When I pull my 3 month old, 2200-mile 2004 Prius out of my garage in the morning, or after its been sitting around for a while, or sometimes at seemingly random times, the brakes make a fairly loud squeaking noise. Does that happen to anyone else?
I took it in to the dealer, who gave me the following explanation. The rotors heat up quickly during normal driving and braking, and then they cool down very quickly when the car is stopped. As they cool down, condensation forms, and that moisture causes the rotors to rust - within a matter of hours. If the car has been sitting for more than a few hours, the rotors will therefore have some rust on them, which makes a squeaking noise when being rubbed off by the brake pads the next time they are applied. Does anyone know anything about the chemistry of rust? I thought rust takes weeks or months to develop -- how can it form in a matter of hours?
I took it in to the dealer, who gave me the following explanation. The rotors heat up quickly during normal driving and braking, and then they cool down very quickly when the car is stopped. As they cool down, condensation forms, and that moisture causes the rotors to rust - within a matter of hours. If the car has been sitting for more than a few hours, the rotors will therefore have some rust on them, which makes a squeaking noise when being rubbed off by the brake pads the next time they are applied. Does anyone know anything about the chemistry of rust? I thought rust takes weeks or months to develop -- how can it form in a matter of hours?