Hi There,

I've taken my MY12 V6 FSI for 30k (Odo 31,500) service at a Melbourne VW dealer. They have advised me to replace front pads and discs/drums and quoted $1,400 fitted.

Measurements given are,

Pads:
Front - 5.4, Rear - 6.5

Disc:
Front - 31.1, Rear - 27.7

I'm keen to hear your recommendations/feedback on,

1) Minimum thickness for pads and discs for safe driving/braking.

2) If I replace pads/discs using third party non-VW dealer, will that work against VW 3-year warranty terms?

I don't do off-road driving, car is being used for Melbourne city and sub-urban drive only.

Thanks
Josh

Josh
Lots of questions( you would think I was Tony Barber )

For starters 30,000kms on brakes is very disappointing.
Did you have the brake warning light on in your dash yet?
What was the starting measurements for a new disc's?
If I had to guess they would have 2mm max allowable wear on the disc's.
$1400 for front brakes fitted by a stealer is to much.
I did a search and you could have genuine front pads, disc's, and sensors shipped to your door for the USA for less than $700 and that fixes warranty issues.
So pay a brake place $200 to fit and your in front.

regards
Drag

 

Josh
Lots of questions( you would think I was Tony Barber )

For starters 30,000kms on brakes is very disappointing.
Did you have the brake warning light on in your dash yet?
What was the starting measurements for a new disc's?
If I had to guess they would have 2mm max allowable wear on the disc's.
$1400 for front brakes fitted by a stealer is to much.
I did a search and you could have genuine front pads, disc's, and sensors shipped to your door for the USA for less than $700 and that fixes warranty issues.
So pay a brake place $200 to fit and your in front.

regards
Drag

Thank you Drag.

I haven't got the warning light on dash yet. Dealer said, it will light up in the 'near' future. Sorry, I should have mentioned this on my earlier note.

I would not know the starting measurement. The data I gave is the current measurements printed on the service report by VW dealer.

Thanks.

 

Wait for the warning to go off, my guess is that you have about 7k to go.

Disc Min thicknesses are:
Front 30mm
Rear 26mm

Pads - well the warning will go off.

When the warning does go off you should have about another 3k to work out what you are doing.

Take drag's advice and buy parts from USA just did so myself, you will save some coin.

 

Thank you Hoodie for your advise, much appreciated.

Are you guys in a position to recommend a reliable place, local/USA, to purchase pads and discs? Thank you kindly.

 

Thank you Hoodie for your advise, much appreciated.

Are you guys in a position to recommend a reliable place, local/USA, to purchase pads and discs? Thank you kindly.

Have a read of this http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f67/bma-parts-discount-offer-to-ct-members-77604.html BMA Auto Parts also give a 5% discount to Club Touareg members use the CTQ discount code at checkout. I used these guys about 4 months ago, ordered on a Friday and I had the parts delivered to me by the following Wednesday.

 

They're pulling your leg mate. have a look at this link and click on the model, front or rear that is yours and see the specs. Front rotors new 32mm rear 28mm, wear limit is 2 mm so they are only 25% - 30% worn so far. Pads front have an overall thickness of 17.1mm and the backing plate is around 6mm leaving 11mm of pad, The wear limit is 2mm of pad so from that your pads are about 60% worn. This seems unusual as the pads and rotors wear almost at the same rate normally with the pads wearing a little quicker than the rotors. Either way you should have at least another 10k left, probably more as I suspect the pad measurement is wrong. Easy way to check is take a wheel off and look for yourself. John
p.s. Even some local supplies can get you OEM brakes (Textar, Pagid)at 2/3 dealer price. try Matthew at Racebrakes Sydney at Wetherill park or look up Ebay and check out the UK seller autoperformanceonline

 

This is typical of VW dealers all over the world.

As above, they are taking the pi$$ on both the service life and the price.

Wait until the light goes on and you will still have plenty of pad thickness to give you time to sort out their replacement and, if you've any sense, it won't be at that dealer.

There are plenty of good quality discs and pads available - they are a wear item so are not part of the car covered by the manufacturer's warranty anyway unless the Oz warranty is different to the norm.

Brakes are not rocket science -any good workshop can do them for you.

 

Hi Josh
I have an older Treg and at my 30,000 km service I was told I needed new discs and pads. Like you I asked on this forum for advice - see this thread http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f...7/replace-brakes-and-tyres-under-30-000-kms-anyone-quicker-than-that-44167.html and received some very informative replies. Thanks again to all who helped me out then.

Long story short, I decided to go with advice to wait until the warning goes off (thanks again Singh). Changed at over 65,000 kms .

My advice, wait for the warning, you will have time then.

 

You can see "PAGID" stamped into the backing plate on earlier Tregs through the wheel spokes, but I am not sure if the 2012 also uses Pagid as the OEM brake pad.

Run the pads until the warning light comes on, and then decide if you need a set of new rotors. Flush the brake fluid when you change the pads. I am on the third set of Pagids on the front Zimmermanns and just put on the second set on the rear axle (Zimmermann discs also).

In my experience the Pagid-Zimmermann combo is an excellent one; others also like the Hawk-Zimmermann combo. However, I do not think Hawk is Euro ECE R90 certified (and therefore not legal for sale in Europe. Zimmermann is anti-corrosion coated and German TUV certified).

http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f44/brake-replacement-recommendations-81480.html

Thank you Singh for getting us the 5%!!

 

The first brake fluid change only needs to be done when the car is 3 years old.

Thereafter it is every two years.

 

Thank you all for your valuable feedback and advise, much appreciated.

Josh

 

Looks like I forgot to add the links in my post.
Auto Performance Silicone Hoses items - Get great deals on Silicone Hoses, Blue Red Black items on eBay Stores!
Brembo | Aftermarket Catalogue
The Brembo one for specifications and the ebay for sales at good rates
John

 

Some dealers of course can be keen on replacing the discs n pads early and the warning light is set to warn the owner much earlier.
It would vary for everyone but last time i changed pads n rotors I had done over 4k when the light came on and still had some meat on the pads.
Nothing like a good physical check to ensure longevity and safety

 

Just phoned my un-helpful dealer to book in to get my brakes changed and they advised that it is VW (or Company) policy not to fit aftermarket parts. Thanks!

Can anybody recommend somebody to replace brakes around the northern beaches of Sydney.
Thanks

 

Vic Rydman of Rydman Motors in Mona Vale used to be a very competent mechanic when I lived down that way but that was nearly 10 years ago so things may have changed. As far as 'aftermarket parts' is concerned Textar, Paid etc are OEM suppliers and so the pads you can by from places like racebrakes Sydney are the same as over the counter VW dealer supplied just at a lower price. No loss to the service department, just to the spares department. Just tell them you bought the parts at another VW dealer at mates rates. John

 

Brakes are not rocket science. Any good workshop can do them. Ask your mates and fellow workers for recommendations.