Rear brake discs problem at 14,000 km - VW won't cover under warranty

I have a 2013 Golf TDI purchased last November with just over 14,000 km (less than 10,000 miles). A month or so ago I noticed issues when braking, particularly at high speed. There is a rumbling noise and vibration. Sounds and feels like a warped disc. I took it in to the dealer where I purchased the vehicle. They came back saying the rear discs were rusted and warped. $465 + tax to replace both rear discs and pads….and the kicker, it was not covered by warranty…on a practically new car! I did not have the work done then so I could argue the coverage issue.

I have discussed at length with both the dealer service manager and VW Canada Customer Relations. VW Customer Relations has been less than useless. The Customer Relations rep had no understanding of the new car warranty coverage and basically has told me it’s up to the dealer. The dealer was sympathetic and shared with me a page from the internal VW Policies and Procedure to justify the non-coverage. According to the policy VW will not cover brake disc damage caused by corrosion.

I have told both the dealer and VW Canada that I didn’t care about their internal policy. The new car warranty policy that was given to me when I bought the car showed neither a restriction on corrosion nor any general restrictions that could possibly be used to justify not covering this.

I am not even convinced the root cause of the damage is rust. In fact I removed the wheels to check myself. Here are some pics.



I have never seen disc damage like this. While rust on discs is common in Ontario (due to generous use of road salt), this kind of damage is not, especially after 7 months. The one area of the disk is actually spots where the surface has been completely removed, like it has flacked off. The rest of the disk surface is “dimpled”. Has anyone else seen disc damage like this or have theories on the cause?

I am taking my Golf to another dealer in town tomorrow to get a second opinion. I need to get this fixed, so even if they don’t cover it by warranty I will get them to do it. I will ask for the old discs back as evidence if I pursue VW Canada in small claims court if necessary.

I will post an update on the outcome with the 2nd dealer tomorrow.

No dealer in the us will warranty disks either... They are a wear item. You can do the job yourself for less than $200. Save the aggravation and move on.

I've ordered rotors and pads from R1 concepts. Zimmerman rotors seem to hold up in the south. I know they, and others offer zinc coated rotors to minimize rust.

Your rotors almost look like they are heat damaged. Never seen it on a small car like a VW, but a truck pulling a loaded trailer that did a quick stop and then parked, the heat from the pads soaked the rotor and left a blued spot on the rotor.

The pads will be fine and you can get coated disc's for $150 easy per pair

nikhsub1 said:

No dealer in the us will warranty disks either... They are a wear item. You can do the job yourself for less than $200. Save the aggravation and move on.

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Actually, my warranty says that "worn" discs (which mine aren't) are covered up to 20,000 km. "Worn" means the thickness is less than spec. My warranty also covers warped discs (which mine are) for the length of the New Car Warranty (60,000 km).

The warranty is silent on disc corrosion (which to me means its is covered as there is nothing else in the warranty that generally restricts it). Of course their internal policy says otherwise.

Armby said:

Actually, my warranty says that "worn" discs (which mine aren't) are covered up to 20,000 km. "Worn" means the thickness is less than spec. My warranty also covers warped discs (which mine are) for the length of the New Car Warranty (60,000 km).
The warranty is silent on disc corrosion (which to me means its is covered as there is nothing else in the warranty that generally restricts it). Of course their internal policy says otherwise.

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Then what's the problem? If YOUR warranty says they should be replaced, why is the dealer not doing so?

N41EF said:

Your rotors almost look like they are heat damaged. Never seen it on a small car like a VW, but a truck pulling a loaded trailer that did a quick stop and then parked, the heat from the pads soaked the rotor and left a blued spot on the rotor.

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In fact the first dealer mentioned that there was sign of heat damage but he attributed it to the reduced effectiveness of the rest of the rotor due to the corrosion on most of the rest of the surface of the disc.

The car is driven by others so I can't claim with certainty that no one did something foolish. Is the parking brake run off the regular pads or on its own set of mini shoes?

nikhsub1 said:

Then what's the problem? If YOUR warranty says they should be replaced, why is the dealer not doing so?

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Exactly. And why I am going tto another dealer.

which dealers have you been to? I'm having vibration issues on my touareg. Pads are still very good, but I get a severe shuttering when stopping. I'll be visiting the dealer soon.

Also, where in the warranty does it state warped discs are covered for the length of the warranty? I'd like to use that in case I get any grief.

best of luck!

