Squeaky brakes driving me (and the man in the street) mad!!!

[thebackgroundman]

I own an 18 plate RS4 B9 and she is absolutely immense. I have had it since February this year and wow what a car and what an upgrade from my previous 2007 A4 Avant S Line. The car is incredibly beautiful and a real head-turning stunner. I am completely in love. Except...
Oh those brakes! How did I not notice them on the test drive? It was winter and the windows were up, and I was completely infatuated by the experience anyway, so I probably wouldn't have noticed even if the car only had three wheels at the time.
What can I do about it? I have taken the car to two Audi dealerships already with no success. They (tell me they) have had the wheels off and cleaned the discs etc. Even Jeremy Clarkson (I'm embarrassed to say) in his review of the car a year ago in the Sunday Times mentions squeaky brakes as being a well known issue with fast Audis...
Has anyone else experienced this and do you have any suggestions about what the cause might be and importantly, how I might be able to rid my self of this annoyance? It is the one nagging item constantly in my mind that is stopping me from truly being happy and fulfilled with my machine.
We do a mighty amount of starting and stopping here in the London traffic, and I can't help feeling that the turning heads are not to do with the stunning looks of my RS4 after all, but more for "where is that awful sound coming from?"
Please help me!

 

[Bing0r]

I too am in the same situation as you. I have taken it back to Audi on two occasions. I spoke to the service manager and apparently they are aware of the issue and he expects a fix to be released by Audi in the next few months!! I am pretty sure he was fobbing me off, but i have written to them and awaiting a response. It too drives me insane. I'll update here if i do hear from them. I'll give them until end of July before i take it further!

 

[thebackgroundman]

Sorry to hear that BingOr. A fix? That makes it sound as though it is a software bug rather than a mechanical problem.
My car was used and under a year old yet it had had two previous owners (7,500 on the clock). There was not a mark on it and it was in absolutely perfect nick so my suspicion is that they returned it for this very reason. I remember asking the salesman why it had had two previous owners and he said that "these type of premium vehicles do tend to change hands quickly as their owners are petrol heads blah blah etc."
Please do keep me informed of your progress and if anything changes at my end I'll do likewise.
It's such a relief not to feel all alone on this...

 

[Bing0r]

There is a similar issue with RS3's and they released a "fix" which was some kind of weight/shim being installed on the calipers i think. This absorbed some of the vibration resulting in either eliminating the noise or reducing it. We are not the only one's with the issue. over on RS246 forum, others are also having the same issue. However most have either ignored it, done the hard braking process to "deglaze" the pads, which sorts the noise for a while, or change pads or even entire braking kit.

 

[T-800]

My Facelift RS3 started this at about 5K miles.

Having suffered the same thing on 2 previous RS3’s I decided to junk the lot and buy a Reyland / DS2500 set up.

Not had any issues with it and I know 2 other owners that went this same route.

 

[RAF_S7]

You need some EBC Redstuff pads.

Had the exact same problem on the S7, and Audi dealer was no help!

Switched to the Redstuff’s after about 5000 miles, and haven’t looked back. Now@ 45k miles, and still plenty of life in pads and discs.

Been squeal and pretty much dust free ever since

 

[thebackgroundman]

The hard braking process to "deglaze" the brakes - what is the process involved in this? I need to take the car to somewhere I can get up to (what?) speed and brake quickly several times in safety?
Would changing the pads and calipers mean that there is no longer the RS logo to be seen on the brakes?
Anybody have an idea of the likely overall cost for four wheels?

 

[RAF_S7]

I’m not sure why you would change the callipers? You only need to change the pads.

You can price up EBC pads in their online shop, then get a local Indy to fit them.

Deglazing the pads is just a matter of getting up to 30/40 MPH and doing a couple of emergency stops, BUT when I did this (or after power washing the dust off) the squealing was always back within a few days.

 

[Terminator x]

Audi will never fix it, you will wait forever. Upgrade the brakes as the standard Audi fare is sh*t anyway imho.

TX.

Sent from my BBB100-2 using Tapatalk

 

[thebackgroundman]

Thanks for your input terminator x. I think I will wait to see if BingOr gets any response to his "letter" (you sound like my dad!) and what that response says.
I simply cannot bear this squeal much longer so if no fix can be found then it is a new set of decent all round brake pads for me. At least I will be able to choose a funky colour...

 

[rum4mo]

Thanks for your input terminator x. I think I will wait to see if BingOr gets any response to his "letter" (you sound like my dad!) and what that response says.
I simply cannot bear this squeal much longer so if no fix can be found then it is a new set of decent all round brake pads for me. At least I will be able to choose a funky colour...

