Auto Hold Parking Brake
 

I normally have the Auto Hold Parking Brake switched on permanently. When the Auto Hold Brake is released - by gently depressing the accelerator pedal - a pronounced and very noticeable (and annoying!) 'creaking' sound is produced before the vehicle starts to move.

Is this normal, does this happen to any other XC40 owners?

Thanks, in advance, for your comments.

Brakes can creak if the pads are not fully released as the car starts to move slowly. It may be that the automatic parking brake release mechanism is a bit sluggish and needs a bit of maintenance?

The parking break pressure is a function of how hard you press on the brake pedal before releasing when the vehicle has come to a rest, try experimenting with more or less brake force pressure and see if that makes a difference.

Auto Hold Parking Brake
 

Thanks gnomeface and another60 for your comments. Can I assume from these that you do not have a problem with this 'creaking' sound when the parking break is released?

Isn't the creaking sound simply the noise of the motors releasing the rear brake calipers? Try releasing the brakes using the EPB switch before touching the accelerator pedal.

I don’t know what the difference is between the parking brake fitted to the XC40 and that fitted to the V90, but I have noticed that the release is quite harsh on the XC whereas the V90 releases very quietly and smoothly.
I find the jerk and creak when the XC brake releases quite annoying but my wife, who drives the car every day, is used to it and it does not bother her.
When I am driving her car, I often release the brake manually to avoid the fuss.

I test-drove an XC40 last week. I had heard about the auto-hold not being the smoothest but was surprised how extremely smooth it was. Perhaps there has been a software update or some other change?

Also activated the Auto Hold from the menu on the wife's XC40 but it's got DEactivated within a week as the way the car was "driving off" from stationary was so inconvenient while maneuvering (in the garage and elsewhere).

It felt like Hulk was holding it back and then releasing it suddenly...

I had the same irritating creaking noise on my new v60 CC. So I turned off the autobrake (which I found bizarre in any case) and problem was solved..! Not sure how much that helps though!

I seem to remember that when the car was new there was a slight creaking if I pressed the accelerator pedal too cautiously, but the noise seems to have gone away now. For those interested, another way to get brake groan is when parked on a slope - gently test for the release point on the brake pedal.