Looks like a parking break was forgotten on a long trip.

Humanaquarian said:

Looks like a parking break was forgotten on a long trip.

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Ditto.

DogParkGuy said:

Ditto.

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Rear only disc problem, hand brake left on, almost certainly, as stated above.

Brake pads, as well as brake discs are not covered under warranty. Nothing new here.

Looks like car was parked for a good amount of time with wet/salty brakes. That one spot is probably the "shadow" where the pad was located, it corrodes differently under the pad than the areas exposed to air. If just driven around a dealer lot, brakes won't get hot enough to dry off. Does not look like heat damage to me.

Happy ending. The 2nd Dealer (Hunt Club VW in Ottawa) has replaced my rotors under warranty. A big fat FAIL to Myers VW in Kanata (where I bought the Golf and originally returned for this issue) for not seeing the obvious. Even though my office is right beside Myers I will not be returning there for service!

I asked the service rep at Hunt club what he thought was the cause but he didn't seem to have a plausible explanation except something wrong with the original casting.

Humanaquarian said:

Looks like a parking break was forgotten on a long trip.

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Maybe but I give myself and my family a bit more credit than that. There is binging and warning lights when you do that.

Henrick said:

Brake pads, as well as brake discs are not covered under warranty. Nothing new here.

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Warranty (in Canada at least) covers brake pads and discs for 20,000 km. 2nd dealer covered it under that warranty.

Armby said:

Happy ending. The 2nd Dealer (Hunt Club VW in Ottawa) has replaced my rotors under warranty. A big fat FAIL to Myers VW in Kanata (where I bought the Golf and originally returned for this issue) for not seeing the obvious. Even though my office is right beside Myers I will not be returning there for service!

I asked the service rep at Hunt club what he thought was the cause but he didn't seem to have a plausible explanation except something wrong with the original casting.

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Good to hear. I'd make sure you inform the dealership that wouldn't help you out that they just lost you as a customer. Forever.

Armby said:

Warranty (in Canada at least) covers brake pads and discs for 20,000 km. 2nd dealer covered it under that warranty.

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Just re-read my warranty. It does state the above. Holy cow. We get something our American friend don't.

jasong70 said:

which dealers have you been to? I'm having vibration issues on my touareg. Pads are still very good, but I get a severe shuttering when stopping. I'll be visiting the dealer soon.
Also, where in the warranty does it state warped discs are covered for the length of the warranty? I'd like to use that in case I get any grief.
best of luck!

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Myers in Kanata, where I bought the car, refused to do anything for me. Hunt Club VW came to the rescue.

The New Car warranty covers all issues bumper to bumper for 60,000 km. The exception is wear items. In the case of discs and pads they are not covered for wear beyond 20,000 km. Warping is not wear so is not limited to 20,000 km. This is not stated explicitly in the policy but according to the VW Canada internal procedures warping (runnout spec exceeded) is not limited to 20,000 km.

Armby said:

Warranty (in Canada at least) covers brake pads and discs for 20,000 km. 2nd dealer covered it under that warranty.

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Wow. That's interesting. Looks like N.A. warranty differs from what most Europeans get.

In Europe you usually get:
-2 years/unlimited mileage, covered everything except *
-3 years/100'000 km, covered everything except *

Extended warranties can be up to 3, 4 or 5 years and up to 150'000 km I think.

* exceptions include the following what is NOT covered since day 1: wiper blades, window glasses, tyres, brake pads and rotots, all fluids, filters and timing/serpantine belts, wheel alignment, headlight adjustment and other adjust/align options. It is also stated that wear-and-tear items are also not a subject for a warranty claim. I think this means shock absorbers and similar items...

Armby said:

Myers in Kanata, where I bought the car, refused to do anything for me. Hunt Club VW came to the rescue.

The New Car warranty covers all issues bumper to bumper for 60,000 km. The exception is wear items. In the case of discs and pads they are not covered for wear beyond 20,000 km. Warping is not wear so is not limited to 20,000 km. This is not stated explicitly in the policy but according to the VW Canada internal procedures warping (runnout spec exceeded) is not limited to 20,000 km.

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Your bumper to bumper is 4 years, 80k. It is only 60k in the USA.

yatzee said:

Your bumper to bumper is 4 years, 80k. It is only 60k in the USA.

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That's 4 years, 80,000 kilometers for the basic warranty in Canada. 80K km is 50K miles.
Powertrain: 5 yr, 100,000 km.

