hoeser
Well-known member
Very aware, mostly just noticed it from overspray around the wheel wells. But my rear rotors shouldn't be that hot anyway, it surprised me quite a bit. The fronts are cool to the touch comparatively.
09 Rear Disks Hot to Touch
- Thread starter jvance
- Start date
duffus
Active member
i've had a more severe problem with mine-- the rear brakes will "pulse" on me-- sometimes at the same time, sometimes independently jerking the car around, but staying in my lane. I have been to the stealership twice (which is an hour away) and i'm taking it in this week and leaving it until they can figure it out. I purchased a new car to avoid probs.
There is thick brake dust on my rear rims and my mpg suffer by 10+ when the brakes are doing this on the highway & driveability is horrible, esp downhill.
links to other posts on 09's? i'm sure they will blame me for leaving the park brake on when the brakes are shot.
There is thick brake dust on my rear rims and my mpg suffer by 10+ when the brakes are doing this on the highway & driveability is horrible, esp downhill.
links to other posts on 09's? i'm sure they will blame me for leaving the park brake on when the brakes are shot.
nicklockard
Torque Dorque
Sounds like a binding caliper.
Vance, you figure your brake problem out yet?
My ceramic pads took a long while to bed in but they're great now and no dragging.
Vance, you figure your brake problem out yet?
My ceramic pads took a long while to bed in but they're great now and no dragging.
duffus
Active member
ESP or ABS problem is what I suspect.
Not quite. The MFD is proving accurate, so I will assume that it's also self-consistent. I took the car out for a steady-state 65 mph run, out and back for 25 minutes using cruise. 41.5 mpg which is pretty far off the mark given what others have reported. The rims were warm to the touch and the disks were too hot to hold your finger on them for more than a second. ambient temperature was 45 Fahrenheit.nicklockard said:
EDIT: the route was I-25 Exit 240 (Bernalillo) to Budaghers Exit 257, a 500 foot elevation gain. MFD at turnaround showed better than 43 mpg. I braked lightly from 30 mph for the turnaround, got back on the Interstate and the MFD display dropped steadily to 41.5 by the time I was back in Bernalillo. So I got markedly worse mileage on the downhill after lightly scuffing my brakes. Hmm.
The next day I took the car on an out and back Interstate errand - potential variables are that speed was constrained by traffic - 60 to 65 with occasional dips to 55, and greater elevation gain. On the out I got 42 mpg and on the back I got 61 mpg for an overall of 50 mpg which is in line with what is expected from this vehicle.
That's a pretty big swing. I did a couple of moderate / hard brake applications before getting on the Interstate for that second trip. I'm wondering if my usual very light braking style is leaving the pads dragging? I will have my mechanic look at it later this week. He's not a VW person but he is trustworthy.
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duffus
Active member
I took mine in to the dealer a couple days ago-- their "test" drive indicates nothing is wrong and the brake pads are in spec (should be, i only have 4k miles, mostly highway). So --- they can't do anything else to it since it isn't having the problem.
Any suggestions on what I should do? It only happens every 200-400 miles, then sometimes every 700 miles. Of course, not at the stealership service department.
Any suggestions on what I should do? It only happens every 200-400 miles, then sometimes every 700 miles. Of course, not at the stealership service department.
MrSprdSheet
Veteran Member
Maybe you have been. I did my own brakes while setting up for Porsche Club track events, (Yes, I taught too). When doing all 4 corners I'd take the car to a church lot on a weekday, or something, and back up in reverse before braking. Its not so much the speed as the weight distribution that can help things along. Then when going forward, once or twice engaging the ABS deliberately at 30-40mph is a good way to understand your car better, IMO. Just make sure you don't have anything loose inside it, its a safe spot and all that other mumbo jumbo.jvance said:
Our TDI produces more dust on the rears than the fronts, FWIW. And, no, I don't drive backwards all the time
.duffus
Active member
anyone else or am I alone on the rear hot brake issue? The dealer has had it over a week and cannot figure it out. I'm beginning to think Lemon Law...
copterfixer
Member
nothing wrong
Um there is nothing wrong with your brakes. they get hot from friction. when you drive your car anything over lets say 30 or so for a few miles and then hit the brakes it only takes once. the friction causes them to heat up. I saw a reply bad brakes after 40k miles. typically brakes only last about 20-40k miles. this is perfectly normal. Now i am going to make a comment not to be offensive but serious. If you dont know what your looking at dont look at it. If it works dont mess with it.
Um there is nothing wrong with your brakes. they get hot from friction. when you drive your car anything over lets say 30 or so for a few miles and then hit the brakes it only takes once. the friction causes them to heat up. I saw a reply bad brakes after 40k miles. typically brakes only last about 20-40k miles. this is perfectly normal. Now i am going to make a comment not to be offensive but serious. If you dont know what your looking at dont look at it. If it works dont mess with it.
duffus
Active member
While I respect what you are saying, i do know what I am looking at. If the rear rim is too hot to touch after a highway drive (rim, not disc) and the front rims are cool to the touch, something is wrong. Not to mention I can feel the pulling from the rear brakes on downhills. Typically, brakes last 50k miles (at least on domestics). My 06 jetta is still on the first set at 45k miles.... no heat issues, same drive, same day (right behind me).
Copterfixer,duffus said:
Please read my earlier post if you have not already. http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=2349896&postcount=16
FWIW, my rims were also to hot to touch... the rims NOT the disks. I also could feel and see the dragging effect (vehicle slowing down on downhill coasting) when it never did that before. What he is experiencing is not normal. My mechanic thinks that the caliper was binding on the carrier pins and not releasing all the way as it is supposed to do. My pins had excessive pitting on them. Since the brake upgrade (carriers, calipers etc) the issue is completely gone as is my bad mileage.
