Dalancroft

Just had my fronts replaced at 48K miles by a good indy within walking distance of my house. (The warning light had come on about 200 miles before.) Bill came to just under $500, $350 OEM parts and $150 labor. The proprietor strongly recommended replacing rotors as well as pads, saying there wasn't much life on the rotors and I'd be back within a year anyway.

Still had 50% life on rear pads & rotors, so he recommended leaving them, saying I'd get another two years or so out of them (I drive only about 8K miles per year). That's part of why I trust my guy -- many shops would try to convince you to replace the rears as well, to pump up their profits. Not this guy.

P.S. My brakes have never squealed.

Joyn Fan

I am also looking to have the rear brakes replaced for my 2011 Q5 2.0 premium plus. I am thinking to use zimmermann rotors and Textar pads (CAD200 for all). A few questions:
- would use aftermarket part void any remaining warranty? Mine is already after 5 years so I guess it won't matter as long as it won't void the powertrain warranty.
- are these aftermarket parts better than the stock brakes in terms of performance?The stock rotor and pads are both worn quick and create a lot of dust.
- Are these zimmermann rotor and Textar pads wear quick too?
- do I need to also buy new caliber bolts? Can't just reuse the existing bolts?audiusaparts quoted me also two sets of caliber bolts but I don't see such option at autopartsway.ca though. The price of OEM parts from audiusaparts is not bad but the shipping to Canada is too high.
I was initially thinking to use ceramic pads but can't find them at .ca sites. AutoPartsway.ca has accession accession ceramic pads they are for 330mm (hawker too expensive for me). Does anyone know where I can get cheaper ceramic pads for 2011 Q5?

Thanks in advance.
Joyn