Brake pad life and warning light

[Stuart W]

Does anyone have any estimates regarding front/back brake pad life with mixed/medium-hard driving?

Does anyone know what sort of mileage can be covered between the warning light coming on and the pads wearing out completely?

I notice that the warning lights section at the front of the manual refers only to the front brake pads; does this mean that there's no warning re the back pads or could this just be an error in the manual?

[chrisvrscrx]

I used mine for about 3000 miles with the warning light on. Just listen and feel for any changes as that would indicate they are worn out. On my Passat there is no wear indicators on the rear brakes. However, I don't know for your model of Passat.

[BenR]

I would also not hurry to change the pads as I reckon the indicators must be very pessimistic. When this happens on my Passat I will not go near the main dealer but will use a local VW specialist.

I had a problem with my previous Audi A4 where the discs wore so much that they began to rub the pads away just where the wear indicator makes its contact, setting off the pad wear indicator prematurely. Luckily new discs are surprisingly cheap.

[Stuart W]

Thanks for the replies - because I do quite a lot of miles I wanted to know what kind of leeway there was, particularly with the festive season coming up.

I'm on 47k just now since new, so I daresay they'll wear out in the next few months:o