[FF2L]

Hey guys,

Recently our 2012 VW Touareg TDI (108k mi) started shuddering under moderate braking conditions. My wife is the primary driver, so I didn't experience it until a recent trip and she says it's much worse than before. As soon as you apply any brake pressure, the steering wheel shudders and vibrates really hard to the point that not only can you feel it but you can see it.

Our initial thought was just brakes/rotors, so we took it in for service. However the shop says the brakes look good; they turned the rotors (front and rear) and sent us on our way, but that didn't fix the issue at all. Now they are telling me it could be in the rack and pinion and we should get another opinion (this is just a local brake shop, so we're taking it to VW now).

Does this sound like it would be consistent with a rack and pinion, and should we be replacing that at just over 100k? We have an extended warranty, but I wouldn't think that's something that would need replacement at this point.

 

[Yeti]

I don't have an answer to your issue, but you are never to have the rotors turned on a Touareg. You replace them along with new pads when it is needed. The rotors don't come with a lot of material on them to begin with.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[TurboABA]

You got ripped off by the first shop. Go to another and have the rotors checked.

 

[FF2L]

I think they replaced the rear rotors, "turned" the front. Could just be the front rotors need replacement? I would think rotors could be the cause of the hard shudder.

 

[TurboABA]

See above about NOT POSSIBLE.... you got ripped off.
Either they "attempted" to do it and messed it up even more (and now your rotors are out of spec on top of not being true) or they just "claimed" to have done it and you paid for nothing (which also explains why the shudder didn't go away).

Typically, the front rotors are the first on the replacement list for this kind of issue. After that, you need to have your suspension looked at. At that milage, bushings can be worn out, etc.

 

[FF2L]

I'm hearing you Turbo; I haven't done it before on our Touareg but I have on our Pilot...can I replace these myself and is there anything special about the process of replacing them? I think there are sensors or something that are easily broken?

 

[TommiT]

As above, it looks like you got scammed by someone who hasn't got a clue about Touareg brakes!

There is only 1 mm of wear on each side of each of the front rotors / discs so you cannot resurface them without going under the service spec.

Some people have managed to get two sets of pads to one set of rotors but the norm is to replace the rotors, pads and wear pads together.

Don't even think of trying to re-use the newish pads ( if they fitted them) on your brand new rotors when you fit them!

There are lots of brake threads and how-to''s on here.

The other thing to be aware of is torqueing the wheels correctly to 133 ft lbs to avoid steering wheel shake (SWS) - a well-known issue on T3s such as yours.

 

[FF2L]

Thank you Tommi, I have read about the torque specs before and how important it is.

Steps at this point are taking it to VW so we can ask the first shop for a refund on the incorrect work, and then I'll have to decide if we do new rotors/brakes all around at VW or if I put them on myself.

I appreciate the feedback.

 

[TurboABA]

VW will want to charge you 2.5k for complete brake job.... some users have used super cheap parts and only spent $500 on a kit. @QPower1 can supply you OEM stuff and then you can do it yourself or have a qualified shop do it for cheaper than the stealership.

 

[FF2L]

VW will want to charge you 2.5k for complete brake job.... some users have used super cheap parts and only spent $500 on a kit. @QPower1 can supply you OEM stuff and then you can do it yourself or have a qualified shop do it for cheaper than the stealership.

I think I've seen QPower mentioned before, I'm reaching out to them for a quote on OEM rotors and brakes all around. Thank you

 

[TommiT]

Brakes aren't rocket science but dealers are expensive.

If you DIY and find you need to do the rear brakes as well just make sure you know what to do with the electric parking brake before you start so you don't bugger it up which can be expensive!

Quite a few people on here have used QPower1.

 

[volkswagens-for-life]

@QPower1 supplies OEM brakes and can answer any questions. You CANNOT reuse any German cars brakes or like 99% of Japanese cars brakes. Rotors/pads change at once.

 

[RobL]

FWIW the dealer charged me $1386 for brakes all around, including NY sales tax.

 

[TurboABA]

No way... please post scan of work done, with part numbers, etc.
That is a really good deal, especially for dealer work.

 

[RobL]

No way... please post scan of work done, with part numbers, etc.
That is a really good deal, especially for dealer work.

 

[RobL]

I think I posted that a when the work was done too. I laughed when people told me I overpaid. I would gladly pay that again to not do it myself, especially at the time when I didn't have a garage and it was 15 degrees outside!

 

[volkswagens-for-life]

Wow $1,400 is wicked cheap

 

[TurboABA]

That's respectable for dealer work and OEM parts... if you did it yourself you could've done it for about $800 but you'd have to brave those conditions.... tradeoffs I guess.

 

[FF2L]

Just a quick update: I replaced the front rotors and pads and all the vibration/shuddering is gone. Thanks for all the advice. I wanted to know if you guys have used FCPEuro before for parts? They sell European auto parts and offer a 100% replacement guarantee, even for items like brakes and rotors. They say once you wear them out, order new parts, send back the old ones, and they'll refund your order. I just found them so haven't tried it out, but if that's true it's an insanely good deal.

 

[TurboABA]

Called it in post #3..... yay me!