I think that the bad news is that you will got be choosing the best looking colour, the colour denotes which friction compound has been used and only some compounds are suitable for road use, or as it sounds in your case, town only use. Using a car like thing in town and so now needing to frequently brake from highish speeds for long periods, will always lead to the pads getting polished and so inefficient and probably noisy. I only ever use my wife's Polo for city driving.

 

[RS3 S.]

Many say it won't work but it did on my 16 plate RS3 was to fit ''anti squeal'' shims.

 

[T-800]

Reyland 370 Dia curved groove discs and DS2500 pads still equals silence for me

Be sure to give the bedding in sequence a full workout.

The 2500 Ferodo pads get better the more they are used.

 

[45bvtc]

Many say it won't work but it did on my 16 plate RS3 was to fit ''anti squeal'' shims.

Like on both the 'anti-squeal' shims and "..........should really be SQ5 s now !!!!"

Strange how something as simple as an anti-squeal (brake pad) shim can suppress (brake) 'squeal,' even on an Audi...

 

[45bvtc]

I own an 18 plate RS4 B9 and she is absolutely immense. I have had it since February this year and wow what a car and what an upgrade from my previous 2007 A4 Avant S Line. The car is incredibly beautiful and a real head-turning stunner. I am completely in love. Except...
Oh those brakes! How did I not notice them on the test drive? It was winter and the windows were up, and I was completely infatuated by the experience anyway, so I probably wouldn't have noticed even if the car only had three wheels at the time.
What can I do about it? I have taken the car to two Audi dealerships already with no success. They (tell me they) have had the wheels off and cleaned the discs etc. Even Jeremy Clarkson (I'm embarrassed to say) in his review of the car a year ago in the Sunday Times mentions squeaky brakes as being a well known issue with fast Audis...
Has anyone else experienced this and do you have any suggestions about what the cause might be and importantly, how I might be able to rid my self of this annoyance? It is the one nagging item constantly in my mind that is stopping me from truly being happy and fulfilled with my machine.
We do a mighty amount of starting and stopping here in the London traffic, and I can't help feeling that the turning heads are not to do with the stunning looks of my RS4 after all, but more for "where is that awful sound coming from?"
Please help me!

Do consider the new Ferodo Eco-Friction Green brake pads: https://www.ferodo.co.uk/products/light-vehicles/eco-friction-brake-pads.html

"Already fitted as Original Equipment on Mercedes-Benz C-Class since March 2014 and Audi A4 since September 2015"

I'm now running these Ferodo Eco-Friction Green brake pads on our SQ5, 8P RS3, and 8J TT; quiet, low dust, and superb low speed 'bite'

And this week, fitted a set (front and rear and less than £85 delivered from Buyanycarpart (eBay)) on yet another 8P RS3 - changing over from worn Redstuff: once fitted I gave 'em my usual bedding-in process and was immediately impressed. And the owner reports "so far great, obviously not used in anger but the slow speeds bite is much improved even at this early stage..."

 

[thebackgroundman]

I too am in the same situation as you. I have taken it back to Audi on two occasions. I spoke to the service manager and apparently they are aware of the issue and he expects a fix to be released by Audi in the next few months!! I am pretty sure he was fobbing me off, but i have written to them and awaiting a response. It too drives me insane. I'll update here if i do hear from them. I'll give them until end of July before i take it further!

 

[thebackgroundman]

How are the brakes BingOr? Still squeaking? Has that ominous sounding letter gone out yet?

 

[Bing0r]

Brakes are still squeaking! However Audi have just washed their hands and said that's how they are. I have kind of given up and will be looking to replace the pads when they are due to something else. Problem is that not much choice, outside of EBC Yellow stuff, which has got mixed reviews. I think Pagid are developing a set. But am on the lookout for non-squeal pads/discs, whatever it takes i guess. I trust you are still having the same issue @thebackgroundman ?

Got some new shoes for the car in the meantime after i kerbed one of my rears. Managed to get them repaired via Diamond Cutting, but due to the cutting process, it changed the lip profile slightly, which bugged me. So the below is the result. Got them custom finished so that it sits flush with the arches without need for spacers. Not had a chance to take some proper pics yet, but below is from the fitters.

 

[thebackgroundman]

They look goooooooooooooooooooooood BingOr! Very impressive. So now you motor looks more menacing than ever?

