Why Are My Brakes Squeaking?
Are you hearing a distinct squeaking or squealing sound when you apply your brakes? Many things can cause this. The folks at BMW of Stratham have developed the following rundown of possible causes in order to help drivers in Stratham, Portsmouth and Exeter get a better understanding of their brake systems, as well as what they can do when their brakes start to squeak.
Feel free to check with one of our automotive technicians or schedule brake service if your brakes are squeaking or squealing. Continue reading to learn more or give our service center a call at 603-395-2727 today!
How Your Brakes Work
To understand what might cause them to squeak, let’s first review the inner workings of the brakes themselves.
A brake is made up of a rotor, or disc, situated between two brake pads. These brake pads clamp down on the rotor to slow or stop your car when you push your foot down on the brake pedal.
While the rotor is cast-iron, brake pads are most commonly made up of a combination of iron, steel and copper.
Causes of Squeaking Brakes:
1. New Brake Parts
It is quite common for new rotors or brake pads to squeak within the first few days before they’re completely broken in. If it has been more than a few days and the squeaking still hasn’t stopped, you should have your brakes looked at by a professional.
2. Damp Brake Pads
Brakes often squeak when moisture gets onto the brake pads. If you’re hearing a noise shortly after it has rained or in the morning when there is dew on the ground, the resulting moisture could likely be the cause. These noises should go away once all of the water has been swept away from the surface of the brake pad.
3. Brake Wear Indicators
Most brake pads are designed with steel clips in them called wear indicators. As the name suggests, their sole purpose is to alert you to when the brake pad needs to be replaced. When the pad wears down to one of these clips, the resulting irritating sound like squeaking or squealing, you hear lets you know it’s time to take your car in to get new brake pads.
4. Worn Brake Pad Insulation and Loose Parts
Squeaking can also happen when the material that insulates your brake pads starts to wear down as well as when hoses or rotors come loose.
5. Glazed Brakes
Glazing can occur when the entire brake system gets stuck due to too much friction. An example of this is when you’re riding your brakes while going down a hill. Heat builds up and causes your brakes to harden and not perform as well.
Schedule Brake Repair with BMW of Stratham Today!
Generally speaking, brakes can last between 25,000 to 70,000 miles. However, the individual quality of your brakes, driving behaviors and normal wear and tear can combine to greatly reduce the lifespan of your brakes.
If you’re in the area of Stratham, Portsmouth and Exeter and your brakes are telling you they’re about due to be replaced, contact BMW of Stratham today to schedule your service appointment or Call our service center!
Our Reviews:

De’Marien Joseph (Client Advisor) and Andrew Morin (General Sales Manager) have been by far the most respectful and easiest people to work with when purchasing my new BMW. I have never had such quality service and respect at any other dealership. BMW of Stratham knows how to do business and treats their customers with the care and courtesy like no other. I plan on doing business here again, and hope anyone reading this will consider taking their business here. If you are unsure of your next purchase or have any questions I Highly recommend to work with De’Marien ...

Matt and Adam were great and easy to work with. Would highly recommend this dealership to anyone.


They did a good job in a reasonable time and did a good job keeping me informed of the progress.

Great service as usual. Matt is a pleasure to work with.as he communicates clearly answering any questions I have.

Great support and thorough analysis of this problem. Very good customer service experience and will certainly be back.


Expensive, helpful, quick turn around, detailed explanations. Matt in service is friendly, helpful and attentive!

Matt in service was excellent to interact with. Thank you for all the aasistance - much appreciated.

Top shelf service, good listeners, willing to go the extra mile, service area always neat and clean.

I had a terrific experience with BMW of Stratham. No pressure, easy to work with and quick process. Highly recommend

Stratham BMW is the best dealer by far, and Pawel Czyz is unquestionably the best adviser in the business, I have had the luxury of having him for ten years as my adviser and It shows by his experience with every detail he points out. There is no one any better and BMW is lucky to have a thorough employee like him .

My salesperson was so nice. My car was out in no time. They wash the car k side and out also. I enjoy this dealership

Excellent service as always! Thank you BMW OF STRATHAM and Adam Parker! Keep up the great work!

Friendly, reliable, trustworthy… I am visiting from out of state. When my BMW broke down on I-95 BMW of Stratham not only gave me the name and number of a reliable tow company, they met me with care and took care of all my needs. Thank you ☺️🚙

Simple, easy, pleasant & courteous staff, on time, reasonable business surroundings and A beautiful day to boot. Job well done! Thank you, Stuart Bauder Greenland NH

Great service on my car, came in under the estimate and was done on time

Very reliable and professional. Accommodating with a loaner car even though it was not scheduled.

