Here is my situation. I brought my ’05 XLR to the dealer when the breaks were squeaking. To this they told me I needed to resurface my rotors and get new brake pads for $600. At the time thinking that unreasonable I took my car to Midas, where they told me the rotors were too thin already to resurface and needed to be replaced for $1000. So continuing my stupidity, I took matters into my own hands and purchased new pads and rotors from the local O’Reilly and did it myself for only $500 total. But upon testing out my new brakes, I found these too squeaked. So I gave it 500 miles to “settle in” but nothing changed. So I conceded that I am not as good as I thought I was with a wrench and went back to Midas, and asked them to take a look now that the rotors were no longer too thin. They told me my pads were to blame and resurfaced my now 500 mile old rotors and put on their “performance” pads for a nice $500. So I pull out of their garage and sure as hell my breaks are squeaking again. Call them up and hear “Oh give them 500 miles to “settle in.” So I do, and 500 miles later they still squeak. So, at wits end, I bring it to the dealer once more, and ask them to tell me why it is STILL squeaking with new rotors and a 3rd set of pads on it. They tell me that the pads are still to blame. “I should have used EBC red stuff pads.” Can anyone offer me some advice? After throwing away more then $1000 on this foolishness already and now more then 2 months of HORRIBLE squeaking, I cannot imagine spending another $250 on more pads with little guarantee that this will work.

I had the same problem with you with my breaks squeeking and it told out to be that I didn't wipe off the excess oil on the rotors when I got them. Since when the manufactures send the rotors there is a thin glaze of oil coating on them and they recommend that you use Brake Cleaner and clean the rotors completely. Well I didn't do that and the brakes were squeeking so since the pads were contaminated with the oil I exchanged the pads for fresh ones and cleaned the rotors completely and installed them. I then broke in my pads by accelerating from 80 to 20 so they can be nice and glazed. Never had no problems since. I am now changing the rotors since I do alot of hard driving so I am installing drilled rotors so they can cool more efficency.

Hope this helps you out m8!

KnowBS:

I went through the process at about 33,000 miles. Like you I learned painfully over the years to use GM Parts on GM cars. Then any issues that crop up are covered.

I knowingly paid about $1k to have the dealer replace all four pads and rotors.

So far not a worry whatsoever!!! The car stops like new.

Some of the other members have followed the path you initally took and have had mixed results.

I was told that due to the rotor thickness and driving habits, there is maybe one resurface that could be done without risking what you went through with the pulsating issue coming up.

So I decided not to chance it and just replaced all four with new rotors.

We have the OEM PARTS as one of our sponsoring vendors here so if you run into any more trouble you may want to see what they have to offer in the way of parts at reduced prices.

Regards

Here is my situation. I brought my ’05 XLR to the dealer when the breaks were squeaking. To this they told me I needed to resurface my rotors and get new brake pads for $600. At the time thinking that unreasonable I took my car to Midas, where they told me the rotors were too thin already to resurface and needed to be replaced for $1000. So continuing my stupidity, I took matters into my own hands and purchased new pads and rotors from the local O’Reilly and did it myself for only $500 total. But upon testing out my new brakes, I found these too squeaked. So I gave it 500 miles to “settle in” but nothing changed. So I conceded that I am not as good as I thought I was with a wrench and went back to Midas, and asked them to take a look now that the rotors were no longer too thin. They told me my pads were to blame and resurfaced my now 500 mile old rotors and put on their “performance” pads for a nice $500. So I pull out of their garage and sure as hell my breaks are squeaking again. Call them up and hear “Oh give them 500 miles to “settle in.” So I do, and 500 miles later they still squeak. So, at wits end, I bring it to the dealer once more, and ask them to tell me why it is STILL squeaking with new rotors and a 3rd set of pads on it. They tell me that the pads are still to blame. “I should have used EBC red stuff pads.” Can anyone offer me some advice? After throwing away more then $1000 on this foolishness already and now more then 2 months of HORRIBLE squeaking, I cannot imagine spending another $250 on more pads with little guarantee that this will work.

I'd go back to Midas and ask them what's up with my still-squeaking brakes??? They probably used cheap pads... I own a collision repair shop and ONLY use Wagner Thermoquiet pads... found them to be one of the best. Stay away from the inexpensive store-brand pads... they will always squeak no matter what.

XLR I FL :

The original, factory pads began squeaking as well, which is why I brought it to the dealer in the first place. I was thinking about just buying the OWM pads and trying them but that worries me like the EBC pads do, am I just risking throwing more money at the problem?

mtrocket:

Talked to Midas, they are all too happy to schedule me for a "better look" as the manager said, but I see no reason to let them look at it since the dealer already told me it was the pads vibrating. I trust the dealer; I know it can be risky but I’m desperate. Midas claims it cannot possibly be their pads causing the noise and that they use "ultra-high quality" grease that does the job of silicone.... he’s an idiot.

KnowBS:

My suggestion is to get the car back under the GM umbrella so that you can return as many times as necessary to resolve your problem.

At this point, I would want to know if the rotors are in proper condition and thickness and that they don't need to have the glaze removed from them. Then I would use the GM Pads so that they can be replaced if necessary by the dealer if they aren't "performing properly".

QUESTIONS: Are ALL four wheels squeeling or just a couple--front or back??

There are specs for the rotor thickness and torque specs--rotors and wheels. That need to be adhered to. Otherwise you will have these problems as one of the members pointed out.

Please let us know how it comes out.

