Front disc replacement after only 6000 miles?

[DaveM]

I took my MY17 A5 to the dealer to investigate a brake judder at motorway speeds, the car has only done 6000 miles. It appears that the fault is due to pad marks (?) on the disc and the only solution is to replace them. Of course this isn't covered by the warranty as it must be something I've done to the car. I've been told that giving the brakes a good few applications might cure it.

Am I just unlucky or has this happened to others?

 

[QuattroCalum]

I took my MY17 A5 to the dealer to investigate a brake judder at motorway speeds, the car has only done 6000 miles. It appears that the fault is due to pad marks (?) on the disc and the only solution is to replace them. Of course this isn't covered by the warranty as it must be something I've done to the car. I've been told that giving the brakes a good few applications might cure it.

Am I just unlucky or has this happened to others?

Has it sat for a prolonged period of time? This actually rusts the pad and disc together, this usually wears off in a few brake applications though.
You can have your discs skimmed rather than replacing at such a low mileage. A worthwhile procedure and would cost far less than new discs.

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[Corb2000]

I had a similar problem on a BMW with around 8,500m on the clock. While it was a BMW UK car originally it was part of their Olympic fleet and had been unused for over 6 months when I bought it with 1,700m on it.


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[DaveM]

Thanks for the replies.

QuattroCallum, thanks, I've been looking at that option but views appear to be mixed about skimming. I'm not sure how it would sit with the warranty, a friend has pointed out unless I use OEM parts I may invalidate it.

Corb2000, I think this is the same as yours, I picked it up with 1,900 miles and 6 months old so it possibly sat around somewhere, either in the lease company or at the dealers . Did you replace the discs or live with it?

 

[QuattroCalum]

I can't see why it would affect any warranty, it's essentially the same as using the brakes except its removing material much more evenly. I would expect there to be many tens of thousands of miles left in the discs after the process.
Clearly this happened during the long layup of the car in the elements, maybe you could persuade them to do this as a courtesy?

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[Corb2000]

Thanks for the replies.

QuattroCallum, thanks, I've been looking at that option but views appear to be mixed about skimming. I'm not sure how it would sit with the warranty, a friend has pointed out unless I use OEM parts I may invalidate it.

Corb2000, I think this is the same as yours, I picked it up with 1,900 miles and 6 months old so it possibly sat around somewhere, either in the lease company or at the dealers . Did you replace the discs or live with it?

I had the discs & pads replaced - it seemed ridiculous after so few miles and I should probably have investigated getting them skimmed but wanted it sorted quickly.


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[QuattroCalum]

I had the discs & pads replaced - it seemed ridiculous after so few miles and I should probably have investigated getting them skimmed but wanted it sorted quickly.


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That's fair enough, pretty poor from the dealer though. I do remember Edd China on Wheeler Dealer skimming the discs (think it was on a Porsche?) Maybe get it on Youtube.

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[Retroman]

I don't really recognise the term "pad marks" - that's not really a very well known term? When cars are parked up for months, the discs can develop bad, deeper rust which can be difficult to remove by normal brake usage. Alternatively, they mean the discs are badly scored by some foreign bodies (e.g. grit) getting lodged between the pads and discs.

Personally for my daughters little hatchback (which had been on a forecourt for a while) I found that changing just the pads followed by plentiful use of the brakes, cleaned up the disc surfaces nicely. For a more powerful A5 the new discs and pads might, unfortunately, be preferable.

 

[DaveM]

To be fair pad marks was the term used by the service receptionist, I never spoke to the mechanic. I now have the car back and I'm look at £666 for the dealer to replace the discs, so trying a disc skim might be an option although I'd still need to fit new OEM pads.

 

[QuattroCalum]

To be fair pad marks was the term used by the service receptionist, I never spoke to the mechanic. I now have the car back and I'm look at £666 for the dealer to replace the discs, so trying a disc skim might be an option although I'd still need to fit new OEM pads.

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[rum4mo]

I'd guess its down to location as some areas of the country will not have a local disc skimmer, so replacing discs is the quick and cheap option for normal cars, for better/performance cars that have seriously expensive discs, skimming will still make sense.

 

[DaveM]

I'm getting conflicting opinions on skimming vented discs, although with only 7000 miles they should be almost like new. The cost of skimming and new pads, incl labour, is almost the same as DIY discs and pads., so is it worth it?

 

[QuattroCalum]

Begs the question why do they provide the service then?
The number of cars on the road today with solid discs would be very few and far between.
As the cost is comparable, its a no-brainer as to what's best.
I still say the dealer could have provided the parts at cost with free fitting surely? No profit but a slightly happier customer.

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[doncarlyon]

Eurocarparts and replace them yourself. easy job.

 

[DaveM]

Anyone seen a DIY How to for a A5 2.0 TFSI MY17 front disc and pad replacement?

 

[doncarlyon]

Can't help with a how-to guide but they will be easy enough to do.

Only thing i would check is if there are any random tools required... weird size sockets and torx bits etc.

 

[DaveM]

Can't help with a how-to guide but they will be easy enough to do.

Only thing i would check is if there are any random tools required... weird size sockets and torx bits etc.

