So I take my 2006 A6 4.2L S-line w/ sport package (71K miles) to get new brake pads & rotors installed last Friday to a non dealer shop and the shop tells me late Friday afternoon that they ran into trouble w/ the 2 rear caliper not retracting enough to install on new rotors w/ new pads and that they believe the calipers are the problem. They say they will have to replace them for $550 each plus labor.

Any thoughts/advice here? Could what they say be right (2 calipers that are 4 years old failing to retract enough for new rotors & pads and having to be replaced with new ones) and if so would something like that be covered if the car is a CPO w/ warranty left?

Are new calipers the only option to fix this or would rebuilding be safe if that's an option?

Thanks!

 

if it is the calipers .. which I doubt . more like they are trying to put the wrong rotors on ..anyway the calipers should be covered under CPO as they are not a wear item .. problem is you went to non Audi dealer , you could now be screwed

 

A6s have 3 different rotor sizes. They are putting on wrong rotors.

 

Sorry strike what I said. For 2006 C6 I am not sure about the different sizes; however, they require VAGcom to electronically retract the calipers. So unless they have Audi specific computer tools, they are doing it wrong.

 

They said they have the right tools/software for Audis and now they came back and said they were able to "rebuild" the caliper and get them installed & working but now I'm afraid of whether or not they did the job right?

 

yeah if that is an elecronic e-brake on that car they should retract them using the software .. rebuilding the caliper would do it too obviously .. but was it necesary to rebuild calipers .. on an 06 ... on BOTH sides .... ? .. guess we will never really know.. My guess is the shop just went to school on your car ..

 

Picked up the car this morning. They said that it wasn't the wrong rotor size & that they used vagcom software but not sure I believe that given how things have gone with them.

Yesterday the story was that the 2 rear calipers MUST be replaced because they were not able to retract so faulty calipers. When I said that didn't sound right to me and questioned the need for a $1200+ caliper replacement job they then suddenly were able to fix the existing ones by dissasembling them & forcing the stuck caliper to retract enough to install and they said they passed all test & were able to reset, etc but that the car is UNSAFE to drive because a caliper that has been forced to retract is not dependable & brake fluid leakage can happen in the future.

So should I be worried about the calipers or anything else given all this?

Thanks.

 

You know when you asked if you were hosed? I think you were. You may be in the hands of a duff mechanic trying to cover his tracks with your wallet. I doubt an 06 would have two rear calipers failing the same way at the same time! You were right to be suspicious, it makes no sense. The failure is in the mechanics' skills set.
I would take it to a competent tech and get it checked out to be sure its safe, then go after the nitwits at the first place, bill in hand for some relief.

 

He obviously doesn't know how to use the vag com, on the early C6 A6 there are settings you have to put into the computer (just like the A8) to retract them fully, and to put them back in your have to measure the thickness of the pad. If he doesn't it can cause the caliper piston to push the pad out too far dragging on the rotor. Like oldmots said, have a real audi pro look at it for a second opinion. If it turns out to be two bad calipers (doubt it) then no harm done.

 

Yeah I really think they messed up and just are too arrogant to admit they could have been wrong. Car drove fine today & the brakes felt fine but I have the 75K service coming up so I'll just take it to the dealer early for the service & since that service includes checking brakes any issues should be found there.

Thanks for the help everyone.