Regards

XLR I FL :

The original, factory pads began squeaking as well, which is why I brought it to the dealer in the first place. I was thinking about just buying the OWM pads and trying them but that worries me like the EBC pads do, am I just risking throwing more money at the problem?

mtrocket:

Talked to Midas, they are all too happy to schedule me for a "better look" as the manager said, but I see no reason to let them look at it since the dealer already told me it was the pads vibrating. I trust the dealer; I know it can be risky but I’m desperate. Midas claims it cannot possibly be their pads causing the noise and that they use "ultra-high quality" grease that does the job of silicone.... he’s an idiot.
I agree the Midas guy is an idiot... I don't know what kind of "high quality" grease he's talking about. Best to bite the bullet and take it to the dealer... if it does turn out to be what Midas used, you could always try to get your $$ back using the dealer's info.

So what is the consensus on the best replacement brakes? Mine have squeaked off and on since new with about 4 replacements of rotors and pads by the dealer under warranty.

fredw I would keep going back to the dealer to get it taken care of as long as they will fix it free, after that I would do some research on after market, get some good ones. I took my car in for brakes squeak, dealer replaced everything and said it may not fix the problem. I will replace with BEAR SYSTEM before long.The squealing noise could be a number of things, I would replace the factory gm brakes.

dws.. thanks for your reply, I have an '04 on extended warranty at this point. I would take it back to the dealer, however I know they won't actually fix anything despite replacing everything again. It has been a huge hassle with this car. It's great to have a convertible that has unbearable squeaks when you stop or slow down!

Hi all!

As DWS knows I have already replaced my front Brakes with Baer 6p calipers.
Just a quick note if you do something along the same lines. After the upgrade my pedal had to travel a lot further in order to "engage". Seems that the 6 piston calipers require a lot more volume to get them moving. That makes sense since the stock calipers are 2 pistons. Anyway, my local high performance corvette shop put in a larger master cylinder and that brought the pedal back up. They also included an adjustable proportioning valve in this upgrade. The cost for the master cylinder (blueprinted and modified) was $1,000. One further note. The pedal feel was greatly improved when i installed the Baer brakes and SS feed lines.
My front pads came with the Baer set up. I used Hawk performance ceramic pads (HB248Z650) from the "Tire Rack" for the stock caliper rears. I used to get sqeaking from the stock rears. Now my brakes are quiet with good pedal feel, great performance, and an amazing lack of brake dust.
I'm using the stock wheels and to get clearance to the wheel spokes the Baer system requires me to use 3/16ths wheel offsets. That in turn required longer studs so that my lug nuts got good thread engagement.
Are we having fun yet?:)

Jack

Hello,

I have and 05 which the dealer replaced all four rotors and pads due to pedal feedback/pulsating. Now I have the same issue as you, the right front break squeals. I haven't taken it to the dealer yet, but will in a day or two. Did you find a fix for yours??

Thanks in Advance,

Darrell

Yes i did! Buy some Akebono break pads, and resurface the rotors before you install them. This totally solved the squeak! I never had a vibration that may be that the rotors were resurfaced too small, but if they are brand new I don't know what would cause a vibration. if they still vibrate after the new pads and resurface then id go to the dealer about it. Good luck. I know your pain TOO well. Happy 4th!

I have an 06 which I bought used with 30,000 miles on it, the breaks squeaked from day one. I took it to the dealer and they turned all 4 rotors and put brake quiet on the pads but it didn't help at all. I decided to take matters ito my own hands and bought some ceramic pads. I put them on and all was well for a few miles...then the squeak returned. It was the exact same squealing sound which grated on my nerves. I tried brake quiet on the new pads with no effect. I decided to try a brake hardware kit which Napa sells. This kit includes all of the clips and boots for the calipers. When I went to install the rear clips I found that the kit included 2 clips that weren't already on my calipers. This image shows the 2 larger clips which clip into the center of the rear calipers

http://info.rockauto.com/getimage/getimage.php?imagekey=542266&imageurl=http%3A//info.rockauto.com/Wagner/H5623_TOP.jpg

I cleaned all of the parts and applied a thin film of brake grease and installed the new clips. So far I haven't heard a single squeak from the brakes.

I would like to know if these center clips are on the car from the factory or not. It may be that someone removed them before I bought the car but I don't know why they would do that. If they are missing from the factory, I'd like to know why the dealers don't install them whenever an XLR comes in with squeaky brakes.

As jerseymike said THANK YOU!!! (BTW: WELCOME TO THE XLR FORUM!!)

We need to stay on top of this issue because the "Official Cadillac position" is that the brakes are working as designed.

I agree that the squeeling isn't normal so anything that can be turned up to correct this issue is GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

Regards

Did we ever confirm the info jellyhead posted?

Did we ever confirm the info jellyhead posted?

To follow up, After about 1 week the squeak/screech/squeal returned with a vengence. I decided it was time to quit trying to fix the original equipment which was clearly poor design/quality and bought a set of zinc plated, drilled, slotted rotors with ceramic pads from ebay. These are the same brand/seller I bought from before for my dakota 4x4 and they were excellent. Not only do they work great (no squeaks and they stop great) but they look really good with the silver zinc coating. They are also reasonably priced at $289 for the front/rear set including shipping. I ran these on my dakota for about 2 yrs and I've had them on my XLR for about 1 yr. They work great and look great. If you would like to check them out here is the seller

http://stores.ebay.com/ezsportbrakes

There are many others available but these are the only ones I can comment on. The XLR-V option is a little more.