2004 Squeaky brakes

Can anyone here tell me if a squeaky brakes are common
for the Cadillac XLR?  I have just purchased a 2004 model
with very low miles and once in a while, not every time, the
brakes squeal.  Doesn't look or sound to cool when I have
the top down.  What to DO???? 
 
Thanks for the help in advance.
Miss Vicki

There are a few reasons this could be happening from as simple as brake dust to warped rotors, cheap pad replacements by previous owner.  Unless one of the tech guys here know something specific you should be able to go to your regular mechanic for diagnosis. Hang on a bit and see if anyone here can help you first. 

Thanks bunches.
I will wait to see if someone else can also help.
Miss Vicki

Squealling brakes are generally a sign that you need to repalce the brake pads. The noise comes from the built in wear sensors rubbing against the disc. Miss Vicki, you need to see a mechanic because it "sounds" like your brake pads are worn out and need immediate replacement.

Ktaz is probably right,  you said very low miles, I'm still interested in how many.

it is most probable the Katz is right, however i just went through a similar
scenerio with my  Allante - "once in a while, not every time". 
the squeek was not consistent but i assumed i needed REAR
pads since the front pads were failry new with only 10,000 miles
on them.

upon pulling  offf the wheels i found out i had about 75% pad
remaining after about 20,000 miles.  so what was the noise?

next in my diag was adjustment.  to my surprise, i found that the
rear brakes required adjustment and that was done by the
use of the parking brake.  i had not used the parking brake ever!

i started using the parking brake and by day two, NO MORE NOISE!

i have NOOOOO clue if the XLR has a similar rear brake setup,
but the XLR is considered the Allante of this century,
renamed.

if that helps, please LET US KNOW!

quote:

ORIGINAL: Miss Vicki

Can anyone here tell me if a squeaky brakes are common
for the Cadillac XLR?  I have just purchased a 2004 model
with very low miles and once in a while, not every time, the
brakes squeal.  Doesn't look or sound to cool when I have
the top down.  What to DO???? 

Thanks for the help in advance.
Miss Vicki

.

You wanted to know how many miles.  I have nearly 18,000
miles on the 2004 XLR.  I do love my car!

Thanks Stealth.  I will check to see if the parking brake
trick will work.  I have the car in service at the Caddy house
as we speak and they are checking it out.  I was told by a
tech though that sometimes they just do this.  I was told it
would be worrisome if it squealed all the time.  And it does
not do that for sure.

You know 18,000 on a 3 year old car, maybe the calipers just need some servicing. That's not a lot of miles for that time frame. Clean, lubricate, that's most likely all they need.

Thanks Katzmans!  I will have the service dept.
check this out for me.   I just purchased this car
about a week ago and it is in  Exquisite condition.
The dealer I purchased it from had it checked out top
to bottom.   When I go in to the Caddy dealer I am
going to ask if Cadillac has an extended warranty I
believe I would like to get one.  With all the electric
bells and whistles this car has I bet it can get quite
pricey if you have to fix something!

Here in Canada a 3 year old Cadillac would qualify for a GM warranty when sold by a GM dealer, it's called the Optimum Plan.  I think however that GM Canada exercises a good deal more control over it's dealer network than what GM does in the US. In real life I am the VP Finance for my organization and generally I can tell you that extended warranties on any product are pure money makers for the companies that offer them. They are structured that way. Having said that you have purchased just an absolutely beautiful car and in this case I  think you would be well advised to see about getting the extended warranty.
 
Just some tips. I can't possibly give you all the what if's but here are some ideas. Look into the deductible per repair, often $100, sometimes $500. Look into the lifetime limit on repairs, some times capped at $1,500, sometimes at $5,000. Look into what aspects of the car are covered. Sometimes it's just power train, sometimes bumper to bumper. Look at the length of time the warranty runs, you will have to decided whether you think the car will need repairs during this period. These things all affect the purchase price of the warranty. Lets say they quote you $4,500 for a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty with a $100 deductible per repair. On a straight line basis that's $1,500 of repairs each year. You are betting that you will have at least this value of repairs over each of the next 3 years. If you think that is 2 repairs per year then add $600 to your cost for the dedcutible, so now it cost you $5,100. Look into your obligations, things like mandatory yearly inspections, if not done will void the warranty. I worked in a Law firm with 500 staff for 10 years so I am saying to you, do some math, read the fine print and get clarificatiion on anything you don't understand. Get it in writting to be sure.

