Brake pads
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1st Gear
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 1
Brake pads
I have a 2011 A5 with about 40k miles on it. The brakes were making a lovely grinding sound whenever i turned and the dealer told me the front brakes are metal on metal.
This would be understandable except for a few things.
1) The brake pad wear light never came on. It's not even on now. According to the service advisor this is because the sensors are only on the inner pads and the outer pads wore more quickly. This is because of the floating rotors.
2) At the 35k scheduled maintenance they said the brakes had 40 to 50% life left. I had the tires rotated right after that at a local tire shop and they said they were fine as well.
3) At 10k the brake pad wear light came on so I know what it looks like. The dealer said the calipers were sticking and replaced all brakes and rotors under warranty.
The dealer is insisting there's nothing wrong and wants $800 to replace the front brakes and rotors.
So, before I escalate this, is this normal? Could Audi have designed a system that would not let you know the brakes are getting low? Is it normal for the outer pads to drop to 0 while the inner pads are over 25%? Is it normal to go from 100 to 40% in 25,000 miles but from 40 to 0 in 5,000?
Thanks!
This would be understandable except for a few things.
1) The brake pad wear light never came on. It's not even on now. According to the service advisor this is because the sensors are only on the inner pads and the outer pads wore more quickly. This is because of the floating rotors.
2) At the 35k scheduled maintenance they said the brakes had 40 to 50% life left. I had the tires rotated right after that at a local tire shop and they said they were fine as well.
3) At 10k the brake pad wear light came on so I know what it looks like. The dealer said the calipers were sticking and replaced all brakes and rotors under warranty.
The dealer is insisting there's nothing wrong and wants $800 to replace the front brakes and rotors.
So, before I escalate this, is this normal? Could Audi have designed a system that would not let you know the brakes are getting low? Is it normal for the outer pads to drop to 0 while the inner pads are over 25%? Is it normal to go from 100 to 40% in 25,000 miles but from 40 to 0 in 5,000?
Thanks!
1st Gear
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 27
From: Chesapeake, VA
It sounds insane that both sets of pads would not engage equally and therefore not wear equally. If the scenario you describe is true, there is definitely something wrong with the calipers. I have over 45K miles and I still have roughly half of the original brake material left (minimum is 2mm and I have approx 8-9 mm all around). Someone out there can correct me but I believe the sensors are supposed to go off at approx. 4 mm. To answer your questions, it is possible to go from 100% to 40% pad material in 25K miles if you brake a lot and brake hard. To go from 40% to 0% in 5K sounds like track days or failed brake pads. However, the wear should be even between the sets of pads. Regardless, sounds like something is wrong. BTW - $800 for the front pads and rotors sounds expensive. Got a good indy mechanic around?
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