Fooman

My TSX finally hit over 2000 miles. Lately, I"ve been hearing intermittent squeals coming from my brakes. I was wondering what could be the cause of this and if anyone else has reported this minor problem.

While it is minor, it is annoying and each time I hear it, I feel it cheapens the car (especially since it is new). I had a 98 Integra with 80k miles and it didn't have brake squeals until it needed new pads.

fdl

maybe you need new pads? Did you take your car to the track?

red-tsx04

I am experiencing the same thing, especially when making a stop from a slow speed. I have about 3000 miles. Plan to have the dealer check it out soon.

DEVO

you are hearing those noises because you have been babying the brakes so they are now glazed over. try braking hard a couple of times to remove the glaze.

STRYKER

I've had the same "problem" with my brakes. They squeel a little when I'm coming to a slow stop. I'm taking her to the dealer to find out why. I agree that it is a kind of embarrasing sound coming from a new car, especially when you have first time passengers aboard. I'll let you know what the dealer says.

DEVO

solution to your brake problem: use them more aggresively... meaning stomp on them hard a couple of times... bring your car up to 50mph and stomp on brakes bringing car to a full stop. wait a little bit, repeat process (2 more times)... that should remove the glaze that has formed by not using the brakes during your break in period. Don't go crazy and keep doing this process or you will end up warping your rotors... which is not good.

STRYKER

Thanks Devo, I'll give it a try tonight

davidc

i had the same problem--dealer confirmed that this is common problem during break-in for brakes and is nothing to worry about. worse comes to worse, it's all under warranty anyways...

blahsome

implying the problem will go away on its own eventually?

davidc

apparently so.

DEVO

so did it work?

davidc

i never tried the hard brake technique--i actually haven't had any squeaks in a while. i'll try it next time it happens. it typcially occurs towards the end of a long day of driving/braking in stop-and-go traffic.

devo's explanation of the problem seems aligned to that of the dealer's, so his solution appears sensible enough.

rzee

*sigh*


I am getting this squeaking sound too. Tried braking hard, not cured. I think I will take it to the dealer soon. :'(

AdamC

Also do a quick scan on the surface of your disc rotors...
Do you spot uneven wear or scratches?
Particles stuck on the brake pad can do this...
This happened to my old car.

LurchRSX

I complained about this at first oil change.....they said they "cleaned" them......no problems since

Higiman

OK... I finally registered on this site so now I can post. I came over from the "other site" like many others...

Anyway, I posted in the past (on the other site) about brake squeal, not the normal "glazed rotor" squeal but its more like a harmonic sound (kind of like lightly rubbing the edge of a crystal glass)...

Anyway, the problem has been intermittent but I have now been able to successfully replicate the noise.

Here's the weird part. It doesn't happen on straight - forward braking, meaning when the car is centered straight in terms of direction... It only occurs when turning (right or left) with a very light application of the brake pedal - I do this often when pullling in to my garage making a right turn in from the street or when I am in a drive thru line that is curved.

Its very strange. One would think it has to do with something "rubbing" on a turn but its not that kind of sound. Can't figure it out but it definately is coming from the front brakes and only occurs when braking. I manually applied the rear brakes (e-brake) when turning and it didn't happen. So it must be the front.

If anyone else is having this problem I would sure like to hear about it and if they had the problem resolved. Also, if you are experienceing this problem, try finding an empty parking lot and try the above yourself (turn either direction at a slow rate of speed (less than 5 miles per hour) and brake lightly...

Very frustrating and embarrassing sound. Though it does not appear to effect the braking performance at all.

Outside of that, I love my TSX..

DEVO

maybe it's not your brakes at all... some people had their bearings replaced, which is odd in itself... could be that, or a bad cv joint.

gogozy

hello Higiman!
sorry to hear your TSX making it..

Higiman

Well I can't see how its bearings as the problem is only seen when brake is applied and only when turning... If it were bearings wouldn't I hear it all the time?

I did take the car to the dealership yesterday, and they added additional moly coat on the shims bu I knew that wasn't going to resolve it, and it didn't...

They don't seem to know what is causing it. I will be taking the car back tomorrow.

Stay tuned... Hope to figure this one out soon. Its starting to get on my nerves...

gogozy

mm, damaged bearing or hub can make cluning/whinning noise during the turn, with or withour brake applied... hay, Higiman, thank for your foglight cover!! good to see you!!

DEVO

I know it only happens when braking but the load on your wheel changes when using your brakes... hence could be something other then your brakes that is causing the noise, it's just the brakes initiate the process.

