rear brakes?

[mateo11]

2003 jetta tdi took it in for 40K main and dealer told me needed new rear brakes and rotors. replaced $400. i live in the chicago area and just trying to find out if 1) seems logically brakes would need replacing after 40K and only rear and 2) good or bad price.

 

[dieseldorf]

rotors are $40 each. Rear set of pads is prolly around $40.

Good deal? Can you add labor?

 

[Drivbiwire]

Bad price! New rotors, pads and dust seals are around $110.00, Tool from www.metalnerd.com another $50.00. Time to install 2 hours.

By the way be more aggressive with your brakes, thats why the rears wore out so fast! It's due to EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution) babying the brakes causes the rears to do all the work! Agressive braking causes the fronts to do more work allowing you to get more miles out of a set of pads and rotors.

as always replace the pads and rotors as a set otherwise you will destroy the new pads when the rotors warp!

DB

 

[Drivbiwire]

http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/500/120_dollar_brake_job.pdf

There you go the $120.00 brake job including the tools for the work along with some helpful notes.

DB

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Unless you're driving an automatic I think you should reevaluate your driving habits. 40K is pretty quick wear for rear brakes. I drive in lots of heavy traffic and am on original rears at 109K. Probably about 1/3 of the pads are remaining. Fronts show less than half wear.

 

[Birdman]

VW had a problem with rear brakes wearing out to soon. they had the rears setup to high ( the front and rear both are set differant) I thought this had been taken care of in 2002 Maybe i was wrong. But you can go back a ways using the search on the boards. you will find alot of rears wearing out.

 

[TornadoRed]

2003 jetta tdi took it in for 40K main and dealer told me needed new rear brakes and rotors. replaced $400. i live in the chicago area and just trying to find out if 1) seems logically brakes would need replacing after 40K and only rear and 2) good or bad price.

Get another opinion. It's normal for the rear brakes to wear first, but unless you see the worn pads with your own eyes, then don't believe all you hear from a dealer tech or service manager. In my case, the rear brakes lasted 94k miles, the fronts are still going strong.

It's an easy job for nearly any neighborhood foreign car repair shop. But insist on OEM VW pads, accept no (cheap) substitutes.

 

[John96895]

I rotated my tires a few days ago, and noticed my rear pads were almost completely worn out. (02 Jetta) I was a little shocked, because I do mostly highway driving. What DBW said makes sense, guess I'll be slamming on the brakes a little more. I attemped a pad change yesterday, and, according to Bentley, an opened end wrench may be used to reset the piston calipers. That, or large needlenose pliers will work up to a point, but best to have the reset tool handy. An easy job with it, a nutbuster without.

 

[Wook660]

While we're talking about brake jobs, is it worth having the old brake discs reworked, or is it not worth it being that new ones are only $40 a pair and they last as long as they do?

 

[rix337]

I have a 2001 Jetta and have the same problem. I have replaced the rears 3 times now in 100k. I have never replaced the fromts and they still have 1/2 the pad left. I have been to the dealership 4 time and they continue to say there is no problem. I replaced the rotrs the last time in the rear at 94k. New brembo oem rotors from ECSTuning were $60, oem pads were free with purchase from ECS and the tool was a free borrow tool at advanced. Total cost $60+ shipping-sweet! Rear pads wearing out 4-5 times before the fronts-not sweet! Any way to adjust the bias on these things????!!!!

 

[ymz]

is it worth having the old brake discs reworked, or is it not worth it being that new ones are only $40 a pair and they last as long as they do?

The VW rotors aren't designed to be turned... not enough metal to withstand it without warping... As you said, new ones are cheap...

John96895: You can usually find an appropriate tool available for rental/loan from any of the local parts suppliers (AutoZone, Canadian Tire, etc.)

All the best,

Yuri.

 

[BleachedBora]

$400...ouch.
Check my signature, www.tdiparts.com has great pricing for brakes.
-BB

 

[Drivbiwire]

Bleached Bora thanks, By all means let your fingers do the searching for good parts prices. We have some EXTERMELY GOOD vendors here at Fred's and the best part is they all are familar with the TDI and it's unique requirements.

Follow the link to TDI parts in BleachedBoras signature and check them out.

DB

 

[John96895]

Thanks, Yuri. I thought about going to Autozone, but I didn't buy the pads there so the extra $50 for the tool is no big deal. Feel kinda funny borrowing something w/o patronizing them.

