My aunt and uncle have a '01 Outback Limited with 105k on the clock. It has developed a intermitant high pitched squeal or whine at highway speaeds that stops when you apply the brakes. Now I know there is a brake pad warning squealer that tells you the pads are low on friction material. BUT, the pads were replaced all around about 6 months ago? And looking through the stock alloy wheels there seems to be meat left on them?

To really assess the situation you'll have to remove the wheel and caliper. On my '95 ob the mechanic who did the last brake job, before I bought it, didn't grease the contact points on the little bracket that holds the pads. I had one side of the pad that had little to no wear whatsoever and the other side was down to the metal. Ended up warping the rotors. I replaced the pads and rotors, applied the proper amount of grease in the correct areas and never had a problem again. Traded it in just a few months back.

So, I'd recommend removing the wheels and swinging the caliper out of the way. It's probably just dust though if it's only been 6 months.

So, I'd recommend removing the wheels and swinging the caliper out of the way. It's probably just dust though if it's only been 6 months.

 

So you would just recomend first to hit the brakes with high pressure water??

Remove each wheel and visually inspect the brakes first. Look for consistency in pad thickness, and anything else that might look dodgy. Likr ctoth said, lubrication on the sliders is important. It might just be a characteristic of the new pads. I've seen plenty of Volvos with good brakes that squeak, Subarus, not so much.

shortlid,

 

I had a similar problem on my wife's last Lexus. In our case the squealing was only at very slow speeds, and it disappeared when the brakes were applied. I popped out the caliper piston on the offending side and discovered a mild ring of rust half way around the piston, obviously from water laying in the bottom of the caliper bore. The same ring of rust was inside the caliper bore. Because the rust was sticking on one side, the caliper was not completely releasing when you took your foot off the brake pedal, hence the squeal would stop when we applied the brakes. I was able to clean up both surfaces with 0000 fine steel wool and sloved the problem. The manual says to flush out the brake system with fresh fluid every 3 years, in order to get rid of the water. When was yours done last? It may be the same problem we exprienced.

i have seen pads wear out in 6 months before on more than one occassion. it's good to note which brand pads you're using. if they wear super quick then try another brand. some brands will wear quicker on some vehicles than others. i've used wearever silvers dozens of times on other cars and they perform fine except on my parents Dodge Caravan, they'll last about 6 months. other brands work find on their caravan, go figure?

 

all the pads should be inspected and compared to one another. it only takes one pad to be worn down to make noise, not all of them. remove the wheels and make sure you can check all 4 front pads. one worn more than the others indicated caliper is sticking.