The BMW Service staff was very helpful My service was completed in a timely manner.

Service came in below estimate, nice experience as usual!

My experience was with the IRA place in Exeter. Gary was able to set up an appointment for my 2010 Volvo, after I had been ghosted by two other car repair companies. The work was performed properly, and I was very pleased.


Service was efficient and on time and exactly as described. The facility is clean and well appointed and staff helpful and proactive. Very nice dealership!

I was very pleased with their service. They were very professional and friendly. Service was done fast. They also cleaned my car; they went above and beyond ! I appreciated all they did. Thank you!

Scheduled my state inspection for 7:15 am. Turns out the service Dept opens at 8am. Other than that the work was completed successfully.

They were just great. The whole process went smoothly for me. Thank you very much.

Welcoming professional courteous and competent. My car was serviced as expected, the loaner was super fun and my impossible-to-clean mats got cleaned as a courtesy.

Customer service is extremely efficient & good… flexible with all requests. Price for car inspection was reasonable

Honest folks doing good work on my car. Feel lucky I found a car repair place that I can trust!

Service crew is always the best!

Customer focused and efficient service


Great service and done reasonable amount of time

I purchased a 2014 BMW for one of my sons and the support experience from sales to service could not have been better. Terrific experience, highly recommended BMW of Stratham for any one looking for a new or pre-owned, quality car you can depend on.

Everybody knowledgeable and friendly, especially Amanda. She made it really happen. I would recommend BMW Of Stratham to anybody.

Great service. Service rep Adam is very helpful. Having a loaner car makes life easier. 😌

Great dealership. Sales , pricing and delivery were exceptional . Steven Hazard in sales was a big help. Sovy Sun got us out the door and helped on all the paperwork.

Awesome shopping experience with no loopholes and straight to business like it should be when buying a car

As always service people, especially Adam, were friendly, courteous and helpful. As always, it was expensive, but not surprising.

Had my car serviced here many times and they’re excellent!

Kind and efficient service. Always friendly and on time. My car is well cared for at this facility


Always treated very well here. I never feel rushed, knowledgeable service tech. Good advice not like other places that jut try to up-sale you on services.

BMW Stratham has great customer service and attention to detail. Their service representatives are Friendly and responsive.

Steve Hazzard is a great sales person… Very helpful and knowledgeable in steering me to the right car. The entire team works well together to get everything I need. I’ll be back for another car in the future.

I worked with Susan and the process was smooth and easy! Everyone at BMW Stratham was great to work with.

Adam kept me informed of progress on my service visit, and gave appropriate advice with a smile. He’s an asset to the dealership.


They got me right in for service and a recall on my 328i and did it quick the employees were super nice also and treated my car with respect as far as I could see which is honorable of a dealer I was not a fan of pricing of some of the recommended services but that’s nor here or there that’s the cost of fixing a bmw I guess but overall I’d say 4-5 stars for sure I recommend seeing Adam service advisor for sure also he’s great

Scot Murby is the best salesperson I have have ever dealt with. Adam in sales is great also

One of the best service centers around not just for BMWs. Fast and friendly service.

Good people good prices high end cars and service look for Eric the sales person

We went in looking for X5 and ended up getting an X6. Everyone at the dealership was most helpful and great to deal with. Looking forward to do business with them for many years to come.

Came in unannounced, got a loaner and my car got fixed within a couple of days. Great service.

Second car purchased from Stratham BMW and with Scot Murby. They’re a pleasure to work with and would recommend them to others.


Superb attention and service….Adam Webster explained everything and has a superb attitude. Great all around…..

Great service and staff

Had to have some work done on my coolant system work performed quickly and correct. Will use again.

3rd deal with this dealership - always seamless and easy. Thanks as always. Kudos to Kevin in sales.

Susan Boucher was very cordial to my wife and I as we were looking at the cars in the showroom. She was very helpful while not being overly aggressive in answering any questions that we had. Susan was very knowledgeable and helpful.

Courtious, efficient, and fair in caring for a superb automobile... .BMW. in Statham, NH goes the extra distance to please


I have what I would call my older Beemer winter beater that had a check engine light on. It’s an X 5 diesel and we needed it short order to transport family north with upcoming poor weather. My local Stratham NH dealer got the job done on time and on budget. Just returned from 350 trip in poor weather and the Beemer never skipped a beat. We will return. Capt JMcD

Always on the mark. Thank you Paul

Always an efficient service. Service agent Matt a pleasure to work with. Work always done on time.

They detailed and gave my car a wash! Couldn’t ask for better service from the best.

This is a great BMW experience. The reps make you feel like family.