DEVO

Ok... I just talked to a service manager at Honda and he couldn't figure out the problem as I described it to him but he did give a good tip that might solve this issue. He said to go to an empty parking lot (flat) and get the car going in reverse (go in a straight line) and apply the brakes firm (almost to the point of locking them up, yes they will lock up in reverse, ABS doesn't work in reverse) to remove any junk on your brake pads in the other direction. He said to do this 3 or 4 times. NOTE: he has never heard of this problem but has heard about brake squels that don't seem to go away and this methods has had some luck.


If this doesn't work, try having the pads replaced... if the noise is still happening, it's not the brakes.

Higiman

Gogozy

Sorry for the late reply. Good to hear from you... Been really busy and haven't visited this site in a while...

DEVO

Thanks for the advice. Had the pads cleaned but the noise is still there... only on occassion though... I believe it is the brakes but it only happens on a certain spot on the rotors... Will live with it for now until a TSB comes out or just simply replace the pads and rotors.... Will see if Acura will do that but I doubt they will...

Thanks for the advice.

seanygreen

I had the same problem. I took my car to the dealer today for the first oil change and to have that ANNOYING sound looked at and when the guy test drove it he said he didn't hear it. He also said that it could be the 19 inch rims i put on. I don't believe that it could be the rims i put on. I think that's BS! We'll see what happens???!!!

tehCOW

well.. if any of you clean your cars with a high pressure washer, don't use it to clean your brakes... its not good. it makes the brakes squeal like pigs.

i didn't know reverse doesn't have ABS, i find that very funny/interesting. i'll have to try this one day

Visorboy

I've got 5400 kms on now, and I started to hear the brake squeal this week Exactly as described, only when stopping at slow speeds, and especially on turns, like when maneouvering in a parking lot.
I'll get it looked at when I go in for my oil change.

oo7bondgrrl

I have 1100 miles, and I noticed my brake squeal for the first time today as it echoed off the walls of the McDonald's drive-thru. I do quite a bit of hard braking on a regular basis (Teenagers! :o), so I don't know if that will help me. I will try the reverse thing, though.

groovybassist

I had the same problem with mine from very low miles. The dealer re-surfaced the rotors and the problem is gone. They tried cleaning and de-glazing the pads, which didn't help, so I'd suggest you have them re-surface the rotors. No squealing at all since that was done.

GBalt

How long did resurfacing the rotors take at the dealer? Also, did you have all four rotors done or just the two fronts?

groovybassist

They took a bit off all four rotors. It took the better part of a day as they were also changing oil and working on rattles.

groovybassist

They took a bit off all four rotors. It took the better part of a day as they were also changing oil and working on rattles.

larchmont

Hey groovy! -- This has nothing to do with brakes or rattles, but.....

Am I right in thinking you might be interested in taking a look over here?.....

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...&threadid=2486

Nachoman

So is the TSX going to have the same rotor problems as the TL? As in going in every 10k miles to have the rotors resurfaced?

davidc

Took the car to the dealer a couple of days ago. Talked to the service manager who said that squeaking brakes was a trade off for longer brake pad life and there was nothing he could do. The guy that wrote up my service ticket said he had a TSX also and that his brakes squealed, but didn't seem to mind so much.

I don't like these responses. I'm going to take them to another service department to have them checked out again. BOOOOO.

Stay AWAY from Keyes Acura. They are the WORST.

By the way, it's been squeaking since 1000 miles and now it's on 4000.

DEVO

change the pads... go for a more agressive pad like EBC green stuff... you won't get a squeal but you will hear a different sound under braking... so it's not a quiet brake. the number one reason for brake squeal early on is that you probably pampered your car for a few thousand miles causing the brake pads to glaze over. the solution is simple but doesn't always work. so time will probably get rid of it by itself.

Delgreco13

getting the same issue here as well...... only have 1000miles on her so far.

ktitian

I'm hearing the same noise in my brakes. Initially, I thought it was the car next to me making the noises but I finally faced up to reality that it was my car when it was making the squealling noise in my driveway.

Is this normal?

DEVO

read the whole thread... there are many suggestions... you probably have glazed your rotors by not using your brakes in a more agressive manner. try driving on an empty road or big parking lot at around 35mph and stomp on your brakes to a complete stop. wait a minute and repeat process for about 3 times.

bowersan

I've had my car for 6 months. The brake squeal goes away.
Dont worry about trying to fix it.. deal with it for a little while. IT WILL GO AWAY.

J.

tsx21

At first, I didn't hear the brake squeaks as described is this thread. But, I just hit 1K mi and started hearing this annoying squeal. I'm going to have my brake pads checked out. And those who are planning on doing some hard braking to solve this should reconsider. You will only do MORE damage to your brakes and to your car in general by trying that.