 

[RAF_S7]

EBC Yellow won’t really help much with the squeal or the dust.
EBC Reds are they way to go - high ceramic content, ZERO squeal, and very low/no dust

 

[Charlie 123]

I own an 18 plate RS4 B9 and she is absolutely immense. I have had it since February this year and wow what a car and what an upgrade from my previous 2007 A4 Avant S Line. The car is incredibly beautiful and a real head-turning stunner. I am completely in love. Except...
Oh those brakes! How did I not notice them on the test drive? It was winter and the windows were up, and I was completely infatuated by the experience anyway, so I probably wouldn't have noticed even if the car only had three wheels at the time.
What can I do about it? I have taken the car to two Audi dealerships already with no success. They (tell me they) have had the wheels off and cleaned the discs etc. Even Jeremy Clarkson (I'm embarrassed to say) in his review of the car a year ago in the Sunday Times mentions squeaky brakes as being a well known issue with fast Audis...
Has anyone else experienced this and do you have any suggestions about what the cause might be and importantly, how I might be able to rid my self of this annoyance? It is the one nagging item constantly in my mind that is stopping me from truly being happy and fulfilled with my machine.
We do a mighty amount of starting and stopping here in the London traffic, and I can't help feeling that the turning heads are not to do with the stunning looks of my RS4 after all, but more for "where is that awful sound coming from?"
Please help me!

Hi- I have recently bought a B9 RS4 and love it bar the squeaking brakes. If I wash the car it seems to go but always returns once dust appears.

did you ever sort this issue and if so, what discs/ pads did you go for?

I had it in my S3 and so have PTSD for these squeaking noises!

help please!

 

[45bvtc]

I haven't used these myself but for sure have resolved the low-speed-brake-squeal issue on numerous 8P RS3's with Mintex self adhesive anti-squal brake shims.
For reference:

Go Google MINTEX self adhesive anti-squeal shims - the issue isn't just AUDI!

Hope this HELPS as for sure you can continue to use the same brake pad/caliper/disc without low-speed-brake-squeal with just the application of a cost-effective anti-squeal shim. MINTEX have not been in the business for 115-years (Mintex's commitment to safe braking has stood firm since 1908) without gaining some degree of expertise.

Note 1): here's the 8P RS3 issue, the caliper pistons had worn through the 'inadequate' PADGID anti-squeal shim @ 1500 miles:

Mintex self-adhesive shims appied:

and no more low-speed brake-squeal, and all for £5 both sides

​

Note 2) Mitubishi, with the EVO, using the same BREMBO caliper/PAGID pad as the RS3, got around the issue with their own stainless steel shim:

​

And what did AUDI do? Change the brake disc, caliper, brake pads (directional but still PAGID) fit resonators, etc and did it work?
What do you think!

PS: when of working-age, working with brakes (from the late 60's) and professionally, paid for my mortgage

 

[Charlie 123]

I haven't used these myself but for sure have resolved the low-speed-brake-squeal issue on numerous 8P RS3's with Mintex self adhesive anti-squal brake shims.
For reference:
View attachment 267497
Go Google MINTEX self adhesive anti-squeal shims - the issue isn't just AUDI!

Hope this HELPS as for sure you can continue to use the same brake pad/caliper/disc without low-speed-brake-squeal with just the application of a cost-effective anti-squeal shim. MINTEX have not been in the business for 115-years (Mintex's commitment to safe braking has stood firm since 1908) without gaining some degree of expertise.

Note 1): here's the 8P RS3 issue, the caliper pistons had worn through the 'inadequate' PADGID anti-squeal shim @ 1500 miles:

View attachment 267499

Mintex self-adhesive shims appied:
View attachment 267500
and no more low-speed brake-squeal, and all for £5 both sides

View attachment 267501
​

Note 2) Mitubishi, with the EVO, using the same BREMBO caliper/PAGID pad as the RS3, got around the issue with their own stainless steel shim:

View attachment 267502
​

And what did AUDI do? Change the brake disc, caliper, brake pads (directional but still PAGID) fit resonators, etc and did it work?
What do you think!

PS: when of working-age, working with brakes (from the late 60's) and professionally, paid for my mortgage

Thank you very much. Sounds a good starting point at that price point!

 

[45bvtc]

Hi- I have recently bought a B9 RS4 and love it bar the squeaking brakes. If I wash the car it seems to go but always returns once dust appears.

did you ever sort this issue and if so, what discs/ pads did you go for?

I had it in my S3 and so have PTSD for these squeaking noises!

help please!

I see you've liked my post Charlie 123, thank you.

Here's my offer to YOU. Go try the Mintex self-adhesive shims and if they don't work then I'll refund you the £s (the wonderful Sandra will hold me to my promise) - just for the Mintex self-adhesive shims, mind. PM me if you need more information.

Note: as posted elsewhere: the alternative are FERODO Eco-Friction brake pads, now Mercedes and AUDI OEM fit. I use 'em on our TT, RS3 and SQ5.
See: https://www.ferodo.com/en-gb/products/light-vehicles/brake-pads/eco-friction-brake-pads.html