Squeak coming from front end?

[cctop]

I've got an intermittent high-pitched squeak coming from the front end.

It sounds kind of like the squeal of brake pads getting low, except it's quiet and it goes away after about a minute.

It may in fact be the brakes but I've had the e-Golf only a year and I'd expect the brakes to last longer than average because of the regeneration.

The problem is that it's intermittent -- it only happens when the car is cold, usually for a bit after I start driving in the morning, but it's slowly getting more frequent.

I took it to the dealer who of course could not reproduce it and wouldn't take off the wheels to check the brakes before hearing it themselves.

Anybody had something similar?

 

[Verkehr]

The brakes make some noise with the wheel turned pulling out of the garage. Suspension also squeaks over speed bumps.

Neither would be noticeable on an ICE car... no worries here.

 

[Hetz8500]

I've had a similar experience with my 2015 SEL. It only seems to happen when it's "colder" out (below 50F here in LA) and at low speeds under 15-20mph and in the mornings or after work when the car has been sitting parked for several hours. I, too, mentioned to dealer and they could not reproduce it at their lot so they didn't do anything. I'm not too concerned.

 

[user 1602]

Same problem.

 

[JoulesThief]

Obviously, Volkswagen considers this a "feature". The brake pads are just occasionally noisy.

 

[BomBoi]

i am too getting the noise from the brakes and going over low speed bumps.

 

[BluEV]

Yup, getting the same problem everyone here is describing on both my 2015 and 2017 eGolf SE's (can you tell I'm a fan?!) :
- Squeak coming from front end
- Intermittent
- Slow speeds
- Cold temp
- Dealer can't / won't do anything about it

I prefer single-pedal driving in "B" or high-regen mode rather than "D" so would think this would cause less wear and tear on the brake pads but still getting this problem.

I just completed the 30k service on the 2017 eGolf which included a brake fluid flush yet the problem still persists. They said the brake pads were fine and didn't need changing.

Could the squeak be coming from the motor itself from wear and tear? (if so this could explain why the dealer is hesitant to do anything about it)

Has anyone been successful in getting rid of the squeaks? The squeaks are kinda embarrassing when driving to pick up the kids at school :shock:

 

[f1geek]

I suspect brakes or suspension is making your car's squeak. For brakes, I would find an empty section of road, drive car up to 40 mph and slam on the brakes super hard to bring the car to a stop. Repeat this two more times. Then drive normally to cool of the brakes. See if this fixes the issue. If not, I would suspect suspension creaking - could it be a spring rubbing somewhere? Probably tough to quiet a noisy spring. I do not believe driving mode matters.

 

[pchang0]

Just wanted to add that I'm also experiencing squeaks from the front-end. I've owned my 2017 SEL for a little over a year. The conditions for which my car squeaks matches others' observations:
- cold start
- slow speeds
- shallow turns

goes away after the car "warms up". definitely more noticeable in colder weather <60F, but since I live in CA, this is not a problem most of the year.

 

[f1geek]

Yes, I hear squeaking, too. I need to try a few 40 mph panic stops (with nobody behind me) to see if it is the brake pads dragging.

 

[user 1815]

I had a lot of squeaking on my 2016 e-Golf from the brakes. I was informed that the VW pads are metallic and prone to squeaking, especially after exposure to cold, wet conditions (as we experience here in Minnesota). One way to scour the brake surfaces, with a little less drama than slamming them on moving forward, is to put the car in reverse and apply the brakes. In my understanding, there is no regeneration when the car is traveling backwards, so even gentle braking input goes entirely to the brakes.

 

[Halfstar28]

Hi All,
Has anyone able to resolve the issue? I've brought my egolf to the dealer 2x. 1st time they adjust some brakes. After a few days, it makes the squeaking sound again. 2nd time they said there were somre tar stuck in my rear tire. Sigh. I have recording of the squeaking sound and it seems related to internal car breaking (Slowing down) while turning left for me.

 

[f1geek]

I tried a few hard stops driving backwards (no regen available in reverse) and squeaking seems better.

 

[johnnylingo]

Also getting this on 2019 SEL starting a few months ago. Happens most frequently when turning on city streets, but I've noticed it can also happen when coasting straight over speed bumps as well with no regen braking, which makes me think it's more of a suspension issue vs. brakes.

 

[f1geek]

I still think it is worth your time to try several hard stops after driving in reverse or panic stops, going forward, from 40 mph, both of which should fully engage friction brakes and should reset brake pads.

 

[johnnylingo]

Well, of course, the next day the squeaking had completely disappeared and could not be reproduced.

I would like to pop the wheels off this weekend and do a brake pad inspection, but does anyone know what screwy bit is used on these lug nuts? I assume these are proprietary and couldn't find any matching tool in the tire kit bag.

 

[f1geek]

The black things are lug screw covers. There is a loop shaped tool in the fix a flat bag (as well as lug screw key) to remove them. VW takes a standard socket to remove lug screws.

 

[johnnylingo]

Oh yeah ok here we go:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mDKImHAru_c

I looked in the bag 3 times and finally found it hidden under the top flap, lol. Definitely will do a complete write-up for this.

 

[BomBoi]

i do have this from time to time . its about 30K miles so i will have the brakes cleaned and inspected for anything odd.

 

[MikeA24]

Anybody ever figure out why the squeaking is happening? I have it happening on my 2017 egolf se when moving slow and turning