Are VWs disposable cars?...Rotors.

MY 2002 Jetta TDI just hit 40,000 miles and was in the VW Dealership for not starting. Warranty work was done on the car and then the Surface Manager tells me that not only do the front and rear brake pads need to be changed but the front Rotors need replacing too (since their is slight pulsing).

Being somewhat mechanically inclined, I say, "they don't need to be replaced, only resurfaced." He tells me that VW dealers don't even have the machine to resurface rotors anymore...VW makes the rotors so thin such that if they were resurfaced they would be under the minimum specifications.

Have rotors become disposable items too? Or is the Dealership trying to feed me some bull?

'Surface Manager'?

LOL. Is that a new term for them? No, he's not bulling you. AFAIK, VW isn't the only company to switch to disposable rotors. It just makes it cheaper and easier to do the replacement, as I understand. Resurfacing doesn't always garuntee good results and can be screwed up easily. Replacement rotors are QC'd against respective manufactory specifications.

Buy them at www.tdiparts.com and save a bundle over dealership prices. Do them yourself. They're pretty simple to do.

Also, consider upgrading to the stainless steel brake lines as they improve feel and responsiveness notably. That's based on my previous experience w/ motorcycle. I'm upgrading mine soon (have parts.)

Yep, when they are worn, throw them in the bin and fit a new set. I cant even remember the last time I had a set of brake discs skimmed. Sadly you guys over there are limited to where you can get a new set of discs, my previous Transporter needed a new set of discs and pads, my local motor factors charged me a little over £200 for four discs and pads for all four corners, a machine shop wouldn't even look at you for that much. Job done in an hour

As Nick said, do them yourself!!!! We've got tons of how-to threads (ferinstance: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=728946 and http://forums.tdiclub.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=484000&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=7&o=all&fpart=1 )

Buy the parts from one of the fine vendors on the club such as www.tdiparts.com or www.metalmanparts.com or www.dieselgeek.com or www.worldimpex.com - making sure you get good quality rotors such as Zimmermann or Balo, and you'll save hundreds of dollars over having the dealership perform the fairly easy job!! Yes, rotors on VW's for the past 20 years or so have been throw-aways...

All the best,

Yuri.

PS: have you had the brake/clutch fluid replaced yet? Should be done every 2 years...

Practically every modern car has brake rotors that are designed to be replaced, rather than re-surfaced. It has been like this for 10 years or more.

New brake rotors (from aftermarket if necessary) are so inexpensive that it's not even worth considering.

I don't think he's trying to con you on the rotors. I do, however, greatly question rear pads at only 40,000. My original set lasted over 140,000. Still on original rear rotors at 165,000. Rear brakes simply don't get worked that hard.

A4 rears wear at about twice the rate as the fronts--heavy rearward braking to prevent nose dive (at least for initial braking--hard braking does the usual 70/30 split or whatever, 'till ABS kicks in--so under most usual braking, not slamming on the brakes, rears wear much faster).

I'm at 80k miles and haven't touched my brakes. I've continually posted questions about when to replace them and haven't heard anything. However, I think when they go, the whole setup will need replacing...perhaps with some bigger, vented rotors and bigger calipers

I do admit that I'm well past the 2 year brake fluid replacement. I assume there's a how-to in the how-to thread...

I have the rotors turned on a brake lathe on the Wife's Buick if there is enough meat left on them. There is actually about a 50% cost savings. I replace the rotors on the VW. Heck, the cost of turning rotors on the VW is even a few dollars MORE than replacing the rears with new ones! The front VW rotors do not have enough excess metal to be turned even once from what I understand. Then there is the potential warpage issue.

Now here's a question, if you are generally easy on brakes, can you get away with just replacing the pads and lightly sanding and reusing the rotors? I used to do this when I was in college and without any extra money!

--Nate

JamminJaime said:

MY 2002 Jetta TDI just hit 40,000 miles and was in the VW Dealership for not starting.

Click to expand...

Why was it not starting?

I suspect the anti-shudder valve stuck in the closed position due to intake clogging.

What did the dealer do to get it running again?

JamminJaime said:

then the [Service] Manager tells me that not only do the front and rear brake pads need to be changed but the front Rotors need replacing too (since [there] is slight pulsing).

Click to expand...

I'd get a second opinion. My rear brakes lasted 94k miles, and my front brakes are at 134k miles and still fine.

IMO a lot of disk brake problems are caused by dealer techs over-torquing lug bolts, causing the disks to warp. They charge you for rotating the tires, and then charge you for the damage they caused.

Note to self: rotate tires this weekend. Tighten lug bolts properly.

I've found that brake wear is related to how you drive, and if you drive down mountains often. Here in the flat land, they last a long time.

TornadoRed said:

I'd get a second opinion. My rear brakes lasted 94k miles, and my front brakes are at 134k miles and still fine.

IMO a lot of disk brake problems are caused by dealer techs over-torquing lug bolts, causing the disks to warp. They charge you for rotating the tires, and then charge you for the damage they caused.

Note to self: rotate tires this weekend. Tighten lug bolts properly.

Click to expand...

I would be VERY curious to know how you got 134,000 miles out of your front brakes. That is quite impressive.

As to the notion that overtorquing lug bolts causes rotors to warp? That went out when rotors could be turned.

vanagonturbo said:

I would be VERY curious to know how you got 134,000 miles out of your front brakes. That is quite impressive.

As to the notion that overtorquing lug bolts causes rotors to warp? That went out when rotors could be turned.

Click to expand...

All I know is that I DID rotate my tires today, and the front brakes are still fine.

I drive pretty hard, most of the time, with a mix of urban and highway driving. But perhaps the bias toward the rear brakes is the reason why my front brakes are lasting so long.

Rotors should not warp. If they do, then something is screwed up. Perhaps you have another explanation?

thinness and water can cause rotors to warp. In the old school days when rotors were part of the wheel bearing race, overtightening acn cause warpage.

Did you buy the car when it was new? Still having a hard time with 135k pads. I own a VW shop and have been working on them for about 12 years and I have never heard of anything like this.

Would you want to resue the rotor on the right when the one on the left was readily available for not a lot of $$?



-J

>> Still having a hard time with 135k pads. <<

I changed the original rear pads (and rotors) on my 2003 Jetta Wagon at 229216 km (142428 miles) and they still had about 3/16 inch lining left... the fronts still had over 1/2 inch... obviously, mostly highway

I just ordered replacement front pads and rotors, but I don't anticipate needing to replace them 'till next summer... (up to 248900 km = 154660 miles now)...

YMMV

Yuri.

The above pic was taked at 120,000 miles. Rears had just been done at a dealer. I did the fronts, it was very easy.

-J

I helped my Dad replace all the pads on his 2003 TDi wagon at 100,000 km's. The old pads still had lots of meat left on them and his driving is mostly city driving in Toronto. We didn't touch the rotors, they looked fine, and he was really impressed with how they looked and how much longer they would more he could have got out of them. I just did my rear pads and rotors on my 99.5 golf in -20`C weather and beyond having to get the tool for the calipers it took no longer then an hour. It probably would have been quicker if I didn't do it in the parking lot in the complex and had to run in to warm up my hands every 15 mins.
Set of OEM rotors and Lucas pads for the rear, 103.26 Cnd taxes included for everything.
Frozen fingers.....Priceless.....

Benjamin
Edit for spelling, opps