rmorin1249

At about 15000 miles I started getting a vibration when braking. Took it into the dealer and they diagnosed "warped brake rotors". Said this would not be covered by the warranty and new rotors and pads would be $800. I said no way and asked that I be allowed to call Audi of America. After some further discussion they agreed to install new rotors at no charge but they did not install new pads. Drove the car from MD to NC last week at after about 100 miles on the interstate the vibration came back. I am now going back to the dealer to find out what is going on.

I don't ride the brakes nor do I drive the car hard and abuse the brakes. Any ideas of what else could be going on? What could cause the rotors to warp or is it something else? I anticipate another "discussion" with the dealer but I do not think I should have to pay for new rotors or pads on a car with less than 20K miles. Thoughts?

snagitseven

Highly unusual for rotors to warp these days. Perhaps the original pads had some issue with bedding on the new rotors or it's wasn't warped rotors at all but some other problem not diagnosed properly by the dealer. Keep us posted.

Rjim

Try the Zeckhausen procedure:Instructions for bedding in your brakes

engleg

Installing wheels using an air impact gun is an easy way to warp brake rotors as most guns deliver hundreds of pounds of torque to the wheel bolts. You should only use a torque wrench using the recommended torque values and technics from your owners manual.

DB22

But this is a dealer who has probably installed/replaced hundreds of wheels on Audi's in the past. If their installation procedure was bad or their impact wrench was set incorrectly then there would be a line out the door with cars all having bad rotors.
There is something else going on here.

rmorin1249

Thanks folks for the comments. Car is going back in on Friday to figure out what is going on. Vibration is most pronounced at higher speeds and braking fairly hard. Around town at speeds less than 35 mph the vibration is not detectable. It's almost more of a pulsation. Wondering if it could be the ABS or an issue with the master cylinder.

Hoping my dealer can figure it out.

ECS Tuning-Audi

Chances are its improperly bed pads. Your old pads probably have inconsistencies across the pad face. These inconsistencies cause vibration or a pulsation when brake pressure is applied.

If brake pulsation/vibration doesn't improve after you've done a bedding procedure unfortunately I think you'll need to replace the pads and then rebed them properly to the new rotors.

Jason

NightCrawler

Had the exact same thing happen at 13k. My dealer handled it under warranty and replaced the rotors. So far I've put another 4k on the car and have had no further issues.

rmorin1249

Dealer has replaced both front and rear rotors. Still have a slight vibration and pulsation so they are also going to replace the pads. They didn't have them in stock so I have to make another appointment. This will be 3 trips to the dealer for this issue and my dealer is 80 miles away.

NightCrawler

That's poor service. Didn't they notice what they did didn't work? Why didn't they keep the car, order the pads, and take care of it in one visit?