starman17

2014 S4, stock. Has anyone had a squeak that only happens when hitting smaller bumps? Especially ones that are small / sharp like broken pavement that rattles the car a bit? Sharp, small, dips are also really good at causing the noise. It's pretty quiet, I have to have the windows down to hear it. Can't hear from inside cabin otherwise.

I think it has to do with the brakes because if I even lightly hold brakes, the squeaks stop. Bouncing the car myself doesn't cause any squeaks. Larger but slow dips and bumps (like driveways) do not cause any squeaks either.

Can I do anything to stop the noise? Definitely passenger side, likely front, but the high pitch makes it difficult to tell front or back.

TPOP

Are you using OEM brake pads? I tried ceramic pads to get rid of the cold weather squeal and brake dust. The squeal and brake dust were gone, but I got a rattle with each bump or crack in the road. Touch the brakes and quiet - like you said. So, I am now back to OEM pads. Rattle gone.

starman17

OEM pads. I'm actually pretty new to servicing cars but not mechanical troubleshooting, so let me know if this is right.

From what I could gather....should some parts of the brake caliper be heavily greased? The cars brakes have been serviced once at the dealer before I took ownership, maybe they missed something?

It seems like the entire caliper has to slide along some bolts when pinching the rotor (and to accommodate pad wear), and is also kept in place by a spring clip. Also should pads be glued or greased into place? Especially the passive side of the caliper without the piston?

I should just buy some tools...

SP-Performance

From what I can gather, the 2014 S4 OEM material is Ceramic, so I do not believe that is your issue here. Even if I am wrong, that would not explain why it squeaks only when hitting bumps. Its possible that there is brake dust buildup between the pads and the rotors. You can use compressed air and try to blow it off as a simple fix. You may want to apply some anti-squeal brake lubricant on the pads. If this doesn't stop the noise, I would next look at the calipers.

SP-Performance

Check out the thread on this page. About 1/3 of the way down, a guy claims the noise was in his ball joints. That would make sense. Squeaking over bumps (AoA says it's brake pads?))

DrGP

OEM B8/8.5 B8 S4 brakes are definitely not ceramic.

Bobby Kinstle

Yes I had the exact same problem. It's the caliper squeaking against the carrier. Remove the caliper, wipe down all the surfaces where it touches the carrier and pads. Apply a thin layer of the grease linked below to all the wear surfaces (you can see them) and reassemble. The problem will be solved. It doesn't matter what brake pads you use either.

This stuff will solve the problem