My '11 base coupe ls3 has under 14k miles on it and I've always owned it, so I know it has never been raced, autocrossed or anything else that one would expect to dramatically impact brake life. It passed inspection early this summer at a chevy dealership and there was no mention of the brakes being bad and as far as I can tell from a wheels-on visual inspection, there seems to be a good bit of pad material left on them.

But for the past several months they have been squeaking and squealing a lot when I apply the brakes. It usually is the worst when I start driving from cold and gets a bit better once them warm up, but once the car cools back down it starts squeaking a lot again whether it is the next day or next week. I'd say that from cold, it squeaks very noticeably when i brake to a stop from about 30ish, but once they get warm it takes braking from 50-60ish for the same effect.

So basically my questions are: does this sound like the brakes are in need of replacing, or could it be carbon buildup or even lack of regular use that causes this? I drive it probably 2-3 days a week so it is not my daily driver. How many miles do the stock standard, non z-51, brakes usually last for? I've heard of some higher end cars having components that "time-out" and go bad after a certain number of years even if you don't drive them but I never figured the Corvette for being one of the cars, but does this happen with vette brakes that are 5+ years old?

 

It sounds like you are pretty easy on the brakes so I would think that your pads would be good until around 30k miles. But it is good to visually inspect the pad wear at least once per year. Many OEM's do not use pad wear indicators on pads any more. I usually do this in the winter when I remove and clean the wheels.

My 08 Z51 has 17k miles on it and I have noticed some squeaks every now and again. Most squeaks from brakes do not come from the friction material on the rotor but from the back of the pad as it rubs against the caliper or the piston under light braking. If my squeaks get worse I may coat the back of the pads with some Disc Brake Quiet which seams to really help!! Most of your higher end brakes on Lexus, BMW and so on have what are called anti squeal shims that are coated to keep this from happening.

It is really hard to say how long brake pads will last because of different pad types, driving style and so on. Even the transmission
has an effect on this. My 2011 Maxima front pads lasted 85,000 miles. I believe that was due to the CVT transmission doing much of the braking....

 

Thanks for the info. What you say about the pad rubbing on the caliper makes sense actually because I have found that the squeak does go away if I hit the brakes harder, and I do also get a lot of of the "rubbing sound"(more so than squeak) when i slowly back down my driveway which is rather steep. Mostly I wanted to make sure I don't have to rush to take it to be serviced any time right away over this. So I take it the corvette does not have the shims to prevent this sound like the luxury brands you listed? I've also read that some higher end brakes are "semi metallic" rather than ceramic as some brakes are and the pads themselves can corrode leading to rust causing some brake noises. Do you happen to know if the vette brakes are metallic rather than ceramic?

 

Since you only average about 2200 miles per year, I assume it is 90+% city and short travel driving. Your brakes could have been used over that time as much as someone driving 60,000 miles, 90% freeway.

Get the pads changed (and rotors, if needed). Don't got to the dealer. It will last you another 6 years, and you won't even think about it.

Also, "hitting the brakes harder" forces the pad into full contact with the rotor, which eliminates/reduces squeaking. It is not necessarily a sign of contact with the caliper.

 

Your pads are semi-metallic.
Your maxima front pads were OE with Akebono ceramic pads. Akebono has seem 100K on GM trucks at OE. That is why your pads lasted so long.

 

I am not sure about the shims since I have not had my calipers off. They are semi metallic as mentioned previously...

 

Had the same issue in my 2010. Too much break squeal for me to handle and enjoy the ride. My pads had 20-30% life left and I had them changed (avoided the dealer, you should too). Now the issue is much, MUCH better but ya... they still squeal from time to time. I realize this irks some of the mechanics in the forum but I've heard this before and am starting to accept it: Squeaky breaks is a "corvette thing". Good luck.

 

The squeal could be good. It was good for me a number of times. It scares the deer away much faster than my reaction to hit my horn. And pedestrians too.

 

Same. Switched pads to Hawk ceramics. All quiet now.

 

I have a 2010 with 16,000 miles and I also have the brake squeal issue. It seems to bother my passengers more then it does me so I will wait until the pads need to be replaced.

 

I had a lot of squeal. New ceramics helped but its not 100% gone. Helped a lot on brake dust though.

 

How is the bite with the ceramics opposed to the semi mets? Do you notice any difference in braking performance? Better? Worse? The same? Would love to switch to ceramics just for the clean wheel benefit but am a little skiddish about losing any stopping power.

 

I notice no difference on the streets. I dont track.

 

98% of the bite, no squeaks, about 5% of the dust from before. No track here either.

 

Sometimes brakes just start squeeking... Not from being low, not from carbon build up, sometimes it just happens... It will be functioning perfectly even with a squeek... It's annoying as hell but sometimes it just happens. Sometimes brand new brakes or rotors will squeek because of the material match up.

If you know your brakes have life, you have nothing to worry about.

If the squeek is whats bothering you... thats a whole other issue...

I've resurfaced rotors and changed brand new pads because of squeeks... it's annoying as hell...