[isntworkdull]

Hi All,

I have a 2007 (08) 330D M sport cabi (E93 i think its called), i bought it 6 months ago from a bmw dealership near london (I live in midlands but was happy to buy further away for what i considered the best deal)...

Anyway, after a month of having it i noticed a bit of squeaking when braking... only when braking at very low speeds, i.e if in lots of traffic, and just moving a few yards at a time, or when coming to a complete stop etc...

its now 6 months, and yesterday it was in my local bmw dealership (which cost my £90 for them to look at (as i didnt buy it from them etc)), and they told me "No fault found"... I started complaining etc, and one of there engineers came out with me for a five minute drive, and of course... no squeak... he did of course point out its raining, which may be stopping it from happening etc...

Out of embarrasment i think, i let them convince me it was normal... but on my way home... squeak squeak... so i started thinking how in the hell can this be normal, i've had bmws for 12 years, never had one squeaking on me, and for them to say its normal...

Anyway, what they told me (and please bare in mind i know nowt about cars, so could be describing this completely wrong) is that the 2007 models have a different kind of brake sensor on them that is in constant contact with the brake and that is what makes the squeaky noise....

I got to thinking last night, that my local dealer must be talking sh*t, surely BMWs do not squeak, this cant be normal, i can only presume they want to wait until its out of warranty then make a mint on me doing some work etc...

Can anyone please advise me if they have come across the same thing (as according to this dealer it is very common and he was "suprised my previous car didnt have it)...

I am not sure how i go about getting this sorted, any advice from other BMW owners would be much appreciated....

thanks
James

[foxy-stoat]

Brakes probably are not faulty, just worn.

How loud is the squeak - metal/metal loud or just annoying? Maybe the pad backs have fallen off.

Only way to cure it is to change the brake pads and sensors and possibly the discs. I would start by removing the pads/calipers, giving them a clean and check nothing is missing and refit them.

The sensor is in constant contact with the brake PAD but doesn't squeak as its plastic.

What did the dealer actually do for £90?

[nicktyler]

Where abouts in the Uk are you? Take it to a good indi. We might be able to reccomend one.

The dealer is right about the sensors causing the squeak but he is not right about it being normal. They squeak when the pads are worn as foxy has stated.

I had this exact problem. Change the pads and sensors (fixed it for me) and then if it continues to squeak think about changing the discs although this should not be necessary depending on the mileage the current ones have done.

[Laney]

My rears were squeaking.

Changed the pads and sensor and the squeaking has stopped.

[Phil325i]

Originally Posted by foxy-stoat

The sensor is in constant contact with the brake PAD but doesn't squeak as its plastic.

Wrong. The sensor casing may be plastic, but the piece that rubs on the disc is some kind of graphite...and it does squeak. I had serious squealing from the rear o/s/r brake. I rubbed the sensor end with emery and coated the rest of the sensor body with copper grease. Never heard another sound from the brakes since.

[isntworkdull]

Hi all,

foxy... I'm no expert, so no idea how to quantify how loud the squeak is, lets just say when i brake i now feel like i driving an old banger... lol

With regards what they did for £90, they took it for a spin, and told me no fault found... To be fare i knew the price of that before i paid it... and i knew it was just for "looking" at it...

However what confuses me is no fault has been found, yet they have told me they can fix it by replacing the pads & sensors... which i will have to pay for as it is not covered by the warranty... But isnt that a bit of a contradiction, theres no fault, but they know how to fix it?? lol


nicktyler... I may consider that if i can not get this fixed under the warranty, as obviously i'd rather pay nothing...

I have currently asked them to put it in writing formally, as i am confused how they can tell me there is a known "reason" for the squeak, but it is not a fault and therefore not covered by warranty... so will wait to see what they put together in writing and then consider the next step...

[jimpom23]

Randomly, mine squeak but only when its hot and sunny

[lemonukas]

Change pads and sensor. It's probably some cheap ones like was on mine when I bought my car.

