Brake disc wear limit

[stevemr]

Does anyone have the wear limit ( Minimum disc thickness) of the front and rear discs on a 2006 1.9S.

I would like to measure them before I take it for a service, as I think this is the most common stitch up at garages at the moment.

Last service I was told " your front discs are 70% worn, so we are going to change them for you" ER no you arent, why not says the amazed girl, Cos that means there is 30% life left in them!!

This time I want to know, before I take it in!

[martin1810]

Wear limit information is here.
https://sites.google.com/site/1810martin/passat-b6-service-information

[stevemr]

Thank you thats a very usefull document, wish it explained the bonnet alignment problem as well!

[bigstuff]

My local VW dealer told me front disks were worn at first MOT @ 33k.

Now on 70k with same disks:zx11:

And still ok;)

[Teflon]

My local VW dealer told me front disks were worn at first MOT @ 33k.

Now on 70k with same disks:zx11:

And still ok;)
Mine told me my daughter's Polo needed new discs and pads to pass its first MOT at 14k.

Wheels off, micrometer and dial gauge on discs - ok. One failed retest later (at dealer), followed by a long conversation with VOSA and another test elsewhere (with the tester informed of the "problem") and we had a test certificate. We also got a nice cheque from the dealer after threatening them with the small claims court.

Threee tests later it still has the same discs and pads.

[Quatrelle]

...and that sort of thing will probably continue until MoT stations are independent, as they are in France.

[rallymaneddie]

...and that sort of thing will probably continue until MoT stations are independent, as they are in France.
And they are independent in Northern Ireland too, and also (I think) in Republic of Ireland. So they should have no vested interest in trying to get you to pay for work that's not needed. But then it can be a matter of opinion as to when say a set of pads or a disc is finished. Having worked at bikes and cars since I was fifteen with no money (40 years later still have no money), I would tend to wring the last bit of use out of everything. But I can see how there could be an argument for replacing consumables when they have still got a good bit of life in them, particurlarly if you are paying a garage and not sure how many more miles you could get out of the parts. You pays your money and you takes your choice I guess.

[Crasher]

The criterion for changing a disc is not just its thickness but also its condition i.e. rust and trueness. Also you have to take into account that if a disc has worn to close on minimum thickness on one set of pads, you are going to be well below minimum thickness by the time the new pads are half worn. I nearly always replace pads and discs together nowadays and that includes on my own cars, I practice what I preach. I do get a little wound up by the constant accusations on this forum that the motor trade are all stitch up merchants, like all builders are crooks aren’t they-or so the media would have you believe…There are a lot of people who come on here that are in the trade and many who sponsor this forum, it is a little wounding to be constantly tarred and feathered.

[johnloaderuk]

I think many people are used to days gone by where a set of discs often used to last the life of the car, despite perhaps going through several sets of pads. Personally I'd rather have a new set of discs with pads if that's the safest thing to do. Having said that I have a company car so cost doesn't come in to my thinking.

[Teflon]

I sympathise with Crasher's view that it's unfair to tar everyone with the same brush. He and several others give lots of free and valuable advice on this website. I don't doubt you get the same quality of service when you walk through their doors. I hope that the majority of dealers and indys are cut from the same cloth.

I send as many people as I can to the VW dealer I now use. They are an hour away from my home but I've come to trust their service guys and the prices are good too. They have made mistakes and had problems but they've never shirked responsibility or let me down. As a result I've bought our last 3 cars there and sent my son along for his new company car this week.

But my local dealer will never see me again. I've had shoddy work on both VW's and Audi's there and had quotes for work that wasn't necesary on both brands. I've had money back from them twice as a result. To be fair, the Audi workshop manager they used to have was superb, but after he moved on it seemed the "find something to generate revenue" mentality kicked in. I didn't care too much when it was a company car, but now it's my own money I'm not to be conned. And I mean conned - there is no other word for it.

All hail the good guys. May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the armpits of the rest of them. Sorry for the rant.

[Quatrelle]

....I do get a little wound up by the constant accusations on this forum that the motor trade are all stitch up merchants, like all builders are crooks aren’t they-or so the media would have you believe…There are a lot of people who come on here that are in the trade and many who sponsor this forum, it is a little wounding to be constantly tarred and feathered.

