mehaase

I took my A4 in for a service notice, and they mentioned that my brake pads need to be replaced. The report shows the front two brake pads are okay and the rear brake pads need to be replaced. I asked how much to replace brake pads and the service rep told me to get pads and rotors replaced at the same time. I said really? He said yeah the rotor life span is only 75k (I'm at 70k) and so might as well replace it all at once. I've only owned the car a few years and I'm not sure when (or if) the rotors were replaced previously. He didn't actually say that the rotors are worn.

Does this make sense? I thought rotors lasted longer if the pads were maintained correctly? Thanks for any advice.

SMac770

Rotors last however long they last. In the case of a US B8 A4, that's however long it takes to wear down 2mm in thickness (30mm new / 28mm replace for 320mm front, 12mm new / 10 mm replace for 300mm rear). I've got over 80k (about four years) on my current rear rotors and pads. I do very little stop and go and minimal hard braking. I imagine I'll replace the rotors when I replace the pads.

You'd need to know the thickness of the rotors when you last changed rear pads and the thickness now to decide if you'll likely drop below 10mm thickness before the new rear pads wear out. If you're at 70k, I'd bet the rears have never been done (I put 60k on the rears after I bought it used, so they lasted somewhere between 60k and 100k). I wouldn't bank on the rotors lasting 140k, and it's not that expensive when you're doing it only every several years.

You can source the Audi branded rotors for $180 from FCPEuro, or get a pair of Zimmermann or Meyle for $80. I think both are suppliers of the "Audi "branded" anyway. That said, as rare a cost as it is, I'll be using Audi branded when the time comes.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/Audi-parts/A...&b=5&d=1082&v=
(you didn't supply any specifics of your vehicle, so I'm assuming 2010 and 2.0T quattro to get the listing).

(and there's actually four front brake pads, and four rear brake pads, an inner and outer at each wheel :-)

captain_video

I usually replace the rotors every other time I replace a set of pads. Pads are usually good for about 30-40k miles give or take so that falls right in line with about 75k for rotor wear.