Audi A4 Maintenance and Repair

2367 messages,  Last post on May 16, 2013 at 8:34 AM

You are in the Audi A4 Forum.

What is this discussion about? Audi A4, Convertible, Sedan, Wagon

    
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#2296 of 2367 2009 A4 by my2boyz

Jul 15, 2011 (4:12 pm)

On Father's day my audi rumbled (I thought it was a flat tire) and died. I had to restart it several times to pull into a nearby parking lot. It was towed in, "fixed" and returned. A week later, same thing, but this time the dealer wanted to drive the car overnight to make sure it was fixed.
The next morning I received a call that they didn't get as far the driveway before it happened yet again. As of right now, they are offering to let me out of the lease and into a new audi.
Any suggestions regarding which ones to avoid?

#2297 of 2367 Re: Rear brake ware [jwdlem] by hpmctorque

Jul 15, 2011 (6:47 pm)

Replying to: jwdlem (Jul 14, 2011 3:35 pm)
Your message couldn't have been more timely. My wife has a '07 A4 Quattro 2.0T automatic with about 53,600 miles on the odometer. Two days ago the yellow warning light for worn brake pads appeared on the instrument panel. According to the Owner's Manual (page 35) it says, "if the (worn brake pads) symbol illuminates, contact your authorized Audi dealer to have the front brake pads inspected (on that occasion have the rear brake pads inspected as well to be safe)."
 
This supports the notion that the front brake pads normally wear out faster than the rear ones, so the wear exhibited by your brakes is indeed unusual.
 
I'm sorry I can't explain why your rear brakes wore out so prematurely. Did the mechanic offer any possible explanation for this phenomenon? If not, and if it were me, I'd seek another opinion.
 
Good luck, and please let us know the outcome on this problem.

#2298 of 2367 Re: Rear brake ware [hpmctorque] by jwdlem

Jul 15, 2011 (7:17 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Jul 15, 2011 6:47 pm)
Thanks. I did not think to check the Owner's Manual. Good point. I am in fact checking around with others, especially some Indies this weekend who have experience with foreign car brake systems. I will post what I find.

#2299 of 2367 Re: Rear brake ware [jwdlem] by hpmctorque

Jul 16, 2011 (8:54 pm)

Replying to: jwdlem (Jul 15, 2011 7:17 pm)
Good. I think you're following the right procedure.

#2300 of 2367 Re: Rear brake ware [hpmctorque] by jwdlem

Jul 17, 2011 (3:21 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Jul 16, 2011 8:54 pm)
Thanks. So far what I have learned from some Indies is that (a) it is unusual the way the car has been driven for the rears to be showing advanced ware at 25,000 miles (b) it is possible that traction systems have had a play in heavier use of the rears (c) not to worry until the brake ware indicator comes on. To date the brake ware indicator has never illuminated and as mentioned earlier, there is no unusual squeal, shudder, or braking attributes. When I looked at the rear pads I can still see 'reasonable' pad remaining and (at least visually) uniform amounts on both right and left sides. Still interested to see if anyone else has experienced similar ware on the rears but not the fronts.

#2301 of 2367 Re: Rear brake ware [jwdlem] by hpmctorque

Jul 17, 2011 (8:23 pm)

Replying to: jwdlem (Jul 17, 2011 3:21 pm)
Yeah, I wouldn't worry, then, until the brake wear indicator comes on. Like you, however, I'd be curious to know why the rear pad are wearing out before the front ones. Could it be that there's some drag on the rear brakes?

#2302 of 2367 Re: Rear brake ware [hpmctorque] by jwdlem

Jul 18, 2011 (5:22 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Jul 17, 2011 8:23 pm)
I am still leaning towards an apportionment issue, but don't think that it is from drag since the rear wheels are not unusually hot when I think to check them and the cars mpg has not shown any drop.

#2303 of 2367 Re: Rear brake ware [jwdlem] by mercops

Jul 18, 2011 (5:18 pm)

Replying to: jwdlem (Jul 14, 2011 3:35 pm)
Welcome to the world of Audi. Typically, common sense tells you the front pads will wear out long before or about the same time as the rear pads. This is due to the front pads performing a large majority of the braking. I have a 2002 A4 Quattro with 75k on the odometer and it is on its 3rd set of rear brake pads. Still have the originals on the front and they still have lots of "meat" on them. Only thing that I have been able to find out is that because the rear brakes are so "tiny" in relation to the front pads that they tend to wear out faster than the front pads as they are providing for a share of the braking but are "undersized" to last very long. Change out is not to bad as long as the rotors still look good and can be done in any home shop in about 1-2 hours including coffee time for about $35-$45 US.

#2304 of 2367 Re: Rear brake ware [mercops] by jwdlem

Jul 18, 2011 (6:08 pm)

Replying to: mercops (Jul 18, 2011 5:18 pm)
Thanks. Appreciate hearing of your experience.

#2305 of 2367 Re: [KarenS] by amkmeco90

Jul 27, 2011 (8:48 am)

Replying to: KarenS (May 23, 2001 7:27 am)
i have A4 quattro 3.0L 2002 and while i was driving home my front windshield got cracked and it was unreparable. the insurance won't pay for that as the deductable is more than the price of the windshield. my question here is that i can't choose between the original one and the aftermarket so what are the differences between the original and the aftermarket? thanks
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