Hit a pothole, got a fault code :(

[ROBBerto84]

Hi All

I was driving through a local village this afternoon (so only about 30mph or less) braking for a T junction and hit what I later found to be a small crater in the road. Almost immediately I got a beep (just the one) from the DIS and the Brake Pad Wear indicator (I think) came on, this symbol (O)

I don't have a receipt for the pads being done in the recent history of the car and I've owned it for 16 months so I was expecting it sooner or later, but I'm a little concerned it happened immediately after a fairly large pothole impact on the nearside front wheel, is there any risk of other more serious damage? Everything felt fine on the drive home, no judders under braking, no other vibrations and no pulling etc so everything seems to be OK but you never know with these things.

In lighter news, it means new brake pads Any recommendations? I've just had a look on AMD's website (because they're local) and they seem to have stopped offering brake pads etc for the 8Ls and replaced everything useful with cleaning supplies??? Any feedback appreciated.

 

[jojo]

Did the warning stay on after ignition was switched off and back on again?

 

[ROBBerto84]

Hi Jojo, yes when I parked up I checked the manual and turned the car off. When I restarted it came up again. I've since restarted it after leaving it an hour or so and it came on again

Thanks!

 

[Prawn]

Sounds like it's just disloged the sensor mate. Doesn't mean new brake pads at all probably. Just whip off the pass side wheel, join the two wires together, and move on

 

[vrbob]

If you need new pads anyway now is the time to swap them over as its not hard and you can check the sensor setup then.

My car did this recently and it was beacause the connector to the brake pad wasnt clipped on so wasnt making a full connection.

 

[ROBBerto84]

Sounds like it's just disloged the sensor mate. Doesn't mean new brake pads at all probably. Just whip off the pass side wheel, join the two wires together, and move on

Haha that woukd be great and annoying at the same time, i'm about an hour into a wait at a garage for a check-up!!! FM actual L

I've told the guy who's literally just got it on the ramps to check the sensor. I'm the least capable person in the world when it comes to motors but even i could have had a look at that one, d'oh!

I reckon i'm about to be sold a set of pads i don't need, if the sensor is unplugged i'll ask them to drop it and start it to see if the DIS sorts itself before telling them to do anything more

Cheers for the reply, much appreciated

 

[ROBBerto84]

Well, that wasn't as straightforward as hoped! But then when is it ever. So:
Pothole impact likely didn't help matters but the pad is on it's way out anyway, that's fine. The impact probably caused some misbehaviour which triggered the sensor, hence the DIS warning. The sensor wasn't uncoupled and taking it all apart and putting it back together didn't clear the DIS. (Fine, was expecting that, £72.48 all in to fix)
Brake check also revealed the discs need doing, the guy had me run my hand over the disc to show me a lip that existed front and back on the same disc and this demonstrated new discs required (about £140 all in)
Taking the wheel off also exposed a leaking nearside CV boot (£TBA)

They're also trying to sell me 4 new tyres but since all are legal for now they can go poke it. All this from the Formula One Autocentre in Harlow. I'm waiting for a call back from them for a final quote. I know some places have a rep for quoting for work that really doesn't need doing, can anyone advise if this sounds about right? I really know nothing about discs etc so they could pretty much tell me anything and I wouldn't know the difference. Obviously I know without inspection no one can say for sure but any input appreciated.

 

[vrbob]

Did they change you pads and fit them to your old worn discs?

You can spend not a great deal on brakes or lots it depends what tou want to do. Personally i replaced the OEM disc and pads with some Mintex stuff like this off ebay MINTEX FRONT BRAKE DISCS PADS FOR AUDI A3 S3 QUATTRO 99 > | eBay and they work fine for what i want.

CV boot has been covered by Tufty do a search but you can buy a kit from audi i think for about £40 that has all the bits needed and then get a garage to fit it which should cost about an hour or 2`s labour

 

[ROBBerto84]

Nah they didn't have them in stock, just did the free brake check they offer and gave me the news. I've looked at Euro Car Parts for OEM stuff, Pagid disks and pads come in at £123 all in (80 for 2 disks and another 43 for the pads). To be honest I did consider going down the Mintex route but as my car is standard, and will remain so for the forseeable, I can't really justify the cost as I can't imagine needing them really. Although at £250 all in it is VERY tempting!

THanks for the feedback, as for the CV I'll have a look on here at the details and see what's what. I have a friend who's a mechanic so might get the CV done but buy the brake bits myself and pay him a little visit. Thanks for the input and links

 

[vrbob]

Thats ok then cos i wouldnt put new pads on worn out discs thats a waste of money replace both at the same time.


