I mostly just use this forum to run searches, but didnt find much on this topic:

I went out of town for a month, my Audi sat in the driveway. I had someone start it occasionally to keep the battery running and fluids running through. So I get back and get the car out, and it starts making the awful grinding type noise. It gets worse when I break, but it makes noise when I jacked the car up and just spun the wheel.My mechanic is telling me that my rotors are completely rusted and need replacing. WTF? How can rotors just rust away like that? He also told me that resurfacing is a bad idea.

Anyone have any advice?

 

You get some oxidation on them when it rains and it sits. Just go look at a car lot and you can tell tht cars that nobody wants cause of the rotors. You just need to do some hard stops and it will clean off the rotors. You can also spray on some brake cleaner also. You should be fine after a few good breaks and the pads get cleaned off.

 

Yeah, I used to have RWD cars that I'd store over the winter... the first few stops were ugly! It doesn't take long before they are good as new, though. And if this is the case for you, and a few good stops fixes your issue... visit your mechanic and tell him you'll be taking your car elsewhere...

 

i was thinking that

 

You know what they say about great minds...

 

out of now where but...... i once left my audi alone for 4 months while i was out of the country, it was left in florida outsidein a company parking lot with a ton of things in it since i was moving house at the time. no one went near my car to run it or anything,only the persone that toldme once in a while that mycar wasnt solen or hit by a fork lift.

anyway....
i get ash*t load ofrustonmy discs when i wash my car. i takeher for a spin round the block once im done washing it to get the rust off. just brake a few times and it should be good, like everyone else has said.
you defently dont need new ones lol. hes just out to get your moneyat any possable reasone, thats why i dont trust machanics, so i do all the work on her.
this noise you keep hearing and when you jacked up your car, is this on one disc only or all for????
if the noise is only on one dics it could be your caliper sticking or seazing up, just a thought.

 

Only 2 of the wheels are making noise when free spinning them, both on the left side. My back driver side is making the most noise, and the caliper looks visibly rusted pretty bad. I think I might replace the rotor and caliper on that one back wheel, and use brake cleaner on the rest to see what happens.

How hard of a stop do I need to really knock the crap off my wheels. Is a parking break pull at 30mph the best way to do it or will it do more damage than good?

 

Well just bring the car up to about 70mph on a country road, and bring it to a fast stop... not like tires screeching or anything, but a good hard stop... do that a few times before you spend any money.

 

you really need to build the heat up in the rotors, rapid stops with little time to cool will get them there easily.

 

for my, when this happens, (not this bad tho) i just do casual braking, nothing hard. i find that if i put my brakes on slightly (like when your comming to a red light) then ease into the brake pedal, will do the trick.
i wouldnt go spending any money on it yet!! that would be the last thing i would do even if i needed it to work properly asap.
maybe some bad weather or something hit it side on? i left my car at the airport for a week last winter and when i got back the WHOLE drivers side had completly frozen over, i had to unlock it and get in from the passenger side ahh fun times lol.
back on point.... i would take the caliper off and clean it. take the pads out and sand them down a bit (normal sanding paper is fine). get some orange cleaner or brake/caliper cleaner or somethng simalar, vodka should do the trick lol, and clean them calipers.
i wouldnt worry much about the rust on the discs themselfs, that'll wear off eventualy.
but dont go buying anything for it yet man, try and keep that money on your pocket for as long as possable.

EDIT: get a wire brush or sand paper (wire brush is better) and them discs to get some of that rust off. if nothing else works then i would get the discs scimmed a tiny bit.