Squealing brakes on my Nissan

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MikeB4

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#180791 22-Sep-2015 10:21

Our 2014 Nissan Altima has developed a worsening problem, that is squealing brakes whilst reversing. It started at approx. 3,000 KMs, the car has now travelled approx. 8,000KMs and the squeal is very loud. We have a 50meter driveway and its
is separated from our home by other homes, this morning my wife took it to work and while our drapes were still drawn I could hear the car at the road end of the drive and the squeal was very loud.

Now the local Nissan Dealer has told me this is not an issue it is just dust on the brakes. My first reaction and continuing reaction to that is bollocks. They told me to take to a top of a hill and ride the brakes and get them hot and this will burn it off, again I have the reaction of bollocks, as it did it after a trip to Auckland and back and a trip over the Rimutaka Hill Road in the weekend, that is enough to get any brakes hot.

I come from a family with Motor Engineering history and my instinct is there is something wrong with these brakes, maybe faulting Rotor, Discs, Shims. They have been assembled wrong but I really don't know. Brakes are however kind of an important
safety feature of a car and I am getting increasingly unsettled by this.

I feel I am being fobbed off by the dealer. Before I go in guns blazing so to speak and *cough* brake some heads, what are the thoughts of the fine folks here.

Foot note the squeal is only present in reverse.

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#1391709 22-Sep-2015 10:28

Have you checked the pads to see how worn they are?
Could be the wear indicator tab rubbing on the disc if they are low.

Other possible causes:
Small stone or grit of some kind stuck in the pad.
Glazed pads often caused by lots of round town light braking (cooking the surface can help remedy this).

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Fred99

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#1391710 22-Sep-2015 10:31

You are being fobbed off by the dealer. It's probably not a serious issue, and could probably be fixed by either switching pads left to right wheel, or new pads, neither an expensive job. The fact that they aren't listening to you re a warranty issue sucks big time. Shame on that Nissan dealership - that's very poor service IMO, and doesn't bode well for what their response may be when other issues arise over the period of the warranty.

MikeB4

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#1391711 22-Sep-2015 10:33

At only 8,000KMs and started at 3,000KMs I cant really see it being worn pads We purchased it new in November 2014. They would needed to have been driven with the park brake on constantly or Nissan uses really soft brake pads.
I had my brother get under the car and visually check and he reckons all looks normal. There is no brake pedal pulse and brake efficiency seems normal.

6FIEND

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#1391715 22-Sep-2015 10:49

As mentioned already, it could be caused by a number of issues.

1) Wear indicators. (though given the info provided above, this seems unlikely)
2) Glazed pads/discs. (still possible after a run over Rimutaka hill depending on how aggressively the pedal was applied, but less likely)
3) Stone or grit caught and rubbing. (would expect to have been noticed on a visual inspection)
4) Natural harmonic vibration between pad and calliper piston. (normally addressed by way of a shim)

From personal experience, persistent squealing is usually caused by 4.

I've found that the best solution for this is to remove the pads and coat the back of them with a damping material. You can get spray-on solutions for this, or simply smear some copper grease on the back (BACK!!!) of the pads and reassemble.

It's surprising that the dealership hasn't done this already as a first step in troubleshooting the matter for you.

Inphinity

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#1391717 22-Sep-2015 10:51

I would be inclined to take it to another Nissan dealer for assessment. There's a number of things that can cause brake squealing, most are not particularly major, but are annoying nonetheless. Some seem to be just too tricky to address, and cause no issue, so are just an irritation to put up with. Different pads may sometimes reduce or resolve the noise in these cases.

That said, if it is only in reverse, how sure are you it is the brakes?

MikeB4

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#1391724 22-Sep-2015 10:59

Inphinity: I would be inclined to take it to another Nissan dealer for assessment. There's a number of things that can cause brake squealing, most are not particularly major, but are annoying nonetheless.

That said, if it is only in reverse, how sure are you it is the brakes?

I have tested reversing with out touching the bake pedal.. no sound, as soon as you tough the brake pedal it squeals, I have doubled checked that the pedal activated park brake is fully releasing and it would appear so both visually
and by starting the car moving both forward and reverse with no acceleration. My brother also checked the rear suspensions assemblies and front assemblies.

Oblivian

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#1391726 22-Sep-2015 11:00

Inphinity: I would be inclined to take it to another Nissan dealer for assessment. There's a number of things that can cause brake squealing, most are not particularly major, but are annoying nonetheless. Some seem to be just too tricky to address, and cause no issue, so are just an irritation to put up with. Different pads may sometimes reduce or resolve the noise in these cases.

That said, if it is only in reverse, how sure are you it is the brakes?

Indeed. I had one that did. Mixture of engine mounts and belt. Reverse, engine rotated a bit much on soft mounts, belt tension changed - slippage squeal on more than idle.

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Bung

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#1391727 22-Sep-2015 11:00

MikeB4: I had my brother get under the car and visually check and he reckons all looks normal. There is no brake pedal pulse and brake efficiency seems normal.

I had some fine pea gravel from road sealing stuck between the disc and the rear shield. The only way to see it was to remove the wheels. The only way to remove all of it was partially pulling the disk rotor off the hub.

Inphinity

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#1391731 22-Sep-2015 11:04

MikeB4:
Inphinity: I would be inclined to take it to another Nissan dealer for assessment. There's a number of things that can cause brake squealing, most are not particularly major, but are annoying nonetheless.

