Brakes Start Squealing After Driving A Few Miles – Six Common Causes

When you hear a squealing or screeching sound emanating from your brakes, the first thing that often strikes your mind is worn brake pads. But that annoying high-pitched noise could be coming from one of the many problems that are happening with your brakes right now.

Sometimes the reason is just transient, such as a little rust on the rotors after a rainy night or maybe a new set of brake pads that haven’t quite gotten acclimated to the rotors yet. Other times, the cause is more permanent. Sometimes, the problem might be bigger, for instance, your caliper isn’t working right.

If you use the brakes a few times and the squeal stops, there is probably nothing wrong with the brakes. However, if the noise continues — or, even worse, if you start to lose braking force — it is time to get your brakes inspected by a professional.

If you aren’t sure why “brakes start squealing after driving a few miles,” read on to find out what may possibly be going wrong with your braking system.

Here’s Why Your Car Brakes Make a Squeaking Sound

1. Thinning or Worn Brake Pads

The sound of screaming brakes is always brought on by worn brake pads. This is due to the fact that brake pads are purposefully constructed with a metal indicator that sends out a warning signal with a high-pitched tone when they are getting close to reaching their minimum thickness.

You will know it is time to change your brake pads when you hear that grating scream coming from them. A thin layer of rust that has formed on your brake pads may also make a similar squeaking sound, but this sound will usually go away after you use the brakes a few times. Be sure to have your brakes checked out as soon as possible if the noise persists after the vehicle has been stopped.

If you ignore the problem and the squeaking keeps getting worse until it sounds like grinding, you may need to replace your rotors as well as your brake pads. Because of this, the price of your subsequent brake service might increase by more than 100%.

2. Debris or Dust Between Rotors and Pads

Mud, dust, or other things on the surface of your brake pads or rotors are common causes of brake screaming. This may take place in a variety of driving situations, as well as when your vehicle is left parked for an extended length of time and allowed to gather dust.

In this case, the problem can usually be fixed by either sanding the surface or spraying the affected area quickly with cleaner. There’s also a chance that it will go away on its own after you use the brakes a few times. This is because the friction between the brake pads and the rotors will wipe away the debris and dust.

3. Overnight moisture

If you get into your vehicle in the morning and hear a noise that seems strange at first, it’s conceivable that the noise is perfectly normal. This is especially true if your car was exposed to rain, snow, or high humidity the night before. When your brakes have been in the rain for a long time, a thin rust layer can easily form on the rotors.

When you step on the brake pedal, you might hear a grinding or screaming sound. The accumulation of rust may, thankfully, almost always be eliminated via regular driving. You could also park your car inside to keep water from getting on the brakes.

4. Your Braking Style

When you repeatedly brake hard and quickly, especially at high speeds, you may generate a lot of heat, which can cause a smooth and hard glaze to form on your brake pads. This can cause your brakes to become less effective. Glazing may also occur as a consequence of riding the brakes downhill. This happens because the continual friction causes a rise in temperature that is higher than the limitations that standard brake pads are intended for.

When brake pads get glazed, they are no longer able to provide the necessary amount of friction to bring a vehicle to a stop. They are also susceptible to cracking or breaking. As a direct consequence of this, you will have to have them replaced.

Glazing may also be caused by a hydraulic or mechanical failure in the brake caliper, which causes the pads to rub against the car’s rotor even when the brake pedal is not being applied to the brakes.

Because the motorist is unaware that it is happening, this form of accident is perhaps the most hazardous kind. To determine whether or not the surface of your brake pad has been glazed, run your finger down the pad’s surface to look for a smooth and glossy finish. When you replace brake pads that have glazed over, you will also need to clean or resurface the rotors and check the hydraulic system and calipers for any problems or failures.

If you see that glazing is becoming an ongoing issue, you should probably reevaluate the way that you brake as well.

5. Metallic brake pads

It’s possible that the substance of the brake pad itself is the source of the noisy brakes in certain cases. There are three different kinds of brake pads: organic, semi-metallic, and ceramic.

Organic brake pads are the most common. Between 30% and 65% of semi-metallic brake pads are made of metals like copper, graphite, steel, and iron. This makes them the most common type of brake pad on the market. It is possible for this sort of pad to sometimes produce a grinding or squeaking sound when it comes into contact with the rotor.

The noise will often cease after the brake pad has worn down beyond that specific place or layer, but if the noise is bothersome to you, you may want to try purchasing pads that contain less metal.

Organic pads are by far the most affordable option. But they don’t last as long or have the same level of quality as other options, and they also make a lot of dust.

Ceramic brake pads are the second alternative, and many people consider them to be the most superior of the three in terms of performance and quality. Although they are more expensive than their organic or ceramic equivalents, they are also the least noisy and have the longest lifespan of the three options.

6. Lack of lubrication
   

It’s possible that the squealing sound coming from your car’s drum brakes is the result of a lack of lubrication at the contact areas between the shoes and the drum. In the absence of lubrication, the shoes will begin to rub on the backing plate, which will result in a squealing sound.

If you check for traces of this sort of scraping in areas where the bare metal is visible, you can typically figure out where the problem is coming from. Simply adding brake oil to the backing plate of your car where the piston meets the shoes is all that is required to fix noisy drum brakes or stop them from happening in the first place.

The Bottom Line

So you now understand why the brakes start squealing after driving a few miles. You do not want to take any risks when it comes to the condition of your brakes. If the noise has been going on for more than a day or two, it is necessary to take your vehicle to a reputable technician so that they can examine it.

If you don’t take care of it, a simple problem might end up becoming a substantially more costly brake repair. If the squeaking transforms into a grinding noise or a loss in braking force, it is an indication that something severe is going on, including the possibility that the brakes may fail completely.

Make sure that you always have the appropriate amount of brake fluid in your car. If you do not know when to check or replace the different fluids, a technician might help you with “how often should you check the fluids in your car.”