Audi A6 vibration when braking????

**Mikeyg82** · 02-10-2019,09:35 AM

I’m after some help/advice as I feel I’m going round in circles with this issue.

I have a 2012 Audi A6 (C7) saloon 3.0 BiTdi which I’ve had for the last 6 months, when I purchased the car there was an issues with the brakes, the pads had been replaced all round but the front drivers side wasn’t fitted correctly and caused uneven braking.
I took it to a local garage who sorted the problem and advised that I run it for a few weeks to see if the pad wears evenly but I may need to change the discs and pads if the disc has warped.
The vibration was terrible and only got worse so I went ahead and had the front discs and pads replaced, this seemed to sort the problem for a few weeks and then the brake judder came back but not so severe.
this followed a break pad warning light on the dash which after checking out was actually the tears that needed changing now so I had the rear discs and pads changed too but this didn’t sort the judder/vibration out?
i have since had the car back in and the local has taking it for a drive and checked all the discs out and said they are all within tolerances and at the expected temperatures and would need to start stripping things to further investigate?
this to me seems like it could get costly looking for something they are not entirely sure what it is?

These are the things I’ve tried:
new discs pads all-round
wheels balanced

The car is running on 20” RS6 replica wheels which needed a 3mm spacer on the fronts but was advised that the wheel is still sat on the hub so this shouldn’t be causing the issue.

The vibration/judder is more noticeable with light braking and seems more evident at 40-30 mph when slowing down.

any more advice would be welcomed before I try and investigate it further.

**Elansear** · 02-10-2019,10:17 AM

Hi When you had the front discs replaced were new pads fitted at the same time, or were the part warn ones used. If the old pads were used they could have caused a problem unevenly heating the new disc's. Also an aside, the spacers, they may only be 3mm but it would give extra loading on the wheel bearings, which with your original issue may have damaged them, have they been looked at. Good luck

**morski** · 02-10-2019,10:29 AM

Get rid of the spacers asap and try the rear wheels up front. 3mm spacers will stress the hub more and will never give you a proper hubcentric fitting. Even ones that are and well known brands can cause vibrations

**Alan02** · 02-10-2019,05:49 PM

Did you bed-in the brake pads/discs on first fitting? Not doing this can cause brake issues such as yours.

**Mikeyg82** · 02-10-2019,08:08 PM

Thanks for your advice I will definitely have the the bearings checked, the answer to your original question is yes I had new pads fitted along with new discs. It did seem to go away for a few weeks and then reappear.

**Mikeyg82** · 02-10-2019,08:13 PM

I would give this a try, the only issue I have is that the wheels don’t fit at the front without a spacer, for some reason the 3 corners was all fine apart from the drivers side which was catching on the calliper, tried all the other 3 wheels to see if it was down to a slight size different but they all did the same!!!

**Mikeyg82** · 02-10-2019,08:36 PM

Hi, how long should the bedding in process take? I tried not to hard break as much as possible and can’t recall having to use excessive breaking force?

**KevTrem** · 03-10-2019,06:36 AM

Originally Posted by Mikeyg82

I would give this a try, the only issue I have is that the wheels don’t fit at the front without a spacer, for some reason the 3 corners was all fine apart from the drivers side which was catching on the calliper, tried all the other 3 wheels to see if it was down to a slight size different but they all did the same!!!

This to me is the cause of your vibration. There must be something going on with that wheel for you to need spacers, especially if you have tried all 3 wheels on that corner and everywhere else doesn't need spacers.
Does it have matching calipers on?
Does it have any ABS warning lights etc?
Have you tried a couple of high speed braking runs to try and clear any build up on the discs?

**Elansear** · 03-10-2019,07:35 AM

Hi as said by Kevterm, you have found your issue. It's the front drivers hub. Something there is amiss, are there any signs of damage on that corner, think you may need to have it looked at by a VAG specialist to confirm what is going on with that hub. Good luck

**bluezie** · 04-10-2019,09:30 PM

I had braking vibration on my C5 A6. After going through 2 sets of discs, umpteen pads, and umpteen tyres, it turned out to be the hub was slightly bent.