Hi all,

I'm a proud owner of a 2006 Polo GTI. My warranty is just coming to an end and I have just got back from a VW dealer after being told my rear brake discs need changing. I'm no car expert by any means but have always had a love for GTI's... I went to buy a Golf and fell in love with the Polo!

But anyway, this seemed strange to me due to the fact there is nothing wrong with the front discs and I have noticed no problems at all when braking. They told me there was pitting on the disc and that it wouldn't pass the MOT. They have quoted me £200 for doing the work and after looking around on here that seems very high (I read a post that said they got a quote for all 4 for that money). I don't really mind paying for the work but I would expect the rear discs to outlast the front and for the rear ones to last longer than 30,000 miles?

So can anyone tell me their experiences with a similar problem, tell me where I could find out or just give me advice so i know if they are trying to pull a fast one?

Many thanks in advance...

JtB

Edited 28 October, 200916 yr by jtb

Err, unless you've been driving around with the handbrake on they should be fine. or if you've been doing really heavy braking. Even after that I doubt it. Most, if not almost all of the braking is done by the front brakes.

Edited 28 October, 200916 yr by MehMan

Thats what I was thinking... but I assure you the handbrake is off..lol. So how long would most expect to get out of the rear discs and maybe any mechanical fault that could have caused it? Personally I think they are just trying to make some money...

We had an Ibiza Mk2 and an Ibiza MK4 from new (they use the same brake parts as VW). The Mk2 got an advisory on it's first MOT for rear brake disc rust/pitting, and on the MK4 I changed them before the first MOT. The original fitment rear discs are crap; both sets had grooves and rusty areas where the pads weren't touching. The MK4 even had big chunks out of the disc face where the handbrake had stuck on. I replaced both sets with Brembos from German and Swedish (probably only 20 or 30 quid a set) and never had a problem afterwards. It should be an easy change on a MK6 as the disc probably just fits on the hub. Earlier cars have the bearing inside the disc.

Thanks for that, so crap parts looks like a probable cause. I just think there might be something wrong with the car if its doing that to the discs, I dont want to pay 200 notes every year because the VW garage didnt pick up a problem when it was under warranty. I think I'm gunna push them and see if I can get them to do some of the cost under warranty.

Is there any distinct signs I could look for that might tell me the probable cause? And also, if its cheap parts and the front does all the braking, does that mean the front discs are a better quality?

Thanks for your help!! :)

Edited 28 October, 200916 yr by jtb

The rear brakes don't do very much and there isn't enough pressure from the pads to keep the disc clean. I think the rear discs are probably too hard if anything. Once they get a bit rusty the pads wear unevenly and some bits of the disc get no contact at all and then get even more rusty. If you get new discs without new pads, the new discs may go again fairly quickly due to the uneven wear and rust particles stuck in the old pads. I put my new Mk4 Ibiza discs on with the old pads but I cleaned and flattened the pad surfaces first. The replacement Brembo discs seem to keep clean better.

I found the handbrake/normal braking was never affected by the rusty discs. To check them yourself look for continuous grooves worn in the disc surface or continuous raised rusty areas. The surface should ideally be smooth and polished. Individual areas of rust or pitting suggest the pad stuck on with the handbrake. I would think the discs would have to be pretty obviously bad to fail an MOT.

Never had any issues with the front ones; they always stay nice and clean. If you wash the car and then look at the front discs, they will get surface rust in a few hours, but they always clean off as soon as you use the car.