ALT-1 Service Warning Brakes are Making Noise
I'm sure that you've heard the squealing on vehicles as your drive around town. At first you think that it might be your vehicle, but you turn down the radio and focus in and realize that it's someone else. This squealing may not be understood by many people, but the reality is, your car is telling you something is wrong. The squealing heard is coming from your brakes.
On a disc brake system, there is a small piece of metal attached to the disc. When your brake pad gets low, this piece of metal gets closer and closer to the wheel until it eventually touches and makes a squealing noise. When this happens, it is important that you take your vehicle in to get your brake pads changed. This doesn't mean that you have to stop driving immediately, but it definitely should be done within a week or so. If you wait any longer than that, you'll find that your simple brake fix is now something substantially more expensive, like a caliper, maybe some brake lines, or whatever...
By changing the brakes early when they first start squealing, you should be able to leave the shop with only having to pay around $80. Brake pads are much cheaper than most people think, and it generally doesn't cost all that much to have them worked on. The main thing that you need to remember is that you replace your brake pads with high quality ones so that you don't have to come back to the shop as frequently.
If you happen to start hearing the squealing noise, make sure that you take it seriously. It is far too easy to let one day turn into five and then into fifteen. If you let this happen you are putting yourself in great danger of not only damaging your brake system, but preventing your car from being able to stop in an emergency. It is wise that you also check your brakes at least every two months. The way that this is done is by looking through the inspection hole on the caliper. You should be able to see the wear pad. If it looks like the wear indicator (piece of metal) is really close to the wheel, then make sure you have it changed. If not, then you are good for a little while longer. Just keep in mind that if you hear the squealing to use your brakes gently until you do take your vehicle in. The harder you slam on the brakes, the faster the pads will wear down and the sooner you'll find your car in the shop with a much more costly repair.
