.

Stock Brake System Bed-in

They other thing to try is to remove the pads and apply anti-squeal to the back of the pads. You can get this at Autozone and DIY.

EFItech

iTrader: (5)

Initially experienced this after 1000miles the squealing went away.

cho24

I just got a brand new 2016 RDX. After 5 miles out of the lot, I heard the brakes squeal. After 1k miles and after the recommended break-in period, I decided to bring it into the dealership. They mentioned there is a potential "recall" (not official) on their brakes. End of the day, they replaced my breaks as a temp fix. I'm still hearing it.

So question for you, did you recently replace your brakes at Acura?

giovane

It just started on my 2016 RDX. I'll wait couple of days and see if the squealing persists, then I'll take it to the dealership.

cho24

I had my brakes replaced and even after the break-in period, I still hear a squeal. Its very subtle so I'll live with it until I decide I want to drive their TL loaner again

Kaputnik

I wonder if it is related to new pad materials? There's a virtually identical thread in the ILX forums regarding the new 2016 models. Some folks are have had pads replaced and rotors resurfaced for the (possibly) same squealing issues.

cho24

Hmm. Interesting. Dealership was telling me there is a potential recall somewhere by or at the brakes and to hang tight. Best they can do was to replace the pads.

If it continues to get annoying, I will ask them to resurface the rotors. Let me know how your issue goes.

Colorado Guy AF Ret.

I talked to my Service Mgr. and he did some checking. The pads are the SAME as last years model. The only change was to the caliper, due to the new "hi tech" stuff that's been added.


Now, I don't know how a different caliper can cause brake squeal....so I had my pads sanded flat and to remove any debris and the rotors checked. The squeal I have is part time now, and it was most of the time before.


It's not loud...hi pitched, not obnoxious. For me, no big deal, I can't hear that decibel range!! LOL! My wife drives it most of the time.


I'll wait and see if anything comes out of the many complaints for squeal.

andysinnh

If the calipers are different, this could be the smoking gun, in that it could be the way the pad mounts to the caliper that is causing the squeal. Lots of pads have shims behind the pad to reduce the squealing when you do a brake job, and there are even sprays/coatings you put between the caliper and the pad to reduce it. I'd have the dealer try some of the anti-squeal compound to put behind the pads to see if that helps. Especially if the pads and rotors didn't change. The brakes on my '15 are silent (knock on wood) after 4k miles...

andy

Kaputnik

Apparently Acura has just acknowledged a squealing issue with the 2016 ILX front brakes, due to out-of-spec front rotors. I'm not implying that it is the same problem some are reporting here about the RDX, but apparently enough complaints got the squeaky wheel greased....

http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SN/B15080C.PDF

giovane

Sure enough ILX and RDX share the same part number for rotors.

Kaputnik

Bingo!!

Now it will be curious to see if some people here have the out-of-spec production numbers on the RDX rotors.

giovane

I bought my 2016 early June, so for sure I have non spec rotors, assembled before May 27th.

computer_man

I bought my 2016 RDX at the end of June. My wife drives the car more than I do. I asked her if she hears a squeal and she said that she only heard it once when she was leaving a car wash. Other than that neither of us have heard it.

giovane

I just sent an email to Acura Client Relations to see if they acknowledge the problem

cbptls

I have a squeal coming that is coming from the right rear wheel, and only occurs when braking at a certain speed. Dealer tried to diagnose the problem and of course, they could duplicate it. Definitely has to be with pads - car has been doing this since it's had 1k miles.

Jennifra

Oh my god so i'm not alone!!! My brakes have been squealing since DAY ONE on my 2016 RDX. I took it in once, and they said they fixed it. Drove away that day with the brakes still squealing. Had to book much later due to busy schedule to go back, and hadn't really noticed it again leading up to that appt. I went in anyways and mentioned that, so they said to not worry about it.. well I was wrong, they are STILL squealing. So 4500 kms and my brakes have not stopped. It is really random when it happens, its not consistent, but it is 110% my brakes, not vehicles around me.

rosen39

I have not had to do a brake job on my 2013 yet, but as suggested, I would check to see if there are anti-squeal shims, anti-squeal lubricant on the face of the shims, and check to see if Acura uses chamfered edge brake pads. See photos below. If they are "squared edge" pads, you could remove them and sand down the edges (using a dust mask). This always worked on older Volvo brake pads to prevent noise. Many aftermarket pad suppliers chamfer the pads to begin with. When you think about it, it's like scraping your nails against a chalkboard at a 90 degree angle.

cbptls

Any reply back from Acura Client Relations?

giovane

I need to go to the dealer and talk to the service department.

giovane

Kaputnik, where did you find those service news? Is there a way to check for any updates?

Kaputnik

^^There is a current thread in the ILX forums on squealing brakes in the new 2016s. One of the forum members (EE4Life) posted the link to that Service News item within the thread. Seems some members are now getting their ILXs into Acura to address the issue.

Link:

https://acurazine.com/forums/acura-i...-issue-934947/

johnrh

I just took in my 2016 RDX Elite (WDP/ebony) into the dealer today because of the squealing brake issue. I have around 3,000 km on the car. I also took along the ILX info sheet attached earlier in this thread, and gave it to the service manager. I believe my RDX was built in May 2016.

The dealer (Sterne Acura in Aurora Ontario) ended up replacing both front rotors under warranty after hearing the squealing themselves, and talking to Honda Canada. I did not hear any squealing on the way home. Hopefully it stays this way!

johnrh

PS - thanks Kaputnik / Giovane for the info!
PPS - thanks Rosen39 for your always detailed tips in this and other threads!

SanDiegoRootz

My car is a 2016 Acura ILX Premium Aspec with the Squeaky brake syndrome it is finally in the shop today after getting Acura Client Relations involved getting the rotors and pads replaced. After 5 visits regarding the same issue Acura Client Relations still did not want to offer me a discount on the Aero Kit for my car or any accessory. Here is a video I filmed on my phone today of the loaner car with 354 miles on it and the brakes squeal like crazy.

https://youtu.be/HG1UDjOGuLo

LFACURA

Our 2016 RDX is suffering the same braking noise as many have mentioned. My wife who is on a mission has been to the dealer 5 times for a fix. After several attempts the noise persists. The service dept. has finally admitted to a known issue and that they have no idea how to correct it and cannot say if Acura will even address in the near future. We are so disappointed with what was to be our move to a Luxury Vehicle. With less than 5k miles we're considering our options.

johnrh

hi - has the dealer replaced the front rotors? my dealer did this on my 2016 rdx, and the squealing has stopped completely.

LFACURA

Thanks for your reply. Supposedly did the front, but now the back brakes are the "squealers". We just weren't expecting to have these issues. I thought I did a pretty good job of researching before our purchase.

giovane

I had my front rotors resurfaced under warranty at the dealership and so far no more squealing.

rockyboy

Did you get squeeking upon backing up and breaking?

giovane

Not when backing up. Just when braking on slow speed.