StimmyGaroppolo

About two months ago my brakes started screeching. It was bearable at first, but worsened to the point of being obnoxious and turning heads.

I made an appointment with a local Porsche shop, but the day of the appointment the screeching resolved itself and I was informed by the mechanic there was nothing wrong with the car whatsoever.

Of course, the day after the appointment the screeching began again.

So next I stopped by a different Porsche shop and I was informed this is a rather common issue with this model. The mechanic suggested to pressure wash the calipers.

Simple enough, I followed instructions and sure enough, tons of dust flooded out of the brakes thanks to the pressure wash. Notably however, I could only get at each caliper from about two angles given restriction from the rims. Nevertheless, voila, the screech was gone!

Not even four days later, the screech was back. I made repeated attempts to clean the calipers in a similar fashion but the results were temporary at best.

Finally I gave in and paid the mechanic to clean the most culprit caliper while I was in for an unrelated service. Helped some but barely.

So now I'm ready to take things back into my own hands. How do you all keep your brakes dust-free to prevent this obnoxious screeching? Ideally, the solution is something I can do without tools, a jack, etc. Just good quality cleaning product and applicator.

GTS99ONE

I am in the same boat with my 2017. It is beyond obnoxious and loud as hell. Sounds like a beat up Honda. The only solution I have is spraying the rotors with the hose every 3 days. It sucks and bothers me a ton about the car. Love everything but the horrible brakes.

BondJ

Pad glazing is a common reason for brake squeal. High spots on the pad, caused by brake dust and moisture being repeatedly heat-cycled, leads to vibration (squeal). Washing is not a permanent fix, it just adds moisture which perpetuates glazing. Best bet is to replace the pads. A good quality chamfered pad can help solve the problem

JW911

I suspect the washing helps mostly because the rotors get a light coat of rust, then the rusts scrapes the pads, but it just temporary as the pads glaze again quickly. Yeah, new and different pads are the best cure.

DC911S

Use BrakeClean aerosol spray cleaner.....water does not really clean it out very well..

THXSWA

'14 C2S
Rears screeched like hell until I put stock (weighted Porsche OEM) pads on it. Not a peep since.
I also have OEM rotors on all four corners and OEM pads in the front.
Driven few times a week, rather aggressively.

Lots of dust but no noise.

This is the part link for the specific OEM pad with the attached weights which apparently reduce the vibrations (noise)
OEM Rear Pads

asellus

Ah, I see we have a new 911 owner. Welcome to the best worst car!

There is no permanent cure. It's simply a byproduct of the brake design.

You can get less dusty pads, sure, but usually at the cost of braking power. The squealing won't ever stop though. The stopgap is to just get 'em hot (read: stomp hard on the brakes doing 80mph every so often) and that makes them not squeak for a little bit.

Tons and tons and tons of threads about this though. Do a search on the forum -- you'll find at least one example of any tactic you can think of working, only to have it come back again later.

StimmyGaroppolo

Thanks for this.

Can this be applied with the tire on? I'm hoping to have a less involved/invasive solution, if even if it means it is going to be less effective and more temporary.

Seems like a potential option:

StimmyGaroppolo

Yeah, the second shop I went to explained this is a fundamental design problem, to the point Porsche at one point issued a protocol for how to clean/lubricate the pads, and then even retracted the protocol when it was ineffective.

So I'm realistic that anything I do here is at best temporary.

I combed quite a few of the threads last night but wasn't finding actionable responses that are in the vein of DIY, no tools required. I don't mind buying product, brushes, getting my hands dirty and scrubbing the **** out of my vehicle. I would like to not involve a mechanic or deal with removing my tires, etc. Again, I realize that limits my options, but surely someone here has found a way to take care of this, even if it means bi-weekly cleanings or something.

GoaterAz

An educational video from Porsche, I enjoyed it:

StimmyGaroppolo

Very helpful, thank you. I am trying to basically come up with a short-term and long-term solution:

1. What I can do myself to clean/lubricate every couple weeks to keep the problem at bay. (short term)

2. What I can do to resolve the issue by replacing parts / doing maintenance with a shop (long term)

I'll classify your recommendation under the latter

BondJ

In that case definitely give the cleaner a go. Nothing to lose except $$ and time. However, if (and I emphasise IF) the pads are glazed, no amount of magic gunk is going to cure the squeal. Sorry 🤞

StimmyGaroppolo

Makes sense. The fact that washing them (even as simple as power washing them) in the past has resolved the issue entirely for at least a couple days tells me it's at least not entirely glazing.
Any recommended cleaners you can suggest? I'm combing Amazon now.

rensoyka

I have had my 2017 C2 for a year and not a peep out of my OEM brakes. I'm not a racer but these brakes are perfect.

asellus

This is a refreshing bit of sanity, thank you for that.

What I recall being the most oft-cited temporary fix for squeal is to get the brakes good and hot.

Failing that, and I realize this immediately goes against your tools/mechanical wishes, but next time the brakes are being touched, grease the back of the pads where the pistons make contact. That'll last a little longer than a heat cycle, provided the squeal is caused by pad chatter, which it usually is.

Other than that though, I haven't seen a reliable solution posted here yet. :\