I want to change the brake pads because no matter how much water I clean the wheels (inside the holes too) the sqeaking is killing me. I've taken the car to numerous places to check the brakes and I always get "they're fine, just dirty," yet no matter what they do (if anything) I'm squeaking within a day.

Would you spend the big bucks and go to a dealership, or just have somewhere like Firestone, Midas, etc take care of it? If I go to somewhere other than a dealership, what kind of pads should I ask for?

Is it kind of weird to anyone that when I take the car somewhere, they don't try to sell me anything (pads or otherwise) and just tell me they're dirty, yet no one can seem to "clean" them off?

Does anyone know if the 2003 Sonata has disc, or drum brakes, or a combo of both?

This post has been edited by Bakesalee: Jun 29 2008, 11:26 AM

Personally I would do it yourself. Did mine a few months ago and it cost about $40 and maybe 2 hours worth of work. Very simple since they are all disk.

Dear bakesalee,

Brake squeak or squeal can come from several sources. Let's tackle each one:

a) Do your current brake pads have the blue anti-squeal compound on the backing? Anti-squeal is an oscillation damping high temperature silicone compound that just damps high frequency vibrations that you hear as squeal. The little packets are at the front counter of every Autozone, and cost about $1.50.
B) Have you cleaned your brake pads with a non-chlorinated brake cleaner spray? Costs about $2 at Autozone. This will wash off the dust and leave a clean grease and contaminant free brake friction surface. You should also spray and wipe the rotor faces with a clean cloth too.
c) Have you checked the thickness of your pads to see if the wear indicator on the inside pad is touching the metal rotor? This wear indicator will make a loud squeal, but only during braking. If your pads are worn low enough to require replacement, shame on Midas and Firestone.

Byron

P>S> the 2003 Sonata has brake pads front and rear. These are easy to change and will take about 15 minutes per side. Do you need directions?

Byron

Thanks guys, but I don't have any tools or a lift to safely do everything. I would be willing to buy any and all tools necessary to begin working on it myself, but I might be too incompetent. I would prefer doing things myself. Nobody does as good a job or cares as much about your stuff as you do. I've never taken a wheel off though. It would be awesome to do it myself because I've been wanting to replace the front fender liners (black plastic wheel well cover/mud guard) forever.

So sorry but I have more questions (can you tell I shouldn't be working on my car yet?). Is the cabin air filter the same thing as the air filter that gets changed during the oil change?

This post has been edited by Bakesalee: Jul 1 2008, 09:09 PM

The cabin air filter is not the same as your engines air intake filter. i need to change mine atm lol, as for your brake issue. do you have ceramic pads? they're notorious for such squealing.

I ended up buying the OEM pads at a dealer (should have bought 'em online to save some cash), but am having them installed by a non-dealer mechanic. Is it normal on a new brake pad, to swipe your finger on the pad and always have it leave your finger dirty? Is it supposed to wear off with every touch?

He's also to put on new front wheel fender liners, since when I bought the car used they were damaged. Just the plastic clips/retainers to install them cost me around $60 at the dealer. You all have no idea how hard it is to find someone at any Hyundai dealership to tell you how many of what parts are needed to attach fender liners. I got different numbers from just about every call. Mechanic thinks the only way those could have come off was through an accident. Most people agree with that, though I have heard a parts dept. at Hyundai say, "That's the part that always goes."

Then this weekend, I'm installing new component speakers to replace the front door stock, and powering them with my first ever amplifier.

It's going to be Christmas in July for me.

lol, **** yeah. im getting my new head in soon hopefully. im gonna keep the factory speakers and just boost the power cause they arent horrible and i already have subs in there wired to the factory system which suprisingly for how much of it is stock sounds amazing with subs lol. noone expects a sonata to roll up bumpin i guess. next time you get pads just go to advance or auto zone. they can look it up in their computer what you need. i actually changed mine on my own for the first time. its not hard at all...

Just a heads up to anyone that wants the same stuff done, after buying the fender liners, brake pads, and liner clips/screws/ect, these were the charges for labor:

Total:$513

Grinding rotors: $88
Installation of pads: $168
Fender liner installation: $117.60

Also fixed front end wheel allignment, and tightened a/c and alternator belts, which were pertaining to my other thread where I complained of a weird noise - which only happened the first start of the day.

Lata!