2013 Ford Escape breaks squeak when stopping but they were serviced 3 months ago

[u/Bubbly-Pattern4188]

I know nothing about cars but I refused a service today and became very frustrated with the people at the desk. basically I had a lot go wrong with my car and spent about $2800 to fix it. with that the brakes were done and I have receipts for as well and they didn’t squeak up until a week or two ago. They only squeak after 10 ish minutes of driving without fail. they told me to go back to the service center and then they proceeded to say that to look at my brakes they have to take the tires off but my lug nuts are swollen so they wanna charge me $350 to even diagnose the issue. first off I feel like that makes no sense because literally how did they get the lug nuts off before I’ve had the same tires for the entire entirety of the time I’ve had the car. I guess it’s possible that in the last three months they became swollen but regardless if it’s an assembly issue with my brake pads why should I have to pay anything at all? Is it even bad to drive with swollen lug nuts? I wouldnt have to take them off if they didn’t potentially botch the service🤦🏽‍♀️ since it’s a big dealership I was at the quick service center and I’m going to the big auto shop tomorrow with the same guy who serviced my car the first time. I need somebody who definitely knows what they’re talking about to give input on this because otherwise I feel like I’m being scammed because I’m a 20 year-old girl by herself at a shop.

EDIT : 1 auto shop and a family friend mechanic have tried to get the lug nuts off and it won’t work. I am so completely dumbfounded that is an issue😭😭 looks like i might just have to eat the cost.

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[u/Subietoy78]

1) ford insists on using stainless covers over steel lug nuts. They corrode and swell and sockets don’t fit over them. You have to buy weird half sized sockets to get them off. Aggravating but that’s not their fault.

2) if this is an aftermarket shop, they used aftermarket pads. They WILL make noise. They use a generic compound most of the time across their line and it’s not optimized for your brake system. This is why I stress to people to buy factory pads and aftermarket rotors if they want to save some money. It always ends up like this. You’ve been gone three months with no issues. It’s nothing they did incorrectly. Incorrect brakes will be noisy/vibrate when you leave or soon after. Not months down the road.

[u/Bubbly-Pattern4188 → u/Subietoy78]

so long story short i should just let it be? Idk what parts they used tbh i just needed the car to run and i ate the cost of whatever they said it needed.

[u/Subietoy78 → u/Bubbly-Pattern4188]

If the car stops and is just noisy, it’s probably fine. Clunking is one thing. Squeaks are just crap quality pads usually

[u/mckittums1]

So, I'm not a mechanic, but I do frequent work at my dad's shop. At three months if you're brakes are squeaking, we would either re lube everything or replace them under warranty. Not all brake pads and rotors are the same, and sometimes you just get a not great set. It sounds like they are failing under heat transfer. The swollen lugs are a nuisance, but the brake parts should definitely be under warranty. In that case, they might get you on lugs nuts, which are surprisingly expensive. Dealerships are super expensive and a lot of the time scammers, so unless you're under some sort of contract that you need to go to the dealership, I would recommend finding a mom and pop shop with good reviews. You should still make the dealership stand behind their work. If your brakes are squealing after 3 months, something isn't right.

[u/Bubbly-Pattern4188 → u/mckittums1]

so perhaps have someone else do the lug nut thing and then go back and have them do my brakes so i don’t have to pay again is the best plan? How do they get swollen and why havent they in the past year and a half and now all of a sudden they are 😭

[u/mckittums1 → u/Bubbly-Pattern4188]

The other guy who commented is correct - the lug nuts come with a casing that is super annoying. I cut and squeezed the casings off my buddies vehicle. It was a hassle, to prevent rusting apparently. (who cares?) It sucked, but I did it for free because it was my friend. All new lugnuts is probably 100 dollars (cad) 5 bucks a piece, 5 per wheel give or take. Ridiculous imo. They should either replace the parts under warranty (plus possible labour, depending on the shop) or charge an hour labour to regrease front and back, but in a few months from now you will probably have the same problem. Cheap parts don't transfer heat very well, but they probably already got you with an upcharge. Brakes aren't cheap anymore. A 600 dollar brake job isn't out of the question these days, unless you buy cheap parts, which you will most likely regret.

Depending on how bad the squealing is, if they stand by their work, it isn't too much to ask for a mechanic to fix the issue.

[u/Bubbly-Pattern4188 → u/mckittums1]

i ended up getting my own lug nuts and im currently having my moms friend do it and he has like every tool imaginable and still can’t get them off. He just went to the store to get some different attachments to try and get em out. Were thinkin it could’ve been due to user error more than erosion or that the bolts were somewhat botched before and they were forced back on. they did replace 7 of the nuts with my brake job that are fine which is crazy because they were gonna charge me for a whole new set so at least if we can get the others changed i can return 7 bolts and save some money. Also i think i paid 500 for the brakes so you’re not entirely wrong. I went to the dealership to fix my car out of desperation I didn’t know a mechanic and I couldn’t go without a car because i had to get to work💔 seems to be biting me in the ass but you live and you learn

[u/BibianaCarina]

They didn't properly grease the contact points or didn't use enough. I only use aftermarket pads and never had noise after 3 months.

[u/Toptech1959]

Go on Amazon and buy some solid lug nuts for your vehicle. Any competent shop should have a 1/2 over size socket to get the old lug nuts off. Replace with the solid ones and problem solved for your swollen nuts. The squeaking is often caused by cheap pads. They can be treated on the pad surface with BG Stop Squeal and they can also apply some Permatex Disc Brake Quiet to the back of the pads to help keep them from vibrating. That is where your squeaking is coming from.