Brake Squeal In the Cold?

[nobbyv]

Now that temps are dropping, I'm getting terrible brake squeal. It's a bit hard to isolate, but I *think* it's the fronts. I'm at ~23k, and took a look at the pads when I swapped in my winter setup: plenty of life left.

There was a TSB for my B8 S4 for this issue; just curious if anyone's heard anything about one for the C7?

[mik34]

I had bad squeal with my OEM pads. Got ceramic pads. Now there's no squeal or dust [:D]

[JB616]

I had them fixed on my S4 with the TSB. I still have stock pads on my S6 now but my dealership literally told me to drive it harder to warm them up faster. I don't know of a TSB yet but my noise comes from the rear. I drive it hard and it solves the problem.


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[Brooklyn]

Not nearly as bad as my B8 S4 but getting it on my A6 now. Suspect different compound pads and rotors are the only real options.

[kcbonedoc]

I have noticed same. I have about 5k miles on my s6.

[SeatonS4]

Same here. Nothing like driving around in an expensive car and pulling to a stop sounding like a beat up delivery truck.... I have tried to drag the brakes a little to get more heat into the rotors, but it really takes a lot on some of these really cold days. Happened again this morning and it was 41 degrees out.

[yvnrg1981]

Same here. I'm just glad that after they heat up it goes away, i had a benz that would do the opposite and squeal after they heat up. As far as ceremic....I tried on benz the akebono euro and at first they were great but just didn't have the same bite as OEM, changed back to OEM and wow It felt like i had no brakes with ceremic. So just learned to live with the dust and will not do the same to my S7.

[/dev/null]

Getting squeal in out '14 A6 here in Pennsylvania as well. It started about 3-4 weeks ago, and as noted with the temperature drop. Ive got 15k on the car and yes, lots of pad life.

[nobbyv]

I should be ready for my 25k service in a week or two; I"m going to mention it to them them and see what they say. FWIW, I did an experiment today and getting on the brakes hard once definitely eliminated the EXTREMELY loud squeal I was getting just before that for the duration of my trip. Still annoying though.

[537playing]

2014 a6 under 10k miles and getting the squeal as well. Embarrassing pulling up to a light.

[bobamoo]

Been noticing this, too.


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[goliath1]

service manager said "they all do it"..guess so based on this thread....oddly enough my squeal (passenger front) disappeared recently. Not sure why but I have been using Sonax and have sprayed the rotors and wheels ...maybe this did something.

[lnferno]

I should be ready for my 25k service in a week or two; I"m going to mention it to them them and see what they say. FWIW, I did an experiment today and getting on the brakes hard once definitely eliminated the EXTREMELY loud squeal I was getting just before that for the duration of my trip. Still annoying though.

Unfortunately, it's normal, very annoying, but normal. It's the pad compound. One thing you can do is a couple of hard 60 mph ABS stops. That helps a bit/temporarily.

[Pac]

Hello
Is the noise you are having similar to the one in the attached video?
The car has now approx. 9K. The noise began a couple of months ago. I took it to the dealer but they were not able to solve the problem. They told me it was normal and the result of the high performance brakes that the car has. As much as I like my car I find the squeal unacceptable. It can become extremely annoying. I know that there was a similar issue with the TT but it was repaired by Audi.

The squeal goes away when it is raining. At least sometimes... I have tried the hard braking suggestion, but it generally does not really help.

A lot of people associate the problem with the cold and dry weather. If that is the case, that means that people like myself who live in the northeast will have to deal with this problem for five to six months every year...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YAfcDabUms&feature=youtu.be

[goliath1]

that is the sound. but I had it all thru the summer. Until recently. haven't heard it in a while.

[nobbyv]

Yup, that's the sound exactly. I too notice it tends to disappear in the rain. I'll post back with what the dealer says. I'm guessing they may do the chamfering like they did on my S4.

[shockchock]

Unfortunately, it's normal, very annoying, but normal. It's the pad compound. One thing you can do is a couple of hard 60 mph ABS stops. That helps a bit/temporarily.

That is exactly what my service tech told me to do. And just like you said, it works pretty well for a fairly short period.

[GiantEli]

So I got a very erudite answer the other day. Apparently there are a number of components in the brake system that can vibrate and cause noise. The pads for certain, but there are also pins, clips, etc that all resonate and add to the mess.

Techs have been sending Audi recordings of various noises, and I'm told they can identify sub-components that contribute to the squeal and replace/lubricate affected parts. My car is in the shop currently getting some replaced. I'll know later what got swapped.

Either way, this is an obvious engineering problem, and the metallic pads are only part of it. I'm told that "every other car that comes in has a brake noise issue" here in the midwest. I give it about 3 more months before a TSB gets issued.

[Pac]

GiantEli,
I agree with you. The noise cannot be considered normal. It is unacceptable for any car still under warranty to have this type of noise. I am quite surprised to see that some people are not so bothered by this issue.
I did a google search and found lots of information regarding the TT and S4 brake squeal problem, but not much regarding the A6/A7.
The dealers apparently are aware of the problem because they gave me the same "high performance breaks" answer that everyone seems to be getting. After I showed them the video and asked for a new appointment, they told me they will probably have to contact Audi of America before any further action was taken.
I will post back with news as soon as they contact me.