I know it's tough to do from your computer
After a little driving at 40-50 mph I get a squeal that sounds like a squeaky brake, only I hear it on slightly hard turns without applying the brakes, and then as a consistent sound while driving at lower speeds.
It comes and goes but when it's there, it's pretty loud.
I have newish rear pads that have always squeaked, and the fronts look okay but I'll replace them soon. I'm a little worried about a warped rotor but I assume that'd be a consistent rubbing sound?
I checked, and I don't have any mice in my pocket so I'm out of ideas.

Does this symptom sound familiar to anyone or is it too vague?

 

Wear indicators on worn pads up front telling you it's time?

Another thought was if the caliper pins are binding at all (you said you need new pads) then when you turn the little bit of play might make the edge of the pad rub the rotor and make a sound. Just a guess, had that happen on a VW - the pins would get corroded/sticky and the rear pads would drag.

 

Thanks so much for the reply, Msjulie! I have a rear sensor to replace (new pads are on), so it could be that the front has tripped by now as well. The pads look okay by eye, but I definitely could be wrong.

Your pins idea sounds like it could be the ticket. I was just pricing out rotors, etc. I do have grooves on a couple rotors and they are pretty old, so it's probably time to replace at least the fronts.

 

Oh, about the wear indicator: I wondered about that but the sound is inconsistent and not only when I apply the brakes.

 

Like you said, I'm guessing in the wind here

Our cars have floating calipers - ie the caliper isn't completely solid on the car but slides on pins which attach the caliper to the caliper bracket which is solid - this lets the caliper 'float' back and forth on the pins when you press the brake pedal and apply force to the pads etc blah <-- rough description

So taken what I know about that and what I saw in my old vw, 2 things came to mind

- the wear sensors are areas on the pads which are a different material which makes a burn-your-ear sound to tell you something is up. Since the caliper and therefore the pad, 'float' a little, the pad can intermittently come in contact with the rotor and squeal at you

- the pins this caliper slides on have some fine lube and little rubber boots to keep the weather out, on the vw they didn't do a good enough job and the pins got messy/rusty and thus the caliper didn't float like it should - then the pads dragged and squealed sometimes. pita

Here's some picture I found (caliper A is the floating one like we have, B is a fixed caliper which works similar and differently )



from here http://www.winbrake.com/trainingmate...alsBrakes.html


Pardon me if you already know this stuff Again I'm just relating what I've had to deal with in the past, brakes are really cool what they can do but they can be a pain sometimes to diagnose little noises and such

 

Thanks again, Msjulie33, you've been a great help. I am a novice, but not lost when it comes to putting things together. I watched a video from Bavarian Auto Works on how to change rotors/brakes, and the various lube points so I look forward to the job. I'm also looking at these:
http://www.waymotorworks.com/brake-s...-bushings.html
I also had a look at my rotors this morning and the rears look/feel more worn. There is a noticeable depression from the pads. However, I think the fronts are the squealers.

 

cool report back

 

Has the sensor tripped on your brakes? We don't have mechanical wear sensors, they are digital so there is no sound that is made. Warped rotors would be more constant so there is likely something else going on. There are several things that it could be. Can you make a recording?

 

Do your rotors have a "lip" on either edge? Mine did, had a noise, intermittent and high pitched.... Beveled the edge of the new pads and the noise went away...

 

+1
Mine does this a bit too...think it is about the same from the description....think the backer on the pad starts rub on the ridge a bit as the pad gets thin.

 

Most likely this is the cause.

 

Hey! I forgot to check back. When I got new tires recently I had the shop look at the brake calipers and they say my rear (aftermarket) pads were a poor fit and were the cause of the mystery noise. And yes, do have the rotor "lips" ZippyNH, so I think that was a contributing factor as well. Thanks again all!

 

This is probably not the root cause for this post, but for others who come across this thread, I figured I would throw this out:

Any squealing or scraping noises that are speed dependent could also be a brake dust shield. I just had it happen last week on my way home from work, not sure what cause it to deflect against the rotor, but the shield was rubbing and causing a loud screeching.
Took the wheel off, bent the shield a few mm and problem solved.
I have also had small stones get wedged behind there and cause a heck of a noise.

Just a very quick and free check to do before taking to a shop or ordering parts.