 

[DaveGaunt]

Thanks for explaining why my 01' Golf used the rears in about 80,000 Km and the fronts at about 203,000 KM.

Is there a correction for the problem they had with pre -02 models that I can apply here? I am just about ready for new rears again now @ 240,000 KM

 

[TornadoRed]

Thanks for explaining why my 01' Golf used the rears in about 80,000 Km and the fronts at about 203,000 KM.

Is there a correction for the problem they had with pre -02 models that I can apply here? I am just about ready for new rears again now @ 240,000 KM

Don't think of it as a problem. Consider it to be an undocumented feature. Rear brakes are cheaper/easier to replace than front ones.

 

[PDJetta]

2003 jetta tdi took it in for 40K main and dealer told me needed new rear brakes and rotors. replaced $400. i live in the chicago area and just trying to find out if 1) seems logically brakes would need replacing after 40K and only rear and 2) good or bad price.

My mother had metal-to-metal contact on the rear brakes at 32,000 miles in the TDI, and is generally wasy on brakes. One side wore down to the metal on the INSIDE pad, so it went undetected. The other side inside pad was worn quite a bit too. She drives little, and short distances when she does. My guess is the caliper sliders rusted up, since this happened five years after she bought the car new.

Dealer quoted $425 to replace the pads and rotors. I did it for about $125 in parts. We split the cost of the rear caliper spreader tool (Metalnerd) and I now have the tool for my '04.

The Jettas are rear brake biased on light braking, not sure why. The rear pads are quite a bit smaller and thinner too. Proper brake balancing, I guess. But this means its normal for the rear pads to wear faster than the fronts, opposite of most other car brake pad wear patterns.

--Nate

 

[Canadian_Grizzly]

40 k is way to early for brake replacement unless you have very frequent long low brake applications. I'm at 160,000 miles on my original front and rear brakes with my 02. Still have 70% on fronts and my rears do need doing. I know thats not the norm but still 40 is way to early.
Byron

 

[bean boy]

I had to do my rears recently. Dealer wouldn't pass me for inspection claiming the pads were below 30%.

I decided to go to Herm for the work. He pulled the pads and said they were within speck but the right had worn more than the left. He did notice my ebrake wasn't releasing, which accounted for the wear.

A search here will led to posts about problems with the ebrake cable due to corrosion. Although mine was curred by adjusting the cable at the handle, it is a common problem. You can tell by inspecting the connector at the rear braks. The fitting should not have any gap when the brake is not set.

Went ahead and did the pads and rotors anyway since everything was already apart and in Herm's expert hands. Added bonus was spending some time getting an assesment of the car and education from Herm.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Any time spent with Herm is valuable. I just changed my oil and put the filter cap on Herm-style: Hand tighten (not hard) and back off 1/8 turn. Let the gasket do its work, he said. It's worked beautifully for the last three changes and I can unscrew the filter cap with my hand after 10,000 miles.

Those of us who have owned air-cooled beetles and British cars know that you shouldn't use the e-brake unless you really have to. It's only inviting trouble.

 

[compu_85]

Unless your clutch interlock switch is broke, so you never push the clutch in when starting, and when you park in gear you neary run forward into the car parked in front of you.

-J

 

[PDJetta]

I always use the e-brake on a hill to keep the tension off of the transmission gear teeth. e-Brake, then put it in gear so the tension is off the gears. Not e-brake last.

--Nate

 

[TornadoRed]

I always use the e-brake on a hill to keep the tension off of the transmission gear teeth. e-Brake, then put it in gear so the tension is off the gears.

I use the hand brake every time I park. It would seem wierd not to. BTW, it holds on a relatively steep slope, even when the transmission is not in gear.

 

[craig01b]

Rear brakes need love too....

Either you you use your handbrake daily....(sort of like body parts we use with a partner) or they tend to sieze up and do not work as well as they should.

I recommend daily use, on a hill with a partner, or on your own...it doesn't really matter. Myself, I perfer a partner...better to have someone to discuss the operation with anyway...

Use it or lose it....

Craig B

Joking aside, I find my rear brakes last half as long as my front brakes with the volkswagens....100000 km for rears, 200000 kms for fronts, and at the 200000 mark, I change all 4 rotors....

CB

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Joking aside, I think I'm going to renew my pads and rotors next spring--should be at right around 120K (or 200km). Seems like it's time, even though they aren't worn out.