The mintex stuff i linked to on ebay is Pads and Discs in one box for £125 inc P+P and i have had them on my car for about 6-7k and they are fine as good as OEM i think. Not tried Pagid but have heard they are good so the price is about the same.

Fitting discs and pads is pretty easy even with basic tools etc so a trained meachanic with proper tools willdo it in no time at all

If you have a mechanic mate defo buy the bits : so the CV boot kit from Audi/TPS and then whatever discs and pads you fancy/ can afford. and then chuck him some beer tokens for the labour to change the bits for you.

 

[kelk11]

Fire DP30 into the promo code on euro car parts. 30% off brakes at the moment.

 

[ROBBerto84]

Hang on, that's £125 for 2 discs and sets of pads? I read that as £125 per side so £250 all in. MIntex were recommended to me a while back by AMD now I come to think of it. Hmmmmmm!

 

[vrbob]

yeah the mintex kit is all you need to do the front brakes in 1 box (2 x discs and 4 x pads) i have used mintex for a few years now on different cars and never had an issue. plus supposedly the discs and pads are matched eg been tested my mintex as a setup.

you may be able to get something better quality usuing the code posted above by kelk11 for the same sort of money at euro car parts

 

[Schlaag]

I renewed ALL my brakes when I bought the car. I used pagid discs front and rear and their pads too all from ECP... they had a special offer on for brake parts. May still be active so worth a check!

all working really well and im sure it was all properly cheap!

 

[BtownA3]

Cant fault Pagid discs and Pads from Euro - If your running a standard set up and on a budget its the way to go (Can you tell I just did mine using Pagid parts... lol)

 

[ROBBerto84]

Hmm, this isn't making my life any easier people, I can't decide now! I play squash with the owner of a garage I use sometimes, might get him to order all the parts for me as I only get charged cost ex vat for parts and labour, might be able to save even more cash monies that way. Will see what he can get hold of and what the costs are. Thanks everyone, ASN proving itself to be an awesome, friendly helpful place as always, even tho I have little to contribute in return being such a gonk with cars

 

[ROBBerto84]

Fire DP30 into the promo code on euro car parts. 30% off brakes at the moment.

You, sir, are a fkn legend!!! Pagid disks and pads it is, 37 quid-plus-change discount is worthy of at least a virtual high-five!

 

[vrbob]

 

[ROBBerto84]

OK, so I need ASN's fantabulous input once again. Thanks to kelk11's awesome discount code I've decided it's a good time to get a load of bits done with the saving in cash from the brakes. I've chucked the following into my shopping basket at ECP:

Pagid Disks
Pagid Pads
CV Boot kit (will check that this is exactly what is required when F1AC call me back tomorrow)
4 spark plugs
New oil filter
New thermostat and gasket (temp isn't sitting at 90 degrees like it should)

My intention is to buy all of this in one hit and take it all to my squash buddy's garage and get the whole lot fitted. Realistically how many hours labour is this? And also, since this is pretty much a service (with a few checks and top-ups aside) would it be cheeky to push for a stamp in the book? It's coming up due soon anyway so it would make sense to get it all done at once. Checking his website the above basically covers an intermediate service with them and I would be happy to pay a little extra for oil but would be a little unhappy to be charged extra for a service when I've already told them what is worn and needs replacing, as well as providing everything but the oil for the service. The only thing I can think off from the service list that isn't covered above is the air filter but I've had a piper x panel fitted in the last 6 months so that's fine for now.

I realise I sound like a proper skinflint when it comes to maintaining my car in this thread but the fact is I'm not a massive enthusiast and while I love my car it's not the most important thing to me, saving to buy my own flat and clearing as much of my student debt as possible are priority for me. However, I also realise the moto "buy cheap, buy twice" is never as apparent as with a car so I'd rather get as much taken care of in one hit as possible.

Thanks again ASN, I really appreciate your feedback!

 

[vrbob]

Yeah what you have listed is a basic service plus brakes, thermostat and a cv boot.

So i would say a garage could do that lot in say 4-5 hours give or take as they will have the proper tools etc.

The only other things you may want to concider if you are gettting a service is:

to do the haldex service as this is needed and if not been done it could save you a fair old chunk of cash if your haldex went tits up.

other filters that could/should be changed : Fuel and Pollen/cabin filter.

 

[ROBBerto84]

The Haldex was done at the last service before last so not too concerned about that but it will need doing next year for sure. Main things to get sorted this year are the above plus two new tires, then next year get the haldex done with the service and two more tires, hopefully this should be enough preventative work to see me through the next few years (Ha!)

Cheers for your input as always