What great advice on ext warranty, I've always been leary of them.. I called one company regarding my daughter's (aka Sam 20 something) passat.  I felt like I was talking to a vacum or used car saleman.
Bottom line, she bought a Honda.
 
I don't know if any laywer would let one of his clients buy in to one of these.

For a car an extended warranty is peace of mind and it's often difficult to reach a totally objective decision, because as we know people LOVE their car and once emotions enter any decison well, we know what happens.

On other products like a dishwasher or computer or whatever it is they try an sell these days, a kid tried to sell me one on a $10 battery for Pete's sake the other day!, the strict rule of thumb should be, if it is going to cost less than 20% of the purchase price of the product then it is worth considering. Refrigerators, diswashers, ranges, how often do they ever break, most of us use then for 15 to 20 years until they need service.

I bought a Toshiba travel lap top two weeks ago, real sweet, 12" screen 3 lbs, for $1499. They quoted $452 for the 3 year replacement warranty with international coverage. My 20% rule would have been $300. I thought to myself that this little computer would be packed in luggage and carted all over the world, it's in the Philipines as we speak so I wanted the warranty. Anyway I haggled with the sales rep and he gave it to me for $300. Normally however I stay away from them. If I was going to be the only user of that computer I probably would have passed too but it's for company use and deployed as needed.

i do use the 20% rule you mentioned but i adjust it
to the expected MKT VALUE of the item in two or three years.

even a $1,000 fridge is only worth $200 or so in a couple of years.

laptop or any electronics?  having been in the computer industry, i use a
50% decrease in value every six months.
$2,000 ==> $1,000 ==> $500  in about 18 months
it may be off at times, depending on the model, but, is not way
off in the majority of cases.

bottom line, i have yet to buy an extended warranty in the past
decade.  i think of myself as SELF-INSURED.

on a car (including XLR), i would lean on the product warranty and
the dealer's responsibility .. but then again, i can be a pitbull when it
comes to fighting for getting service.  not every is or wants to be.





.

Kind of sad in a way, we have turned into a throw it away society, especially with electronics and computers. My wife and I have been married 25 years and last Christmas we bought our second refrigerator and diswasher, still on the first range! The old ones were Kemnore btw. Bought a Kenmore Fridge and a Kitchen Aid DW.

I agree, except part of th e reason has to be technology. What I mean is that when an appliance breaks that's more than6 or 7 years old. sometimes people figure instead of fixing this old model which btw has served me well, we can get that new fangled fridge that has a tv and phone in it and will tell you when you need to go to the store.  Or a new flat range that will tell you when it's okay to clean the cook top.  I will say for myself if it's over ten years old I will buy new rather then spend a few hundred to keep the old, example 13 years old 50" mitsubishi went on the blink, guess what, over 10 years old got a 62" hd diamondbright mitsubishi.  So that was definately a tech move.  Things seem to be obsolete faster now ,especially computors, new stuff every 6 months.  Okay end of rant.

of course, exceptions exist.

i bought my home in 2000, it was built in 1921 and came
with a 1921 big stove.  the house included a one year warranty,
stove broke down 3 months later.

called warranty company - they sent a repair guy and 20 minutes
later they were offering me a brand new stove instead of the
repair.  thanks you but no thanks you - i like the 6 burners and
the 4 ovens and gas pilots instead of the tikcy-ticky quartz igniters.

more phone calls ...
new offer.  $100 PLUS a new stove.
same response ... thanks but no thanks.
same reasons above.

it cost them $500 ro repair unit, and 6 yrs later,
i woulnt have anything else.  IMO it is owrth 3 times
the cost of a NEW stove.

Mr. Katzmans
Thank you for the information on the extended warranty.  My husband of 28 yrs will
be going  with me and he is very detailed oriented to say the least.  For sure it would
have to be a GM extended warranty only that we would consider.  You are right and
they are money makers for sure.  But, with this car being so nice and everything operates
by a push of a button I would think repair bills without warranty would be out of this
world to say the least if something were to go awry.  So, as you said with a car of this
caliber we will do the study try to choose wisely. 
 
I haven't read to many bad things or should I say problems with the 2004 year model
but I want to keep it at it's best for when I am ready to turn it and get another.  Wouldn't
want it to go to far down in value.
I very much appreciate all your help.

GM TSB 2004 Cadillac XLR
 

quote:

Front Brake Squeal/Squeak Noise on Light Brake Apply (Replace Front Brake Pads and Rotors) #04-05-23-007 - (08/23/2004)