Questions and Answers

Chevy Impala Squeaking When Braking Q. Dear Vince, I own a 2002 Chevy Impala LS sedan and recently had the dealer change my front brakes at 32K+ miles. That was done without any issue. The back brakes were checked at the same time and found to be in good shape. Then I noticed an intermittent squeal coming from the rear brakes which I was told was probably dirt of some kind.

The dealer looked at the brake pads and cleaned them up. I drove the car for a few miles without any incident, but then the squeal slowly came back, though it is not consistent. Do you have any thoughts that I could suggest for the dealer to look at?

Thank you,
George

A. Some brake squeal is normal. As long as the pads are fat, no problem. Yes, you can remove them and sand them and sand the rotors but all this does is remove more material and possibly disturb the rotor runout causing a pulsation sometime down the road. The rotors should be checked for lateral runout and re-surfaced and shim the rotors as needed. Then put new brake pads on it. Also make sure the parking brake shoes are okay.