Ok Here Goes: When I am driving, my front driver side tire area squeals constantly, once I brake, it stops (or at least slows down) We changed the front and rear brakes within the last 6 months (front 6 months ago, back 2 months ago) but the front one that is squealing now has squealed since we did it and we were told that this is normal with "cheap" brakes. ( we put the good one in also) Any help on what this noise is would be great, so we can still take care of it ourselves!

 

if you used the cheapies you might actually need new brakes when I used them in my old caravan I would get about 6-8 months out of them usually that what they the tell tale tab that does that but it could also be one of the antirattle clips have shifted but all you need to do is remove the tire to look and see but I would guess it needs new pads its also possible that if they are worn out you might have a caliper hanging up causing them not release fully when taking the pads off make sure you clean the sliding surfaces off also I usually throw some antiseize on the sliding surfaces

 

Just slapping new pads in the calipers (cheap ones or not) is not all there is to a brake job. Did you use disc brake quiet? It is a creamy stuff you put on the BACK of the pads. All parts stores have it. Let it dry for about 30 minutes, then install the pads. It eliminates the metal to metal contact which is the cause of the high pitch squealing from disc brakes.

Also the rotors should be turned with every new set of pads. I know, I know, not every one agrees with this, but it you want smooth stopping at highway speeds, turn 'em.

 

I don't think they need to be turned every time but at least deglazed But then again I have a mic to check for warping and aren't grooved, if they vary between a few thousthen I will either get them turned down or replaced lately the last few brake jobs I've done It was actually cheaper to buy new than to have them turned down 13.00 for new rotors and 15.00 for turning on the last car I worked on
as far as using brake quiet I agree with rustyedge it does help