Why do my brakes squeak when pedal is pressed halfway?

Question

Why do my brakes squeak consistently when the brake pedal is halfway pressed but goes away when I press it down hard?

When I press my brakes I hear no squeaking for the first 10-20% of pressing down. Then I hear a loud high-pitched squeak when the pedal is about halfway down. If I keep the pedal halfway it will squeak the entire time. Then if I press down all the way the squeaking goes away. Basically its only squeaking for the middle portion of my braking action.

I got my brakes replaced about six months ago so I thought the "new brake" squeaking would have gone away by now.

Is this something to be concerned about? Should I take it in? Ford E250

Answer 1

It's most likely due to one of a couple factors:

• Your new brakes are budget materials and squeak
• Whoever installed the brakes didn't add the brake squeak compound to take away these mini vibrations that cause squeaks
• Your brake material is a bit glazed and squeaks because there are 2 slick surfaces gliding on each other

Whenever mine have squeaked, it's been 1 or a combination of these. There's no reason to be concerned at all - it's just annoying and even budget brakes will provide you with a decent service life. I've had squeaky brakes that lasted 50,000 miles with no indication of wearing out unfortunately.