I've done loads of disc replacements on simpler/cheaper cars, just don't want to get caught out as you suggest! In particular the correct torque settings.

 

[rum4mo]

If it is only torque settings that are putting you off maybe buy an hour access to ErWin? Or buy a Haynes book for the previous model A4?

I bought my B8 S4 when it was 2.5 years old and 12.5K miles, it had already had all its discs and pads replaced FOC so unless there was a known issue at that time with that model, maybe same for you, like you the job sheet listed brake judder.

Parts were changed at its first long life service which was at just under 2 years 12K

 

[DaveM]

Thanks, haven't heard of ErWin, I'll look it up. I have a newer A5 which doesn't seem to have many how to's, hopefully the older model torque settings will do.

The dealer pointed to the fine print in the warranty which excludes discs and pads after 6 months/6000 miles as wear and tear items. Your previous owner must have had a clearly demonstrable fault or a sympathetic dealer to have them done FOC.

 

[DaveM]

Having started this thread I feel obliged to update the final outcome. Basically I followed a friends advice and did nothing. After a long run to Scotland the judder seems to have gone - I’m sure there’s a lesson there!

 

[desertstorm]

The pad marks can sometimes be due to pad pick up. Most Brake pads transfer material to the disc, This is how they are designed to work. If you give the brakes a bit of a work out and get them nice and hot then pull up at a junction or stop for some reason. And keep the pressure on the brake pedal the pad surface is liable to melt and transfer more material onto the disc, You can see this as a pad outline.
This is why you don't put your hand brake on after coming off a track on a track day if the brakes are still hot.
This build up of pad material causes the vibration you can feel, This will eventually wear off if the car is driven normally,

 

[45bvtc]

The pad marks can sometimes be due to pad pick up. Most Brake pads transfer material to the disc, This is how they are designed to work. If you give the brakes a bit of a work out and get them nice and hot then pull up at a junction or stop for some reason. And keep the pressure on the brake pedal the pad surface is liable to melt and transfer more material onto the disc, You can see this as a pad outline.
This is why you don't put your hand brake on after coming off a track on a track day if the brakes are still hot.
This build up of pad material causes the vibration you can feel, This will eventually wear off if the car is driven normally,

And that's a perfect explanation for DaveM's problem

I took my MY17 A5 to the dealer to investigate a brake judder at motorway speeds, the car has only done 6000 miles. It appears that the fault is due to pad marks (?) on the disc and the only solution is to replace them. Of course this isn't covered by the warranty as it must be something I've done to the car. I've been told that giving the brakes a good few applications might cure it.

Am I just unlucky or has this happened to others?

Before spending £s, DaveM, just go and work 'em a lot harder and most likely they will 'clean-up'.

Here's what EBC recommend for 'already' bedded in brakes with friction-surface pick-up:

"After you are confident that the pads and discs are perfectly mated, use the brakes on a quiet and safe road 5-6 times at medium pressure bringing the car from 60mph to 10mph. Drive the vehicle for a few miles to allow the brakes to cool and repeat this procedure."

Hope this helps, resolves the issue, and saves you £s.

 

[rum4mo]

My daughter's late 2009 Ibiza with 50K miles on it now, got its front discs and pads replaced 18 months ago basically as I was looking after her car for her while she worked abroad and I felt like as the discs were getting a bit rusty and the pads were 2/3 worn - and she would probably trade this car in before the next pads/discs change, I might as well do this work while she was still abroad. She took the car back in August 2017 and it was okay, then some time after Easter this year she complained about a strange braking feeling but only under certain conditions which were heavy braking after leaving a section of normally fast moving duel carriageway on a down hill off ramp, this only happened now and again on this section of road. I asked her to come out to visit us so that I could try the car out and I was quite heavy on the brakes frequently but they felt okay and safe. On Monday, I checked the car over and serviced it, the only thing that I found was that the pads of one wheel had a couple of very small holes in the friction material on both pads, they are Pagid pads, now being a young person with better things to spend money, she did not want me to replace the pads at the moment - I had already bought discs and pads from ECP on a special deal "just in case" and will return them if this car does not get these parts fitted, only issue is that car gets MOT'd tomorrow so I hope she does not end up paying more for saving that money! I think that I've heard some bad stories about Pagid brake stuff bought from ECP by other people, so I hope that she is not just another person to find that they have substandard Pagid pads!

 

[45bvtc]

few years back, 2014, we did an Audi Experience day at Silverstone:

And that, before you see the cars, starts with a briefing; and the first thing out of the instructor said to us - following welcome and good morning, etc., was that "you guys just don't brake hard enough!"

I for one knew he was right as I care more about the comfort of my passenger than over braking. On my own, however, that's a different story.

And I respectfully suggest the same here; the problem we have with 'brake-vibration/distortion/etc.' is that we "just don't brake hard enough!" for the brake pads and discs to work as 'designer' expectation - and so they 'glaze, pick-up, get contaminated, feel like they'rs distorted, etc.'

Gotta use brakes 'harder' is my respectful suggestion to one and all! Otherwise your Audi dealer just rubs their hands together and suggests "a NEW set of Audi brake discs and pads," Sir...