Canada warranty info from here: http://www.vw.ca/en/owners/about_your_volkswagen/warranties.html

U.S. basic (non-powertrain) warranty is 3 years, 36K miles. 36K miles equates to 57.6 Km. Powertrain is 5 years, 80K miles.

U.S warranty per here: http://www.vw.com/en/owners/parts-and-accessories/protection/limited-warranty.html

powertrain in the US is 5/60 not 80k miles.

Kenn JSW said:

That's 4 years, 80,000 kilometers for the basic warranty in Canada. 80K km is 50K miles.
Powertrain: 5 yr, 100,000 km.

Canada warranty info from here: http://www.vw.ca/en/owners/about_your_volkswagen/warranties.html

U.S. basic (non-powertrain) warranty is 3 years, 36K miles. 36K miles equates to 57.6 Km. Powertrain is 5 years, 80K miles.

U.S warranty per here: http://www.vw.com/en/owners/parts-and-accessories/protection/limited-warranty.html

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... And in the US, like in Canada, wear items are covered up to 12,000 miles counter to what others say above about them not being covered in US. From above link: "3 years/36,000 miles (whichever occurs first) New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Wear and tear items¹ and adjustments excluded after initial 12 months/12,000 miles (whichever occurs first)

Cogen Man said:

Good to hear. I'd make sure you inform the dealership that wouldn't help you out that they just lost you as a customer. Forever.

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It will truly be a pleasure to send that note to Meyers (my ex-dealer).

Thanks, hunt club is where I bought both my cars and service them, they're great. I've always had good service. Mine is scheduled for Thursday for a similar issue.

Armby said:

Myers in Kanata, where I bought the car, refused to do anything for me. Hunt Club VW came to the rescue.
The New Car warranty covers all issues bumper to bumper for 60,000 km. The exception is wear items. In the case of discs and pads they are not covered for wear beyond 20,000 km. Warping is not wear so is not limited to 20,000 km. This is not stated explicitly in the policy but according to the VW Canada internal procedures warping (runnout spec exceeded) is not limited to 20,000 km.

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RNDDUDE said:

Rear only disc problem, hand brake left on, almost certainly, as stated above.

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No, not only hand brake. The rear calipers on Golfs have a tendency to seize. Happened twice to me. The first time the car was under warranty and the caliper, pads and disc were replaced. The second time the car was out of warranty and it cost me over $600.

Dealer recommended that twice a year I clean the calipers and lube the sliders to avoid recurrence.

That may or may not be the case here. Question to the OP, did you notice an increase in fuel consumption? That's how I caught my seized calipers. Well, that and the burning smell, and heat when I got out of the car.

PlaneCrazy said:

No, not only hand brake. The rear calipers on Golfs have a tendency to seize. Happened twice to me. The first time the car was under warranty and the caliper, pads and disc were replaced. The second time the car was out of warranty and it cost me over $600.

Dealer recommended that twice a year I clean the calipers and lube the sliders to avoid recurrence.

That may or may not be the case here. Question to the OP, did you notice an increase in fuel consumption? That's how I caught my seized calipers. Well, that and the burning smell, and heat when I got out of the car.

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No increase in fuel consumption. My consumption has been OK (not great, but I attribute that to mostly city driving). Avg of 7.1 l/100 km since purchase last November. No period when it went up dramatically. In fact if anything it has improved since the spring when the issue became evident. I attribute the improvement to warmer weather. No smells or heat noticed.

I am also positive this was not a parking-brake-left-on issue. I did a little test last night where I left the parking brake up 1 click. There is no way the warnings: constant binging, warning light and message on the display "Release the Parking brake ... (you idiot) " could ever have been ignored.

Its still a mystery to me why this happened. Hopefully it doesn't recurr. I won't be happy with a rear brake job every 12,000 km.

I had that exact same symptom on my last GM. Looks like pieces of the rotor flecked off. It was a new car, and in the rear. The selling dealership's solution was to turn them. I wasn't very happy with that as it was 10-15k miles on it then. I ended up replacing the pads and rotors myself with new about 5-10,000 miles later. It sucks, but I figure I saved more time and money as well as aggravation by just doing it myself. They also didn't get my business again.

It may have been caused by the parking brake as others have mentioned. I used mine on that car somewhat regularly even though it was an auto. Most people don't seem to.