Fantastic dealer. Easy to use website to make service appointment. Service rep Matt greeted me by name and explained costs for services booked. He even told me about a recall that I was unaware of and how they'd perform work during the same visit. Appreciated the complimentary safety check and updates throughout the service. Waiting area was comfortable and complimentary coffee, beverages and snacks added a nice touch.

These folks are always so accommodating. I had some last minute unexpected travel and went in for an oil change even though they were fully booked. Thankfully they found an issue I wasn't aware of and managed to fix it and get me out in a jiffy so I could head safely to my destination. MANY THANKS to Matt and Luke in Service and to the guys keeping me on the road.I appreciate you all!!!

BMW Stratham was very welcoming, knowledgeable and helpful in answering all my questions throughout the process of building and ordering my beautiful X6. I live 3 hours away but will be using them as my primary dealership for any service needs and would highly recommend them! Thank you to Dana and BMW team for a warm welcome and excellent customer service when I arrived to pick up my new vehicle. I actually ended up purchasing a different set of winter tires and rims from the showroom the day we arrived to pickup the X6 and the service team quickly put them ...

They detailed and gave my car a wash!

Binit in the service department went above and beyond trying to help me with some tech issues I’ve been having. He was knowledgeable and made sure to explain everything to me as he helped me.

Service department is efficient and thorough although a little pricey. They ended up charging me more for the parts than the parts department quoted me when I ordered then. The overall service experience itself was very good.

I went in for normal oil change and techs found nails in my 2 rear tires. Thanks to them I may have been saved from an accident

Adam Webster is the best service advisor at BMW of Stratham. I come to this BMW exclusively because of Adam. His knowledge and dedication to the job are unparalleled to others, and I know my vehicle is in safe handswhen with him. Honestly, that guy is a diamond in the rough. Thanks, Adam for helping me over the years. You are AWESOME (even without a cool accent).

Great experience from the time pulling in until departing. The service consultants are friendly and attentive. Would highly recommend this dealership.

No real queue so to speak so you just kind of have to wait for someone to see if you need help even when you have an appt. Perhaps a petty thing but coffee in styrofoam, come on guys! When picking up the car I waited quite a while (about 30 mins) but the two guys there were busy, I get it but I was just picking up, 3 initials and my keys so 30 mins was hard to justify. And they apparently wash the car and wheel wells are tricky but they missed most of it. A little disappointing overall. I’m ...

Had 40k mile service today by BMW at Stratham. Not just the service but the customer service is top notch. Thank you Binit for all the help and making it such a smooth and quick service.


I've been relying on BMW of Stratham to take care of my X3 ever since moving to New Hampshire, They have been responsive, thorough, and a pleasure to deal with.

My service experience with this dealership was a great one. Adam was great to work with and he already saved me some money. The courtesy transportation drivers were also excellent and very polite


Scheduled the appointment for 9:45 for an oil change. They said it would take 2 hrs. I called about 4 hrs after dropping it off and the car wasn't completed yet. Picked it up end of day and asked for it to be washed. That wasn't completed. The service advisor had already left and didn't refer me over to anyone so didn't know who to get my keys from. Giving a good rating so it doesn't hurt the score but the service dept needs a lot of work.

Brought a vehicle in for NH state inspection and Binit Shah was incredibly patient, professional, helpful and took the time to talk me through the process before and after. Honest with service recommendations too. Will definitely be back!

Excellent service! Friendly, competent employees that go above and beyond. Would highly recommend this dealership!

Pawel and the svc team always does a great job by us. Love our BMWs

I drive over an hour to bring my car here, they are the best when it comes to service! They make me want to always own a BMW!

Professional, polite, prompt.

Very responsive and professional service department.

Erik was very helpful and I would recommend working with him.

I just love the service department at Stratham BMW, especially Adam W. He totally gets me and my quirks and always does everything possible to satisfy me. Today’s appointment was to swap out the summer tires/rims with the OEM all-season tires/rims. Everyone is super nice in the service department and they truly care about their customers, Adam included!!

They were Friendly, helpful and proactive. Binit was fantastic. They gave us plenty of insight about what was happening and I never felt like I was being sold or pushed to pay for something. I felt like they were taking care of us.


Quick diagnosis of problem and worked diligently to correct the issue Keep me informed about progress in correcting the issues


They are responsive, easy to work with, quick to text and answer my questions. They do a good job

The service here is great, the service advisor is exceptional. This is the best dealer in nh

Friendly service and support. Disappointed with longer wait than told. We had requested loaner but did not take it because wait was to be 1 hour. Car was washed but mats were soaking wet and windshields front and back were not properly cleaned. Disappointed in the experience.

My first visit at bmw Stratham. Binit was very personable & knowledgeable & upbeat. I only went in for wiper blades but happy service looked at brakes & tires