I have a 2009 Cayenne GTS with 22,000 miles. I bought the GTS in San Francisco, and last year I moved to Greenwich, CT. I’ve taken the GTS to the Greenwich dealership (New Country Porsche) once so far for regular scheduled maintenance and at that time informed my service advisor that the brakes squeaked very badly (especially at low-speeds, between 3-5 MPH)!


My SA told me that the brake squeaking is “Normal” and it cannot be fixed. He also blamed my wife (it’s her car) for driving the car in such a way where it actually is causing the brakes to squeak…claiming that she doesn’t apply enough brake pressure and a build-up of brake dust and grime is forming on the disks/calipers which is causing the problem. That explanation is complete crap! Granted, my wife is not an aggressive driver, she drives the GTS very normally. She applies a normal amount of brake pressure for regular normal driving. In addition, I drive the GTS quite a bit on weekends, and quite often, I find myself applying heavy brake pressure.

The SA told my wife to slam on the brakes every now and then to get rid of the problem. We tried that, but the brakes still squeak very badly!

I’m wondering if anyone else on the forum has this same problem, and if their dealerships have been able to fix the problem….or are they getting the same BS lip-service like we are getting? I’m sorry, but I don’t accept that when you pay $92,000 for an SUV that it’s “normal” to have embarrassingly squeaky brakes!

The GTS is going back to New Country Porsche for service in two weeks (BTW, they only have old Volkswagen Jettas as their loaner cars at New Country…..WTF???). I am going to insist that something be done to remedy the brake squeaking problem…..any advice from you guys would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks in advance!


-Tom

 

Yea, it's amazing what SA or sales guys will say to you....in this case. I was told the same crap with my Cayenne Turbo..it's normal, hit them harder, blah, blah.

I installed some different pads and it went away.

How much pad life do you have? Remember, there's a sensor there, if its contacting the rotor..it will most likely squeak AND it starts to contact the rotor fairly early, at approximately ~3/16" or so. I think that was my issue.

Certain pad material can cause squeaking. A hard racing style pad will tend to squeal when cold or light braking, but I'm guessing you dont road race your cayenne too often?

Good luck man.

 

Tom,

it really is normal, though I hate it very much.

my 08 CTT brake squeaks all the time for the last few years, changed to new OEM brake pad and rotors few months ago and it squeaks after just 2 weeks and continues daily. A good flush with lots of water at the brake pads during car wash will eliminate the squeaks for a few days, then it is guaranteed to return.

Surprising, my Dad has the same CTT as me and his does not squeak at all. I cannot explain that.

 

I have an 08 GTS with brand new OEM pads & rotors and they squeak and moan just a bit but only when I'm going very slowly like pulling out of the garage. They don't make any noise other than that.

 

you guys dont have to live with squeaking pads! lol

 

Thanks for your responses guys! Though Porsche claims this is NORMAL, I still don't believe that squeaking brakes on our Cayennes are ACCEPTABLE!

I may be due for new brake pads at my next scheduled service. I suppose I can check the remaining brake pad life through the PCM? Do you know where I should navigate to find that info?

Scot, which aftermarket brake pads did you switch to in order to eliminate the squeaking? I've heard good things about Hawk, but I'm not sure which model to choose. Any advice would be appreciated.

Also, will Porsche install the aftermarket brake pads for me in place of the OEM ones if they are due to be changed in my regular scheduled maintenance? I'm guessing NO, but perhaps if I make a big enough issue over how UNACCEPTABLE the squeaking is, they'll do it for me.

Otherwise, if I take my car to a brake shop, how much would it cost to get new pads?

-Tom

 

Go to suncoastparts.com or pelicanparts.com and you can get the pads for the most part at wholesale. I dont know about the Cayenne but my bro and I change the pads ourselves on my Cayman and his TPC Boxster and it is very easy to do. After you get the first time out of your system it takes about 20 minutes per pad, including getting the wheel off. Again, not sure about the Cayenne brake setup but the 987 also have dampers which help with squeaking, make sure yours are ok, if you need to replace them theyre like $8 each.

 

Tom,
I went with a upgraded pad from my local O'reileys auto parts store , just organic pads I think. I dont brake the sh@t out of my Cayenne so not trying spend a fortune on a hard race brake pad for it.

As for Hawk..I used those on my Evo's Brembo brakes...They were the PC (performance ceramic). And no squeal on those! Make sure you break them in properly..that's one reason why brake pads can begin to squeal as well. Edit: ***BTW: I was told the Hawk pads may squeal when I bought them for my Evo, but they didn't.

****I've used EBC's as well, what speeddemon said below with no issues, but those were all on sports cars, not 5,000 lb Suvs.

Brake pads are easy to do, like dan1423 said above, 20-30 minutes per side.

 

The WORST brake squeek I ever had was Hawk HPS ceramic pads and R1 concepts drilled/slotted rotors. Hawk sent me a second set of pads, just as awful. Obnoxious at ANY speed, even 75-80mph. Got rid of them, went with OEM Turbo S Rotors/calipers and EBC Red stuff pads, and love them. I get a TINY little chirp when I havent beat on them from about 3-5mph to a stop. And yes, depending on use, they're just going to squeek some. It is, after all, a performance SUV. I've seen friends cars with PCCBs where some are absolutely dead silent, others you can hear stopping at the red light 4 blocks away.

 

It's all to do with brake compound. And it's normal for cars with pads that offer greater bite. So you will find that on more high performance vehicles, squeal is normal... It's just how much squeal they produce.

My ctts squels and that's on newish pads that have been through one track day. I accept that as part and parcel of driving cars that brake well. I would rather have a great braking system at the expense of a little squeal.... But that's just me...

 

My car has ceramic brakes and they squealed. I am told it is normal for those brakes. I was driving the car hard one day, and did some heavy braking, very hard, like what you would do on a track, and they have not squealed since.

 

Just my 2 cents and to make you feel better about the stupid SA blaming your wife for not applying enough pressure... What a bunch of crap. I brake conservatively and rarely brake hard and apply light pressure when breaking and mine never squeak.

Mama

 

lol right, just brake like you're turning into a hairpin at 90 mph everytime and that squeak will go away! And you get to watch your groceries go flyin off the seats at every light, and your poor kids get seat belt burn. Haha, makes sense.

 

Exactly. LOL

 

A quick rinse with a hose in each of the rims cleans the brake dust out of there and the squeek is gone for a few days. Not a solution but a quick fix.