Kaching

I have a 2.7TA6 with 13k on the clock.The brakes are original. I hear what sounds like a growl from the rear brakes. My driving has been in rural areas.Does anybody think that the pads could be warn out with 13k? Do these pads glaze? Thanks in advance for your help.

StealthMobile

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/17158/RearBrake.jpg"></center><p>Otherwise you should still have at a minimum 25% of pad left. If you are always gentle with the brakes then there may be some glazing. Before doing the exercise below, verify that you do in fact have some pad left. I have attached a picture which shows a fairly new rear pad - you may need a laptop screen to make out the detail around the pad. The pad is the light-grey area between the metal backing plate and the rotor. If yours have only the metal backing plate then the pads are indeed worn out.

If you normally brake very gently, try this exercise. Since you get a chance to drive rural roads, try 3-4 quick 60 - 0 stops in rapid succession. Do this about 15 minutes before you arrive home, and park without the parking brake. This exercise will heat up the brakes and should remove most of any buildup on the rotors. After the exercise, if you feel any vibration under firm braking then 1 or more rotors are warped and the dealer will need to replace them. If the growl persists then I would also visit the dealer - something is wrong.

Note that when you wash the car, the rotors' surface will actually rust within 15 - 20 minutes. If you then park, the next morning there will be a crusty rust "outline" of the pads on all 4 rotors. This will cause a rumbling or growling sound under braking until the rust is worn off. If this is the case, the above exercise should "fix" it until the next wash. To prevent this in the future, drive for a few blocks after washing the car - using frequent braking - to warm the rotors and help evaporate water in the pads/calipers.

big whup 4.2

nicely stated, friend.