New brake rotors at 11k miles? Really??
04-18-2016, 01:28 PM
#11
Audiworld Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I got the same word from Audi Palo Alto. They told me my brakes were "glazed" and deglazed them gratis (fronts). Started making noise on the rears and they said they were glazed too and were unwilling to do anything. Said I "overheated them" or "didn't use them enough". Replacement was the only suggestion because they "only" have 6mm left on them.
So (their professional opinion):
1) either I use my brakes too much or don't use them enough
2) At 6mm they recommend replacement
I did everything I could to get new brakes, free. Didn't happen and I'll be damned if I'm replacing brake pads with 6mm remaining. Thus, for now, I announce my arrival with a loud squeal at low brake pressure. Makes it easy for the kids and wife to know I'm home, so there's that.
So (their professional opinion):
1) either I use my brakes too much or don't use them enough
2) At 6mm they recommend replacement
I did everything I could to get new brakes, free. Didn't happen and I'll be damned if I'm replacing brake pads with 6mm remaining. Thus, for now, I announce my arrival with a loud squeal at low brake pressure. Makes it easy for the kids and wife to know I'm home, so there's that.
My pads are at 9mm and other than the "scoring" they say my brakes look brand new. Of course they do. It's a brand new car with 15K miles on it.
Logically, brakes that are otherwise brand new but have some kind of defect causing vibration at 10-15K miles would be taken care of by the company that stands behind their product.
04-18-2016, 01:29 PM
#12
Audiworld Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The pad use should remove corrosion. Do you drive on unpaved roads, sand, gravel? Coal mines? Inspect the rotors with an indy mechanic if you cannot jack it up and set it safely on jackstands to DIY. Might there be a problem in the anti-lock brake system? Do not use a dealer for non-warranty work. Unless you run a hedge fund.
If it comes to it you can bet Audi won't be seeing a penny for the cost to repair.
04-18-2016, 01:47 PM
#13
AudiWorld Member
Thanks for the confirmation that I'm dealing with crooks.
My pads are at 9mm and other than the "scoring" they say my brakes look brand new. Of course they do. It's a brand new car with 15K miles on it.
Logically, brakes that are otherwise brand new but have some kind of defect causing vibration at 10-15K miles would be taken care of by the company that stands behind their product.
My pads are at 9mm and other than the "scoring" they say my brakes look brand new. Of course they do. It's a brand new car with 15K miles on it.
Logically, brakes that are otherwise brand new but have some kind of defect causing vibration at 10-15K miles would be taken care of by the company that stands behind their product.
04-23-2016, 05:56 PM
#14
AudiWorld Member
I would strongly recommend that everyone become informed about disk brakes by reading the article Tenspeed references in post # 4. It really irks me no end to see post after post of owners complaining to their dealer about noisy brakes or a brake associated vibration and the dealer solution is to replace perfectly good rotors. It is extremely rare for a brake rotor to actually warp. Corrosion and scored rotors after only 11K I doubt it. The solid rotors that come on the A6 can easily be turned on a brake lathe to remove any brake pad deposition that has occurred. The wear tolerance on the brake rotors is the original thickness minus 2mm. I seriously doubt the rotors are any where near the minimum thickness.
04-27-2016, 02:29 PM
#15
This is insane. There is no way that the owner of a 2016 A6 with 11K miles should be responsible for defective/low quality brakes.
A different issue, but my 2014 A6 rear rotor hats started started to rust within a month of picking up the new car. Three years later and the rear rotor hats are completely covered in rust, the edges of the rotors are completely rusted, and the calipers (especially the rear calipers) are about 50% covered in rust. So basically, the rest of my car looks brand new and then you look through the spokes of the wheels and the car looks like I bought it in 1988. Yes, I live in a city with snow and salt, but relative to other (less expensive) cars I have owned in the past, the A6 brakes rusted much quicker.
In fact, I was at the local Audi dealership last week and the 2016 A7 that was on display in the showroom had rotor hats that were about 5% covered in rust! Brand new and stored inside, but rusting already. Come on, Audi. Who wants to spend $60K - $80K on a new car that starts rusting before you even drive it off the lot?
A different issue, but my 2014 A6 rear rotor hats started started to rust within a month of picking up the new car. Three years later and the rear rotor hats are completely covered in rust, the edges of the rotors are completely rusted, and the calipers (especially the rear calipers) are about 50% covered in rust. So basically, the rest of my car looks brand new and then you look through the spokes of the wheels and the car looks like I bought it in 1988. Yes, I live in a city with snow and salt, but relative to other (less expensive) cars I have owned in the past, the A6 brakes rusted much quicker.