[foxy-stoat]

Originally Posted by isntworkdull

Hi all,

foxy... I'm no expert, so no idea how to quantify how loud the squeak is, lets just say when i brake i now feel like i driving an old banger... lol

With regards what they did for £90, they took it for a spin, and told me no fault found... To be fare i knew the price of that before i paid it... and i knew it was just for "looking" at it...

However what confuses me is no fault has been found, yet they have told me they can fix it by replacing the pads & sensors... which i will have to pay for as it is not covered by the warranty... But isnt that a bit of a contradiction, theres no fault, but they know how to fix it?? lol


nicktyler... I may consider that if i can not get this fixed under the warranty, as obviously i'd rather pay nothing...

I have currently asked them to put it in writing formally, as i am confused how they can tell me there is a known "reason" for the squeak, but it is not a fault and therefore not covered by warranty... so will wait to see what they put together in writing and then consider the next step...

Pads and discs are wearing items very much doubt they will replace for free as they are clearly working and not faulty...they just squeak sometimes in certain conditions.

Previous owner may of used cheap pads as previously stated or pads/discs may of glazed over or been contaminated...or anti squeal pads may of fell out or just really old. Either way, new pads/sensor and possibly discs will make the squeak go away if fitted correctly.

If all they did was drive around the block for £90 just to tell you the brakes work fine that's a bit of a rip. I would of expected them to at least take the wheels off and inspected the pads to see if everything is ok.

[isntworkdull]

Hi Guys,

Just an update, after asking the dealer to put in writing what they have been telling me... it looks like thats actually made them do some work...

they have now contacted me again, asked me how many miles i have on the clock, and as i have only done 3.5k since i bought it from them, and it had brand new brakes discs and pads on when i bought it, apparantly they can replace these under warranty....

Now i'm just waiting to see if they will be trying to charge me labour for this...

fingers crossed i may actually get this done for free after all!!

[Z3man]

I have the exact same symptoms as the OP, it does seem to go away in the rain though, which is not a problem at the moment because its always raining.

It will be interesting to see how you get on as i have only done about 2000 miles since i bought if for a BMW main dealer.

[Dr Dave]

The moisture around the brakes in wet weather 'lubricate' the brake pads slightly so the noise goes away.

All that needs to be done is the pads to be simply removed from the carriers, cleaned up and refitted (if they are indeed serviceable, that is) with a thin smear of copper grease on the sliding and piston contact faces. Should be quiet from thereon in.

I find it absurd that dealerships are charging £90 just to 'look' at this problem - it shouldn't even need a roadtest.

[Dr Dave]

If the OP is near to me (Somerset) I'd more than happily sort this noise out for a few beer tokens!

[isntworkdull]

thanks for the offer Dave, i'm in the midlands thou, wolverhampton to be precise...

for Z3man, if i were you i would get in touch with your dealer ASAP, i say that because the dealer i bought it from told me yesterday as they were new on when i bought it, the parts them selves are covered on warranty... however my local dealer where i want the work done (for convienience) has not yet confirmed this, they said i am just over the milege freshold, but they are speaking with the warranty company or something, and will let me know today...

So i would not wait if i were you, thats what i have done, this fault occured 1 month (approx) after i bought it in July... if i had of raised the issue then, i dont think i would be having any of these problems...

Also, just for everyone's information, i was talking to the engineer at the dealer yesterday (as i had to take him for a spin so he could hear the squeak), he told me that they can of course fix the issue, but unofficially he said it will probably come back, apparantly (and this is what he said, no idea if he's correct or not) it happens because the (and i cant remember if he said pads or discs) are no longer manufacturer with asbestos in them, which absorbs moisture etc so didnt squeak...

[tmarshall57]

There are a number of threads on this subject. I believe low speed brake squeal is caused by brake dust embedded in the pads. This can be cured temporarily by braking hard from speed 2 or 3 times.

See http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=768862

I didn't have this problem with the original Textar pads but I have had the problem since I fitted new discs, pads and sensors with Pagid equivalents. The Textar pads were quiet but filthed the wheels very quickly. The Pagid pads squeal but are kinder to the wheels.