My 2007 A3 S-line sat for a week while I dotted the last "I" to get it registered. My rotors rust easy here in the humid southeast Texas, even after washing the car, there is a light build up of rust. But after a week of sitting and a couple of light rains (the car sits under a carport) the pads stuck to the rotor and it took a significant effort to get them unstuck. I kept hearing a clicking sound from the rear brakes for the next few miles. After several applications of the brakes it's all back to normal. Anyone else experience this problem?

 

the same thing happened to me after I washed my car last week and it sat in the garage for a couple days. i'm assuming this isn't a big deal since, like you said, the brakes go back to normal after driving a few miles and using the brakes. i guess the best thing to do to avoid it is to drive the car after the brakes have gotten wet to get them dry before it sits still.

 

Rusting rotors is common on every car and normally happens after about a week without driving. I've seencars come off the trucks at dealers with rust on the rotors so it really happens to any car of any age. Nothing really to be worried about, just do a couple brake checks like you did to get them back to normal.

 

I also live in a very humid area. I have always found the best thing to do, is after a wash, drive the car around the block and brake a few times to dry off the rotors. It has always helped.

 

I've never had the pads stick so hard to the rotors before. Now that I've got it registered I'll be driving it more, but I'll be worried if it has to sit again, like at airport parking.

 

Just wanted to post that by not engaging the parking brake the brakes don't stick.

 

Ya, it scared me at first. I went to Sweden for a month and came back and they were orange! So I drove around and pressed a little harder on the brakes. It came right off

 

Don't worry at all. It won't cause any problems unless your car sits there for about 10 years. It's just surface rust and it will be ground off by your pads within the first several miles of driving once you get in and get going again.

 

The surface rust isn't the real issue. It's if you wash the car with the parking brake engaged and leave it overnight the pads stick to the rotor so that it takes a considerable effort to get them unstuck. I've learned to not engage the brake after it's washed. I did leave it at the airport this past weekend and it got rained on with out issue. So unless the rain is really soaks the rotor like when I wash it I don't think I'll have this problem again.