Hello

My mother-in-law recently had a problem with the brakes on a 6 month old A3. She drove the vehicle from cold for about 1/2 mile through a village and when she applied the brakes at a junction everything seemed to lock up and the car came to an abrupt halt, it then took several minutes to get a gear to engage. The dealership have suggested that she may not have properly released the handbrake, that it could have dragged and that the heat generated caused the pads to expand such that when the brakes were applied they bit very hard.

I don't believe their explanation at all and wonder if anyone here may be able to suggest a possible cause to what is a rather concerning fault.

Thank you.

 

As I recall, the A3 manual states that if you get the brakes hot by driving fast or using them a lot, you should not apply the parking brake or the pads will adhere to the discs. This may be where the dealership gets the idea of the pads sticking. My only challenge to that explaination is that after 3 seconds of driving with the parking brake engaged in an A3, a warning bell comes on along with a visual warning in the center portion of the gauges. This occurs even if the parking brake is ever-so-slightly engaged (Personal experience).

 

Thanks for your response.

I am not sure if we have the alarm here in the UK, she is sure that the handbrake was off but I will certainly check as it would be further confirmation .

Either way I don't believe that driving the car with the handbrake only slightly engaged for 1/4 of a mile would generate enough heat to cause an issue, furthermore I fail to see how the handbrake could effectively remain jammed on when after it is released under any circumstance unless there is a fault, (I understand that it possibly could stick a little but it should immediately release when one drives forward.) She also does not describe the squatting at the rear that would be typical if the handbrake was on.

 

Don't know if this applies to the trouble you are having, but there is a problem that has been noted with the A4 regarding the brake piston seals in that they are to large for the calipers. The fix according to a Audi tech in Tucson Az. is they refit the caliper with a smaller size O ring / seal on the caliper piston, this may be a extreme case for your mothers A3 in that it caused a wheel lock condition caused by the piston seal binding it self with the piston. Don't know if this could even pertain to you problem, just a thought. Goog luck and good driving.


This fix is for the A4 but the A3 has the same parts in the brake system according to Audi it just has not been put into a service directive as of yet for the A3.

07 A3 2.0T Rx75 custom inst.stealth in and out.

 

Thank you RAK3 for your input, it is an interesting point that we will certainly raise with Audi.

The brake does indeed have an audio and flashing light system which did not come confirming that the hand brake was not applied and furthermore the Service Manager at Audi Taunton advises that brakes cannot heat up, as his adviser suggested, over such a short distance.

Wheels have been removed and all brakes and pipes examined. Nothing seen nor any fault recorded in onboard computer. Road test was normal.

Following the incident, when car stopped the engine remained running OK but when she tried to go forward the car would move only in slight jerks as if the brakes were locked up.

My mother-in-law did not try again under power fearing she may damaged something. The brakes finally released after some 5 - 10 minutes when engine had been turned off and on several times and car was reversed. This reverse would seem to me to be significant in that it appears to have released something that was jammed (used to be common with drum brakes that had been left on for a long time).

Could this be an ABS electrical problem? Or is it more likely to be a mechanical issue? Or perhaps a combination of the two?

I would be grateful for further input regarding the cause and also suggestions as to how to proceed as until the fault is diagnosed the car is potentially unsafe.