Brake squeals in the morning when starting driving.
 

Hi all,

2013 Q5 with 38000 miles. Original brake pads I assume since I have taken over the ownership of the car. I have noticed in a while my brake squeals or giving out sound when I first start driving in the morning after a parking. It gives out sound 1 or twice then it stops. I have talked to Audi and they are saying it's the way the brake is designed and they advise me to press hard on the brake before I leave the car to park at night. I am just wondering if any one has experienced this issue and how to correct it. Thanks!

Regards,

Wil

Brake squeal has various causes. Dust can cause it, lack of proper use can cause it, glazed pads from prolonged light use of brakes (basically the pad surface gets polished from not being used enough) can cause it, a lot of stop&go traffic for example. Cooler temps can also temporarily cause brake noise and that might go away as they warm up a bit, and a thin layer of rust can build on the rotors from moisture in the air or the rain, especially if you park outside and this rust layer will first have to be worn off by using the brakes.

For brakes to perform optimally and with as little noise as possible, they need to be exercised once in a while. For example brakes should be bedded in. That's a process involving repeated stops from about 60 mph w/o coming to a full stop to heat them up and initiate the build up of a thin even layer of pad material on the rotors. Properly bedded in rotors will have a grayish/silverish discoloration where the pads make contact. If you see bare metal, then your brakes are not optimally bedded in. Friction between different types of material is not optimal. The best friction is achieved if both sides are the same material, so that's the purpose of the pad material layer. Instead of the pads scraping against metal, they are going against pad material on the rotor for optimal stopping power and noise reduction.

Your dealer's advice is essentially correct. Go out and find an empty road where you can exercise your brakes a bit. Make sure that once you got them hot, don't stop anywhere with your foot on the brakes. That will imprint the pads and lead to vibration. You should go for a 15-20 minute drive on the highway afterwards and make very little use of the brakes during that time to cool them down. If you have glazed pads, then you may need to replace them. It'll take a lot of hard braking to wear off the glazed layer from the pads otherwise.

Thanks a lot superswiss!

IF YOU TAKE YOUR AUDI TO THE DEALER THERE IS A TSB FOR THE FRONT AND REAR PADS IN THE Audi Q5. IF THEY SQUEAK ALOT THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO REPLACE THEM FOR FREE IF YOU STILL UNDER WARRANTY

Thanks LSANCHEZ1! The warranty has just expired. The squeal actually is not that bad. It gives out sound one or two times in the morning and it's gone. I actually talked to Audi 2 times these couple past years. They did not mention anything about these TSB pads.

Thank you Valpo A7