Questions and Answers

Nissan 200-SX Brake Squeal Q. Mr. Ciulla , I have a 1997 Nissan 200-SX SE-R. It's a manual transmission with approximately 60,000 miles. I had my tires rotated a week ago, and a couple of days after they were rotated I began a notice an occasional squeal coming from the tires while I am driving. If I apply any brake pressure the squeal immediately stops.

The squeal seems to be predominant now and occurs almost non-stop at speeds higher than 35 mph. I read the brake troubleshooting guide and considering that the squeal stops upon braking I am not sure what the issue could be. Any ideas?

Chris

A. What you are probably hearing is the Audible Wear Indicators. The AWI is a metal clip attached to the brake pad that makes contact with the rotor when the brake pad reaches a specified thickness. When it makes contact with the rotor it sounds like the old fingernails across the blackboard sound.

It usually starts as a come and go noise and, as the pad wears futher, becomes more constant. It is not unusual for the noise to stop when the brake is applied.

I would have the front brakes inspected as soon as possible.