Crasher - Despite my comments re MoTs, I do sympathise with this, but it's not just the posters on forums that get all garages a bad name, it's the bad garages. When I lived in the UK I did most of my own servicing on my and my wife's car. When she had a company car we had it serviced by the Renault dealer who was the supplier. They were useless to the point of being dangerous - on one occasion the throttle jammed open after a service.

People speak as they find, especially when they're not happy and, like complaints about the Passat on this forum, the impression is given that there is very little that is good. As Martin1810 says in another thread, people rarely come on here specifically to say their injectors are ok. Unfortunately when I lived in the UK there weren't forums like this one to point you to good garages.

My experiences in France with both our Renault and VW garages have (so far) been good. That's not knocking UK garages in comparison, it's just that I've always been happy to give credit where it's due. I'm sure there are bad ones.

Just to keep the record straight, our local MoT man said my old MG would fail its test because his computer would say that it's 'VIN' number wasn't long enough. Took it to another station, and they said that that's ok, it's an old car!

Best wishes
Q

[gireada2005]

57 k advise changing the rear brake pads ,front and front discs( 90 % worn out).Independent garage one of site sponsors don't think is taking the mickey so will do it, my question now, is that the real mileage of my car :confused: ?

[Motorway]

Brakes seem to be the easy make money item by some dealers, in 2005 i had a b5 52plate tested at a VW dealer and the only thing they advised about was the front disks were 50% worn. 51k on the clock

about a month after the test my cousin bought the car from me he drove it for 3 years and between us we drove it to east germany most weekends and at this point the car had 129k. and never were the disk mentioned at test time.

in 2008 he had my last car from me and his younger sister had the 52 plate. now another 3 years have passed and the 52 plate has got 309k on the clock and still on the original disks and in all those miles i have fitted 2 sets of pads.

i know at least five people who have had disks changed at test time when there was no need, i now get friends to insist on having the old disks returned when they are replaced.

[gireada2005]

Unfortunately i think the b5 1.9 engine will be the best seller of the vw brand , and their most reliable.But what can you do, life goes on and beside i like the b6 shape more so i have to s****t and see if i can manage that sort of mileage with the new front discs :D

[zollaf]

please be aware that brake discs are no longer a fail point , unless the tester can visually see that they are worn wafer thin to the point of being dangerous. they can be covered in rust but as long as they work on the rollers, they will still pass a test. a lot of brake discs are not able to be seen by a tester clearly enough to get a fail.
so dont think that just because your discs pass an mot , that they are safe. its merely the fact that they were able at the point of test to slow the brake test rollers down sufficiently to obtain a pass.
no offence to anyone, but armchair mechanics that know more than me, or other qualified professionals, really pee me off. would you go to your doctors and get diagnosed with an illness and then argue about it ? but, hold on, even docs make mistakes, dont they, and they are not paid directly by you, are they.
brakes are quite an important part of a car, arnt they. by all means get a second opinion, but dont think that just because they pass an mot , they are actually any good.

[Teflon]

please be aware that brake discs are no longer a fail point , unless the tester can visually see that they are worn wafer thin to the point of being dangerous. they can be covered in rust but as long as they work on the rollers, they will still pass a test. a lot of brake discs are not able to be seen by a tester clearly enough to get a fail.
so dont think that just because your discs pass an mot , that they are safe. its merely the fact that they were able at the point of test to slow the brake test rollers down sufficiently to obtain a pass.
no offence to anyone, but armchair mechanics that know more than me, or other qualified professionals, really pee me off. would you go to your doctors and get diagnosed with an illness and then argue about it ? but, hold on, even docs make mistakes, dont they, and they are not paid directly by you, are they.
brakes are quite an important part of a car, arnt they. by all means get a second opinion, but dont think that just because they pass an mot , they are actually any good.
I can only re-iterate my own experience. "You need new discs and pads, because they are warped and worn out". So I got all the info about new and max wear dimensions, plus the out-of-trueness spec. We then had it on the ramp at my favourite indy, did a partial strip and spent half an hour playing with a micrometer and a dial gauge. Result - almost full thickness discs and zero measurable warping. The pads were 1/4 worn with no grooving and the cylinders and calipers moved freely. Only 14k on the clock. The idiots had the termerity to fail a re-test so then I went into bat with VOSA.

