What causes brakes to squeal? (low brake pad indicator / warning ⚠️)

My rear brakes recently starting squealing and making a weird noise, so I had to open everything up to see what it was and it turned out to be the low brake pad warning indicator. It's a simple little piece of metal that is designed to make contact with the brake disc when the pads wear down low enough. If you ignore the squealing sound, it may eventually start squealing continuously, even when you're not braking.
My discs and pads were in shocking condition, so I replaced them immediately.
I hope you enjoyed watching and hope this helped you understand how this little "system" works.

[@Croi_Fiain]

This is a super clear explanation of that metal tab's purpose. Thank you!

[@lyntonjennings]

Glad it was helpful!

[@banjoman44]

Nice.Good explanation.

[@stephenhookings1985]

The part the really helped was thar dragging noise. The Mrs's CX5 has started doing this front left. I was worried it was bearings but I can hear now it's likely the brake wear indicator
Darned thing is fully serviced - no mention of brake wear. Maybe folks don't check this.

[@kdkdjskjjjaa9137]

Your voice like varg vikernes😅

[@bosolaRUST]

Will it squeal without pressing the brake pedal too? I am having that problem right now. I hope nothing is wrong with any of my pistons. Brembos are expensive!

[@lyntonjennings]

It could squeal without pressing the brake pedal, depending on how close that point is, to the rotor/disk when the pads are not being pressed.

[@bosolaRUST]

@@lyntonjennings Ok, thanks! I decided I'll just change the pads and front rotors to see if that fixes it. I hope it does!

[@lyntonjennings]

@bosolaRUST yeah, if the pads are really worn down, it will make continuous noise even without breaking. I recall this happening to me the one day. I changed the pads and had instant silence. Haha

[@RM-ub1xd]

How many days can you drive when it starts to squeal before you change it? Ordering parts takes a few days to get delivered.

[@lyntonjennings]

I would imagine you could still drive a while as it's just a warning. You'd have to put up with the screeching though.. 😁😂