In fact, I was at the local Audi dealership last week and the 2016 A7 that was on display in the showroom had rotor hats that were about 5% covered in rust! Brand new and stored inside, but rusting already. Come on, Audi. Who wants to spend $60K - $80K on a new car that starts rusting before you even drive it off the lot?
04-27-2016, 04:12 PM
#16
AudiWorld Senior Member
This is insane. There is no way that the owner of a 2016 A6 with 11K miles should be responsible for defective/low quality brakes.
A different issue, but my 2014 A6 rear rotor hats started started to rust within a month of picking up the new car. Three years later and the rear rotor hats are completely covered in rust, the edges of the rotors are completely rusted, and the calipers (especially the rear calipers) are about 50% covered in rust. So basically, the rest of my car looks brand new and then you look through the spokes of the wheels and the car looks like I bought it in 1988. Yes, I live in a city with snow and salt, but relative to other (less expensive) cars I have owned in the past, the A6 brakes rusted much quicker.
In fact, I was at the local Audi dealership last week and the 2016 A7 that was on display in the showroom had rotor hats that were about 5% covered in rust! Brand new and stored inside, but rusting already. Come on, Audi. Who wants to spend $60K - $80K on a new car that starts rusting before you even drive it off the lot?
A different issue, but my 2014 A6 rear rotor hats started started to rust within a month of picking up the new car. Three years later and the rear rotor hats are completely covered in rust, the edges of the rotors are completely rusted, and the calipers (especially the rear calipers) are about 50% covered in rust. So basically, the rest of my car looks brand new and then you look through the spokes of the wheels and the car looks like I bought it in 1988. Yes, I live in a city with snow and salt, but relative to other (less expensive) cars I have owned in the past, the A6 brakes rusted much quicker.
In fact, I was at the local Audi dealership last week and the 2016 A7 that was on display in the showroom had rotor hats that were about 5% covered in rust! Brand new and stored inside, but rusting already. Come on, Audi. Who wants to spend $60K - $80K on a new car that starts rusting before you even drive it off the lot?
04-29-2016, 12:13 PM
#17
I'm at 56k and have yet to change mine and I'm a demon on the brakes...just waiting for my rotors to arrive. No way you need new rotors at 11k unless they are somehow damaged or warped.
07-19-2016, 09:46 AM
#18
AudiWorld Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 563
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sorry to be the OP who never updates the post. Better late than never. But AoA did come through a few days after I posted and authorized replacing rotors only (no pads) under warranty as a "one-time exception". I went ahead and replaced pads also, since no extra labor cost during the rotor replacement. It's been about 5k miles since then with no problems.
Like OldSchool24, I too noticed that the surface of my original rotors were rusty within a few thousand miles of purchasing (new). Often driving the car would clear off the rust, say on the way to work, then rotor surface would look rusty again by the end of the work day. This was before I noticed any vibrations. With the new rotors, no issue like that. I haven't studied them closely, but I haven't noticed anything.
Thanks for all the replies, and I definitely would have gone to an indy mechanic to turn the rotors if AoA hadn't paid for the replacement.
Like OldSchool24, I too noticed that the surface of my original rotors were rusty within a few thousand miles of purchasing (new). Often driving the car would clear off the rust, say on the way to work, then rotor surface would look rusty again by the end of the work day. This was before I noticed any vibrations. With the new rotors, no issue like that. I haven't studied them closely, but I haven't noticed anything.
Thanks for all the replies, and I definitely would have gone to an indy mechanic to turn the rotors if AoA hadn't paid for the replacement.
07-19-2016, 03:51 PM
#20
AudiWorld Senior Member
I'm going to throw something else into the mix I've noticed. When using ACC it feels like the rear brakes are used predominately to control the speed of the car. Now I know from my experience with my wife's Infiniti G37XS and dealing with my Indy mechanic that modern cars with traction, stability control, etc wear out rear brakes before fronts because of these safety features. What I'm wondering is if on a vehicle with ACC if it is predispositioned to burn up the rear brakes even quicker? For me only time will tell as I use ACC a real lot.
Last edited by DanfZX14; 07-19-2016 at 03:55 PM.