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IANJT
12-07-2007, 10:42 AM
Hi,
I bought a new Bora Highline in Jan 2006 (end of range) and took the variable service option.
In February 2007 I became aware of of scraping noise from the front brakes which disappeared after a few miles of driving so I assumed it was just surface rust being cleaned from the discs. During the next couple of months the problem got worse so I took the car into the local dealer on 11/04/2007 to look at the problem. Their response was that the car was doing a low mileage (I do about 10,000 miles a year driving the car on a daily basis!!) and a drive with hard braking would clear the problem.
It didn't, and things got worse: after about one month the front brakes started to judder when braking fairly hard which felt like the ABS kicking in at a lower speed than normal. The problem got worse until it was apparent even with fairly gentle braking and the car had become very unpleasant to drive. The car was booked into the same local dealer who said that the judder was caused by excessive disc corrosion and that this was not covered by the VW warranty as it was classed as "fair wear and tear" - they said they could replace the discs etc for a "special" price of £260!!!
I contacted VW customer service who seemed very unwilling to do anything about the problem and kept saying again that it was "fair wear and tear" and was not covered by VW warranty.
Have any other members experienced similar problems with VW. I certainly would not have bought the car if I had been aware that I could possibly have to pay £260 every 16 months for repairs to the brakes doing an average mileage. If I was doing 60,000 miles a year I could understand fair wear and tear but not at 10,000.
Thanks
Ian

mluton
12-07-2007, 11:42 AM
Driving styles vary massively, some last forever and some as yours are buggered in no time at all.

It sounds like warped discs, with the juddering.

£260 a pop at VW is alot, but your local friendly garage could do it at half the cost or even yourself. I had never done brake changes before, but joining a few forums i takled it myself last time round.

Did the whole car, discs and pads for £150.

Im not a VW man, but Im sure someone will help you out on here soon.

IANJT
12-07-2007, 11:50 AM
Thanks for quick reply
Dealer says discs are not warped - if they were they would be covered by warranty - and discs replaced under warranty have to be returned to VW.
My concern about replacing the discs myself are it may invalidate the warranty which has another 18 months to run or the variable service - I have another 1000 miles to go before it gets serviced.
Cheers
Ian

mluton
12-07-2007, 12:09 PM
Thanks for quick reply
Dealer says discs are not warped - if they were they would be covered by warranty - and discs replaced under warranty have to be returned to VW.
My concern about replacing the discs myself are it may invalidate the warranty which has another 18 months to run or the variable service - I have another 1000 miles to go before it gets serviced.
Cheers
Ian

It wont invalidate your warranty changing discs and pads. Ok them parts are no longer OEM, but warranty still stands for the rest of the car.

It could be glazing on the discs or pads, hard braking will remove the glaze from the pads, but does the opposite to the discs, it causes excessive heat and glazes up the discs.

Ask VW if they will Skim the front discs.

IANJT
12-07-2007, 03:48 PM
The discs are deeply pitted so would need a deep skim. I still don't understand how VW can claim this as fair wear and tear - it seems to me that the fitted discs are totally unfit for purpose so, in theory, VW should claim from their supplier and fit new discs under warranty. My problem is that they refuse to do this!!
Thanks for your help
Ian

red5
12-07-2007, 04:55 PM
The dealer can clain for front discs up to 12months or 10,000 miles from date of registration.Past this they are fairly powerless tbh.Best course of action would be to ring VW Customer care and not be fobbed off ;)

golfiii1y
12-07-2007, 10:40 PM
Hi,
Corrosion alone would not casue the problem.
It is more likely to be DTV - Disk Thickness Variation - this is casued by gentle braking - the disc wears unevenly - the pads follow the contour and you get judder.
I would suggest asking VW for the wear limit for this and run-out & to compare your actual values with the service limits.
This is an inherent design / manufacturing default - you don't need your warranty to claim - you can just use your statuory rights.

IANJT
13-07-2007, 03:51 PM
Thanks to all contributors for your help - I'll try doing battle with VW customer service again though I must say that looking after the customer seems to be well down the list of priorities. Toeing the company line is top!!
Ian