Squeeking/squeeling brakes

[gordongecko]

Hi guys, having a big problem with squeeky brakes at the moment on my s3. If I stamp on them it doesn't make a noise, but lightly braking (for instance rolling up to a red light) the car sounds like a bus. Pretty embarassing. I took it to Audi dealer who said couldn't find anything wrong, the front pads are 50%, the back "within spec". I tried braking really hard numerous times on motorway etc as apparently that is one cure, but it hasn't helped.

I am taking the car back to audi in a couple of weeks for MOT & service, I am not very handy so not up to taking the wheels off and doing any work myself. Could someone pls give me pointers on what to tell them to do or if there is anything I can do? This will be my last service under the maintainence plan so want to get this fixed for sure before it becomes something I need to pay for

 

[FranA3]

one way is to get some copper slip on the back of the pads where they meet the caliper and on the slides not on the braking side for obvious reasons if you can do it yourself then its cheap to do chap otherwise take it to a local garage who can do that for not alot of wonga

 

[gordongecko]

Hi, thanks for advice. What's copper slip?

I live in London and don't have a garage or driveway (park on the street) so not able to do anything like this myself. Do you think Audi garage will know what I am talking about if I ask them to do this when I take it in?

 

[Staz]

How old is the car and how many miles?

The original pads fitted to S3s caused squealing and as such they have been modified apparently. Mine have squealed like yours since the car was new and I tried to get Reading Audi to replace them knowing about the new pads. As usual with Reading though I didn't get anywhere. The pads have 25% wear left on them so I'll just put up with them until I replace them.

Someone on here did recommend once that you could have the discs skimmed to remove the lip on them which could cause the squeal too but as mine have done it since new I don't think this is the cause.

I'd ask your dealer to replace them with the new type FOC if you've recently bought the car.

 

[eddyd]

Hi, thanks for advice. What's copper slip?

Try Google maybe?
You need to find a good independant in your position, Audi will be far too expensive. Putting on copper grease will take the same length of time as fitting pads and there is no guarantee it will cure your problem.

 

[gordongecko]

How old is the car and how many miles?

2008, 18k miles. Has squeeked in the past for a bit then stopped, now been doing it for a good few weeks, doesn't look like it's going to go away by itself!

 

[FranA3]

Try Google maybe?
You need to find a good independant in your position, Audi will be far too expensive. Putting on copper grease will take the same length of time as fitting pads and there is no guarantee it will cure your problem.

i agree there's no guarantee but its alot cheaper than buying new pads isnt it !

 

[FranA3]

2008, 18k miles. Has squeeked in the past for a bit then stopped, now been doing it for a good few weeks, doesn't look like it's going to go away by itself!

i wouldnt be going to audi for a set of pads mate any garage can do that they are easy to do and less than an hour to change i would have thought

 

[eddyd]

i agree there's no guarantee but its alot cheaper than buying new pads isnt it !

What I mean is audi will charge you at least the standard labour rate for changing pads, minimum an hour and probably not fix the problem. S3 pads I'm sure are quite expensive on their own and I very much doubt there is anything actually wrong with the pads.
Any decent mechanic should be able to take the pads out, inspect and clean up the pad surface, copper grease and refit.
Dealers imo prefer to always fit new stuff instead of common sense repairs

 

[FranA3]

What I mean is audi will charge you at least the standard labour rate for changing pads, minimum an hour and probably not fix the problem. S3 pads I'm sure are quite expensive on their own and I very much doubt there is anything actually wrong with the pads.
Any decent mechanic should be able to take the pads out, inspect and clean up the pad surface, copper grease and refit.
Dealers imo prefer to always fit new stuff instead of common sense repairs

i agree matey they are very lazy when i comes to stuff like that they just dont want the hassle of doing jobs like that they just want quick money then onto the next job , exactly mate thats what i was saying i wouldnt be taking it to audi as any garage can do pads , but know what you mean tho they are expensive disk's are stupid money too

 

[eddyd]

i agree matey they are very lazy when i comes to stuff like that they just dont want the hassle of doing jobs like that they just want quick money then onto the next job , exactly mate thats what i was saying i wouldnt be taking it to audi as any garage can do pads , but know what you mean tho they are expensive disk's are stupid money too

They're lazy, a bit stupid and the attitude will be if you can't afford to fix your audi you shouldn't have one in the first place! (and by fix they mean renew half the car)
I've ended up using a mechanic that works out of a shed behind a row of terraced houses, not even vat registered. He's honest, knowledgeable, cheap and the work is always up to standard. Good garages like this are hard to find, but they really are worth it

 

[FranA3]

i totaly agree mate they are i hardly ever go to the main stealers only if i have to , people like that are very hard to come by keep them sweet mate , i do all work on my own car myself as i work in the car trade so know how to do it that saves some serious ££££ but as long as you trust a garage like the one you use then why go elsewhere eh

 

[964kevin]

They will be corroded on the inner face, as mine were. Audi warrant these for 6k or 6months which ever occurs first.

Ask me how I know.

K

 

[gordongecko]

Got an audi service tyres parts & maintanence package that ends end of April along with the warranty. Taking the car into the dealers for a service and its first MOT which are all covered so I want to get Audi to fix things like this before I have to start paying for them Which is why I was asking for advice on what to tell them so they can fix the squeel

Otherwise totally agree with you guys, for stuff like this if you are paying for it yourself doesn't make sense to take to Audi

 

[eddyd]

Got an audi service tyres parts & maintanence package that ends end of April along with the warranty. Taking the car into the dealers for a service and its first MOT which are all covered so I want to get Audi to fix things like this before I have to start paying for them Which is why I was asking for advice on what to tell them so they can fix the squeel

Otherwise totally agree with you guys, for stuff like this if you are paying for it yourself doesn't make sense to take to Audi

In that case then insist the problem is sorted, you don't need to tell them how to do their job. Hopefully they will replace the pads, just be persistent. If there is something wrong its their problem to fix not your's.

 

[A3_Rider]

Mine always squeel

My friends R32 squeels

I hear S3's that squeel!!

If you break hard a few times, it sometimes sorts it out - Ive learnt to accept it!!

 

[964kevin]

As I said, Audi will warranty them for 6months of 6k miles, which ever occurs first.

If you have done more than that good luck, it took a lot of work from me to get mine fixed.

K

 

[gordongecko]

For closure's sake in case it helps anyone else in the future... Audi dealer got VW Finance to agree to replace the front brake pads and disks under my maintanence package, even though apparently they still had a couple of thousand miles in them. Job was done 1 day before plan was due to expire and now all is good and the squeeling has gone. It was driving me absolutely nuts so that's good news.

Had car over 3yrs now so I'm on my own from now on for any work that will need doing in the future, gulp!!