That said, if it is only in reverse, how sure are you it is the brakes?

I have tested reversing with out touching the bake pedal.. no sound, as soon as you tough the brake pedal it squeals, I have doubled checked that the pedal activated park brake is fully releasing and it would appear so both visually
and by starting the car moving both forward and reverse with no acceleration. My brother also checked the rear suspensions assemblies and front assemblies.

Ah, sorry, I had initially read your post as the brakes squeaking the whole time while reversing (regardless of whether they were applied or not). If it's only when the brakes are applied, it's probably just due to the way the pads/rotors have worn in. 'going against the grain' so to speak in reverse. If so, replacing the pads, and/or resurfacing the rotors will resolve the issue - but it could return if similar wear patterns develop in the replaced/resurfaced items.

If you brake heavily in reverse does it still happens, or only on light braking?

MikeB4

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#1391733 22-Sep-2015 11:07

Bung:
MikeB4: I had my brother get under the car and visually check and he reckons all looks normal. There is no brake pedal pulse and brake efficiency seems normal.

I had some fine pea gravel from road sealing stuck between the disc and the rear shield. The only way to see it was to remove the wheels. The only way to remove all of it was partially pulling the disk rotor off the hub.

When I finally get them to agree to look at it I will ask that. I am also soon to start discussing the Consumer Guarantees Act with them

MikeB4

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#1391735 22-Sep-2015 11:14

Inphinity:
MikeB4:
Inphinity: I would be inclined to take it to another Nissan dealer for assessment. There's a number of things that can cause brake squealing, most are not particularly major, but are annoying nonetheless.

That said, if it is only in reverse, how sure are you it is the brakes?

I have tested reversing with out touching the bake pedal.. no sound, as soon as you tough the brake pedal it squeals, I have doubled checked that the pedal activated park brake is fully releasing and it would appear so both visually
and by starting the car moving both forward and reverse with no acceleration. My brother also checked the rear suspensions assemblies and front assemblies.

Ah, sorry, I had initially read your post as the brakes squeaking the whole time while reversing (regardless of whether they were applied or not). If it's only when the brakes are applied, it's probably just due to the way the pads/rotors have worn in. 'going against the grain' so to speak in reverse. If so, replacing the pads, and/or resurfacing the rotors will resolve the issue - but it could return if similar wear patterns develop in the replaced/resurfaced items.

If you brake heavily in reverse does it still happens, or only on light braking?

I will try the heavy reverse brake when my wife gets home with it later tonight.

dickytim

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#1391818 22-Sep-2015 12:22

if the pads have worn a bit funny with a lip this will happen.

I had this on my 4 pots. Took the pads out, removed the excess material, they are now really quiet.

I would be telling them to take the pads out and actually look at them.

Noise like this is not normal or acceptable.

pdath

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#1391915 22-Sep-2015 13:55

I'm with a lot of the other posters - take the pads off for a visual inspection.

Trying to think about it logically. What can cause squealing. Metal on Metal. Something scraping against something it should not. Something not mating correctly or uneven pressures.

Because it only happens when it is rotating in one direction it does not seem likely it is the rotor. It does not seem likely it would be pad wear. Perhaps completely wrong pad fitted?

Perhaps a pad wearing faster on the leading edge. This would imply it was getting more pressure on the leading edge or was not mating with the rotor correctly. A visual inspection of the pad would give big hints.

Perhaps when the pads were changed there were some spacers, and not all of the spacers were put in, causing one side/edge of the pad to get more/less pressure. You could compare the pad on the right side with the left to see if there are spacers missing.

Perhaps if the pad was not "flat" into its fitting you might get a different result reversing rather than travelling forward. Or if the pressure on the pad was not even. Perhaps you have a multi-pot caliper, and not all the pots are applying pressure evenly. Maybe one of the pots needs to be cleaned out or has crap stuck in it causing one pot to apply more pressure than the others.

I guess there is a slim chance some contamination has got into the brake line, and into an individual pot causing uneven pressure on the pad.

I think it needs to be ripped apart. Visually inspected. Cleaned. Compared to the working side (I assume this only happens on one side) and then put back together.

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trig42

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#1391929 22-Sep-2015 14:17

MikeB4: [Snip}
Now the local Nissan Dealer has told me this is not an issue it is just dust on the brakes. My first reaction and continuing reaction to that is bollocks. They told me to take to a top of a hill and ride the brakes and get them hot and this will burn it off, again I have the reaction of bollocks, as it did it after a trip to Auckland and back and a trip over the Rimutaka Hill Road in the weekend, that is enough to get any brakes hot.
[...}

Maybe a trip down the Rimutakas in reverse?

Joking of course, this is definitely something I'd be wanting the dealer to sort quick smart. The car is practically brand new, and it sounds like a pretty simple fix. You'd hope that they'd just do it.

MikeB4

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#1391963 22-Sep-2015 14:52

After a loooooooooooooooooong hmmmm discussion with the service manager, the car is booked in for monday to have a thorough look at the brakes and or anything else that may be causing it. As I was talking to them I though that maybe the Foot activated/deactivated park break was leaving the pads at the rear slightly engaged
but the front pads that do most of the work whilst driving are OK. They are going to look at this and everything else.

Will report back on what happens.

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