Rear Brake Problem

Car- 2013 Passat TDI SEL
Miles- 45,000
Trans- DSG
MODS- N/A all stock.

Issue-

44,000 miles we noticed that our E-Brake was hard to pull up and took it to dealer they said everything was working as designed and that the automatic adjusted had taken up slack in the brake cables. Said not to worry its normal.

45,000 miles after getting home from 20-30 mile drive got back home and after getting out noticed a STRONG brake/clutch smell coming from car, its an auto so clutch smell is ruled out, walked around car and got stronger at back of car, bent down and immediately felt heat coming from back right back brake, looked and rotor was black in color, went to left side this rotor was all sorts of pretty colors and tinking as it was cooling down. walked to front of car and almost no heat at all. double checked ebrake was not enguaged and nothing it was fully down. took to dealer and they could not find an exact cause to the problem, they are currently replacing both calipers/pads and turning rotors, they said that the calipers were releasing slowly. I can see one or the other but both to have issues? hmmm sounds like something else. I think it has something to do with the cable adjuster automatically taking up too much slack and is putting pressure on the rotors which dealer said cannot happen. OK they are the pro's, so I will take their word for it. So far this particular dealer has been extremely helpful with everything and extended warranty is covering it all with exception of $100 deduct.

So has anyone had this issue with their B7's? and if so what was the root cause of the problem.

Thanks

If the rotors were discolored from heat, I would strongly suggest replacing them.

Unfortunately at 45k miles it would be on your dime, but it would only be approx $25 - $50 more compared to the hour of labor for turning the rotors.

If...

E-brake was your first clue, then very likely a problem with the cable. When you engage the E-brake you actually manually cam the rear pistons and apply pressure to the pads. When you release the brake the cams back off slightly and allow the pads to relax.

The secondary issue may possibly be pads that due to corrosion or a buildup of foreign matter are hanging. This will cause a progressive problem with uneven wear on the pads, heat, and even more hanging.

Before you jump into things it might be of profit to note that you'll need a proper tool to relax the pistons as they have to be rotated into home position. Also note that it's not a good idea to force the possibly contaminated brake fluid within the system back into the master cylinder or reservoir.

Rotors may or may not need changed. I'd do it proactively rather than take a chance. Do not use other than OEM components. Much better to purchase from trusted vendors here and get high quality parts at a reasonable price. Same goes for pads.

Clean the guides on the calipers. Make sure no rust or scale. Pads must move freely and be able to relax when pressure is relieved. E-brake cable MUST be free to activate the cams and to release them. Your car is new enough and your location leads me to believe that corrosion is not a factor.

Dealerships? I'm really sorry to say this but very few are qualified to do much, except sell cars. (There are some, but not all that many.) Much better if you can't do the work yourself to take the vehicle to one of the trusted folks listed here. It'll be cheaper and your problem will be properly addressed and repaired.

Also check your e-brake cables at the caliper end. Any rust on the cable coming out of the little boot? If so they are probably sticking ON. This problem exists on the Jettas. I wore out some pads prematurely on one of mine. If this is what it is, then replace the cables and inject white lithium grease in the boots of the new ones and coat the bare cable coming out of the boots.

Got the car back today, they replaced, pads, calipers and cleaned up the rotors, flushed complete system. Fault was not one but TWO bad calipers that were not retracting all the way and is what was causing the E brake to get hard to pull up. total cost a tad over $900 but since I purchased the extended Warranty out to 100k it was just a $100 deductible. Dealer had me in a loaner car and was extremely helpful and kept me up to date. another good thing is the car is much smoother to stop now.

That's good! Check your e-brake cables just the same. I'm doing mine on my new Passat.

2nsane said:

Got the car back today, they replaced, pads, calipers and cleaned up the rotors, flushed complete system. Fault was not one but TWO bad calipers that were not retracting all the way and is what was causing the E brake to get hard to pull up. total cost a tad over $900 but since I purchased the extended Warranty out to 100k it was just a $100 deductible. Dealer had me in a loaner car and was extremely helpful and kept me up to date. another good thing is the car is much smoother to stop now.

Click to expand...

We just had a rear caliper seize up at 30K but more than 3 years on our 13SE. The dealer replaced caliper, pads and rotor under extended warranty -$100 deductible. I had to point out to the service writer the contract states the rotor was also covered under damage caused by a failed caliper. He called the service contract underwriter several time to get them to approve it. They also did the recall on the connector under the car and the free 30K service, all in about 2.5 hrs

Sugar Hill, whats you closest dealer? VT or Tilton?

Just like on the jetta the passat had crazy tight e-brake from day one. Two or three over nights of firmly applied e-brake the cable "broke in" and has normal 2-3 clicks before engaging.

Also remember just like with all regular maintenance, operating the e-brake should happen a least once a month DSG or Manual. It'll keep those calipers doing what they should be doing.

Walker Mtrs, Barre is the closest. We'll get our egolf serviced there as well. I do most of the work on our 95 Miata even though Walker is also a Mazda dealer. They seem to be a decent dealership, even gave me a token for a free"lazer" car wash the other day. We bought the TDI from them. They didn't have any egolfs when we decided to get one and they said the deal I got in MA was one they couldn't match anyway and encouraged us to take the deal. I didn't care for the sales dept at Tilton dealer when we were TDI shopping back in 2013. Where are you in NH?


We use the parking brakes all the time on all vehicles. I shoot up some fluid-film into the caliper end of the brake cables at the rubber boot every tire change time, fall and spring. The caliper failed not the parking brake cable.