Armchair mechanic 1, Dealer nil. Cheque in the post.

I'm afraid the doctor at my local dealer must have qualified by correspondence course. From Cuba. And he's on a mission to pay for a new yacht. No offence to anyone, but qualified professionals who are incompetent or on the make really pee me off.

I could tell you the other half a dozen stories, some of which would make you shake your head in disbelief, but I'm just a gifted amateur so maybe I imagined it all.

[Quatrelle]

Plus, of course, modern ventilated discs very rarely 'warp'. It's a complete misnomer. What occasionally happens is that a disc gets a slight, uneven, deposit from the now asbestos-free pads.

[paulthefox]

And they are independent in Northern Ireland too, and also (I think) in Republic of Ireland. So they should have no vested interest in trying to get you to pay for work that's not needed. But then it can be a matter of opinion as to when say a set of pads or a disc is finished. Having worked at bikes and cars since I was fifteen with no money (40 years later still have no money), I would tend to wring the last bit of use out of everything. But I can see how there could be an argument for replacing consumables when they have still got a good bit of life in them, particurlarly if you are paying a garage and not sure how many more miles you could get out of the parts. You pays your money and you takes your choice I guess.

here the nct (mot) is run by a private company ,and you have to go to the local test centre, only 1 in each county normally not like uk where most independant garages have a mot test bay.
to get a booking can take weeks my nct is up 31 april but booked early26 march so will see how it goes

paul:beerchug:

[A4 Lad]

MOT in Northern Ireland is just another money making scheme for the government. I look at it as a compliment as every vehicle that I prepare has to be throughly checked with the latest government funded equipment and an independant ( to me ) inspector and they pass.
Reason for being government run you may ask ?
The government say that it is because the likes of the IRA and UVF would have a heavy influince on inspectors !
What a load of toss !! The troubles are long gone and the government are too settled with there £33.50 a test and £18.50 per retest to change it now !

Rant Over :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk as I forget how to use a full size keyboard !

[Guest 2]

MOT in Northern Ireland is just another money making scheme for the government

Sorry for the highjack and also off tpoicsorry, but my Xsara failed last night for a brake light bulb which died on the way to the centre :( £18.50 to check if a bulb works! Total rip. I thought for the sake of a bulb they wouldve passed me and I wouldve changed it as I have spare bulbs in the house :(

I know it's the MOT testers job to make sure cars are safe etc but for the sake of a 20p bulb they should've let me pass and save me the £18.50. :(

To make up for the hijack, my front discs on my A6 were replaced at 48k, maybe cause it's an automatic or maybe wifey is hard on the anchors!

[paulthefox]

common sense does not exist anymore ? or are they not allowed to change any bulbs during the test:confused:

paul:beerchug:

[Guest 2]

I didn't have any with me and the tester was nitpicking at everything! :( stay away from Coleraine MOT centre :biglaugh:

[A4 Lad]

And Coleraine are nicer than Newtownards. The MOT tester is not allowed to do any repairs.
The same government run center that fail you for a brake bulb will let a 1995 BMW 318 pass with a tyre showing wire its that badly worn due to the ball joint being that badly worn anc his washers not working as there is no pump or bottle in the car after a recent accident !!! (Friday, He brought into my work before MOT but the owner didnt have any money and took a chance)
They have not got a clue !!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk as I forget how to use a full size keyboard !

[Guest 2]

The same government run center that fail you for a brake bulb will let a 1995 BMW 318 pass with a tyre showing wire its that badly worn due to the ball joint being that badly worn anc his washers not working as there is no pump or bottle in the car after a recent accident !!! (Friday, He brought into my work before MOT but the owner didnt have any money and took a chance)
They have not got a clue !!!

That's shocking. Just shows they don't give a care in the world. If they let that through how many more heaps/deathtraps are on the road lol.