Rant: I used to blame brake squeal on wear, but dirt was the real issue

Abby Miller · 2026-03-08T03:30:53.509058+00:00

Cleaning the rotors with alcohol fixed it right up.

Ugh, that's the worst kind of noise. It's such a relief when the fix turns out to be something cheap and simple like that, instead of a whole new set of parts. Glad you got it sorted.

6

umab357mo ago

Actually, cleaning them can help a ton, but sometimes the squeal really is from the pads or rotors just being worn out. That stuff gets thin and starts making noise.

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oscarcooper7mo ago

Right, but the squeal from worn parts is usually a different pitch. Thin pads grinding on a rotor sound more like a constant metal-on-metal groan. The high-pitched squeak you get when you first tap the brakes is almost always from vibration, and cleaning or a bit of grease on the pad backing plate stops it cold.

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