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I made a post earlier today about a similar issue in my 2005.5 TDI Jetta. Summary: Fuel economy has dropped from 49 to 42 or so, and I drove my car 3 miles without touching the brakes AT ALL. Front rotors COLD, driver's side rear rotor pretty freaking warm, passenger's side rear rotor HOLY MOTHER OF GOD THAT'S MY FINGER.
I've reset the pistons, checked the e-brake, problem persists.
I guess my next option is to rebuild the calipers and put in new fluid. Any other possibilities as to what could be the cause??
I've reset the pistons, checked the e-brake, problem persists.
I guess my next option is to rebuild the calipers and put in new fluid. Any other possibilities as to what could be the cause??
velociT
Top Post Dawg
Only thing that comes to mind other than a overhaul is to make sure the parking brake cable isn't too tight and never releasing the brake completely.crimulus said:
nicklockard
Torque Dorque
It seems to happen to that wheel a lot more than others. Does it have anything to do with weight distribution I wonder? Stuck parking brake is one possibility, but maybe the calipers bind too easily too? I know it stinks. I had that problem too and it's frustrating because it should be a straightforward fix.
LessIsMore
Veteran Member
Does too loose on the hand brake cable change the front/rear brake balance?
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nicklockard
Torque Dorque
Hmmm, I didn't know that. But I do notice that you have to apply them gently. If you yank them up hard like I've always done in all my cars, the cables stretch very easily. Once they begin to stretch, they also seem to have an increased tendency to bind---probably due to the plastic sheathing. The parking brake cables are a poor design, IMO. They don't last 4 seasons no matter how gentle you are they rust/bind up.
no matter how gentle you are they rust/bind up.duffus
Active member
I do not think the issue I have is with the park brake cable or the caliper sticking. The dealer swears nothing is wrong, but that doesn't explain the excessive brake dust and "pulling" on the downhills-- in a pulsing mannerism. Or how random things are. I'm just tired of pulling over, shutting off the car, rebooting the car like windows, and waiting for the brakes to cool.
do you think the situation where only one wheel is getting hot is due to a pulsing caliper? do you have any hills to feel this (easier on the downhills).
do you think the situation where only one wheel is getting hot is due to a pulsing caliper? do you have any hills to feel this (easier on the downhills).
duffus
Active member
keeps doing it randomly -- happened on a snowy turn and made for a heart-skipping situation. Thankfully i was moving onto dry pavement in a lane-change. I will try another dealer as my "normal" one tells me they cannot do anything unless it happens to them.. is anyone from VW corporate reading these posts?
velociT
Top Post Dawg
Oh man, I needed that. Thanks.duffus said:
duffus
Active member
I used an infrared gun to show my LR at 400F and my LR at 190F--the dealer cannot find a problem.
After 2 letters and 5 dealer visits = no one can duplicate the problem. VW of America says they rely on their dealers and if they cannot find a problem, there is not a problem.
I am at a loss right now-- i meet lemon law though. I'd rather them fix the problem until VW of America told me they wouldn't do anything (not even call engineering).
Best of all, if my brakes are wear out because of this, I am responsible for the cost to fix them.
After 2 letters and 5 dealer visits = no one can duplicate the problem. VW of America says they rely on their dealers and if they cannot find a problem, there is not a problem.
I am at a loss right now-- i meet lemon law though. I'd rather them fix the problem until VW of America told me they wouldn't do anything (not even call engineering).
Best of all, if my brakes are wear out because of this, I am responsible for the cost to fix them.
Mach1
Vendor , w/Business number
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2005
- Location
- Spicewood, Tx.
- TDI
- 05.5 Jetta 5 spd, 06 Jetta DE DSG, 04 F250 6L, 2000 F250 7.3L
Duffus, how many miles, how much pad left?
duffus
Active member
8600 miles & I haven't measured the pads myself, but the rears, but they look at 60% of the front.
CMB430
Veteran Member
My uncle has a Nissan Titan extended cab. It is completly stock. He has around 50,000 miles on it. In November him and my grandfather put the THIRD set of pads AND rotors on the rear. The front pads have been replaced once. Nissan dealers tell him that is normal. The truck has never seen a trailer, nor a camper. He drives like an old man, so it is not him cornering and braking. I suggested that he replace the calipers...perhaps next time.
I tell you this because if a corporate engineer does not say you have a problem, and the dealer does not have that specific complaint logged with a known fix, you will be on your own. If the service manager does not help you, and you have all the paperwork, it may be worth contacting your lawyer. This is a safety thing. The grease in your bearings must have all melted out by now or the seals are suffering.
One day going through an automatic carwash I forgot about the e-brake being on (force of habit when stopping). When I got home (1.2 miles), the smell was like I did brake stands for an hour. That was only through a carwash!
I tell you this because if a corporate engineer does not say you have a problem, and the dealer does not have that specific complaint logged with a known fix, you will be on your own. If the service manager does not help you, and you have all the paperwork, it may be worth contacting your lawyer. This is a safety thing. The grease in your bearings must have all melted out by now or the seals are suffering.
One day going through an automatic carwash I forgot about the e-brake being on (force of habit when stopping). When I got home (1.2 miles), the smell was like I did brake stands for an hour. That was only through a carwash!
duffus
Active member
I appreciate the advice-- and i didn't think about the damage the heat will do to the bearings & seals on the rear wheels. The rims have stayed hot over 2 hours (but i could touch it for a few seconds after 2 hours) and the hot smell lingered for 3-4 hours in a few situations. Ie-- when it started happening, i tried turning the cruise off, shifting into neutral, etc to diagnose what stops the pulsing. If none did, I'd stop somewhere where I could "chill" for awhile.