# 18 Premature Brake Wear



## Zabes64 (Aug 29, 2018)

I did a search for 'brake wear' and didn't find anything.

My 18, which gets 75% highway miles went in for it's 1y service with 3600 miles on it, Mrs. car.

The from pads showed 10mm and rear pads 6mm, at this rate we are looking at the brakes needing to be replaced at 7000 miles or so on a car that mostly does highway.

We did have to have all 4 rotors recently replaced do to rust build up, because the car gets used 1-2x a week, is it possible those 2 things have a correlation?

I know VWs brake from the rear first, but I typically get 40-70k miles on my brakes before needing a first change with my driving patterns.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Do you know if your wife drives with her foot always on the brake pedal? If the Tiguan had a brake wear issue, might there been some comment on it here?


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## foweld (Mar 6, 2004)

*Rear Brake pads*

Hello! What do you guys do when its time to replace your rear brakes pads?
Mine are at 7mm so I’m guessing its gonna be time soon to replace them, usually I do that my self but with the electric caliper im no sure?
Also what brand are u using?

Thanks for the input!


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## EVANGELIONHD (May 9, 2012)

If anything like with other ebrakes is the same if you have a scan tool that can send the order to open them and then is just like any analog replacement.

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## PZ (May 9, 2002)

If you still have 7mm of pad left, you are not close to needing replacement. 3mm is a pretty good time to replace them as once they get thinner, they are more susceptible to cracking. You can replace them sooner if you will be towing or do a lot of mountain driving, but even then, I would do it at 4mm.


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## xaw57 (Jun 24, 2014)

*Rear brake pads wear faster than fronts!?*

Hi everyone - just got back from VW dealer with the wifey's Tiguan (2018 - Comfortline) and I was very surprised when they told me the rear brakes are almost gone.
Here are the facts:
- Got the car since ~15 months
- Mileage: 32,000 KM (I'm in Canada eh!) - mostly highway and very little traffic
- Rear pads wear: 65-70%
- Front pads wear: 10-15%
- We lease the Tig for 48 months (I don't trust a first year model...)

You see how disproportionnate this is!? I mean, after so little time how can the brakes be so worn-out but only the rear...
We've owned VW for more than a decade and never saw anything like this. Called a few friends with a VW and they don't have the same issue.
The guy at the dealer told me point-blank: this is a common issue with the Tiguan. I argued that if it's a known and common problem it should be covered with warranty because it's not "normal wear and tear". And that jerk only sarcastically suggested I call the engineers in Germany to complain about that issue....very helpful :banghead:

What do you guys think? I'm I the only one with this issue or perhaps I'm being too cheap and I should just get the brakes done in a few months.
Before you tell me, I did try the search function but couldn't find anything specific to the Tiguan 2018.

Cheers


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## Zabes64 (Aug 29, 2018)

So turned out dealers 'intern' did the measurements and both pads were 10mm front and back. However, I was told that the Tiguans initially brake only in the rear and then the front after to avoid the nose of the car dropping.


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## JSWTDI09 (Feb 22, 2009)

Zabes64 said:


> So turned out dealers 'intern' did the measurements and both pads were 10mm front and back. However, I was told that the Tiguans initially brake only in the rear and then the front after to avoid the nose of the car dropping.


This is true with just about all VWs (maybe all German cars). Slow speed braking is always biased toward the rear. Apparently Germans do not like the "Nose dive" when front brakes do most of the work. In my previous VW in 120k miles I replaced the rear brakes several times but I never replaced the front brakes. The front brakes do a lot in fast (emergency) stops but the rears do most of the work in normal driving. It is what it is. It's the way it was designed.

Have Fun!

Don


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## swift7777 (Aug 1, 2016)

*Rear brake pads done @ 30K - normal?*

Just clocked 30K on my 2018 SE 4 MO, and the rear drivers side pads sound like they're done. Always noticed when cleaning the wheels that the car appears to be rear drivers side biased due to it consistently being the wheel with the most brake dust.

Audible scraping noise when applying the brakes at full stop. I do a lot of stop & go commuting but 30K seems at little early.

Anyone else replace pads yet.


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## manny3118 (Nov 20, 2019)

Whoa pretty crazy. My rear brakes were also replaced at 34k, which I thought was very early. My front breaks had normal wear.

Also have a 2018 se 4mo.


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## JSWTDI09 (Feb 22, 2009)

swift7777 said:


> Just clocked 30K on my 2018 SE 4 MO, and the rear drivers side pads sound like they're done. Always noticed when cleaning the wheels that the car appears to be rear drivers side biased due to it consistently being the wheel with the most brake dust.
> 
> Audible scraping noise when applying the brakes at full stop. I do a lot of stop & go commuting but 30K seems at little early.
> 
> Anyone else replace pads yet.


Is this your first VW? In my experience most Japanese and American cars bias makers their braking toward the front brakes, so the front pads wear out first. VW and BMW (perhaps all German car makers) do it a little differently. My guess is that they do not like the "nose dive" common when hitting the brakes. VW tends to do most of the braking with the rear brakes in normal slow speed city driving but the force bias shifts to the (usually more powerful) front brakes during hard braking. Therefore, if you drive sensibly, the rear brakes wear out first but if you drive hard (and brake hard) the front pads will wear out sooner. In my previous VW I replaced the rear brakes three times and never replaced the front brake pads in 110k miles.

Have Fun!

Don


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## swift7777 (Aug 1, 2016)

Thanks guys - this is my 3rd VW, interesting to find out that the rears are used most in day to day - hopefully not too much of a beast to change out the rears just have to deal with the e-brake.


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## lgbalfa (Nov 18, 2018)

I would imagine this would depend on your driving habits.


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## brianbgw (Mar 29, 2011)

swift7777 said:


> Thanks guys - this is my 3rd VW, interesting to find out that the rears are used most in day to day - hopefully not too much of a beast to change out the rears just have to deal with the e-brake.


FWIW I’m very skeptical of this idea that the rears are doing most of the braking. The brakes are actuated by the master cylinder and the hydraulic pressure in the system is the same at all four wheels. The front rotors are larger and have a larger pad as well as a larger piston so they are generating more braking force. I do concur that the Germans generally have a more balanced brake system, but the way they achieve this is by having a larger diameter rotor in the rear-typically not vented so the rear brakes get hotter under frequent braking which may contribute to them wearing out quicker. 30k doesn’t seem too early to me given that you do a lot of stop and go and are running OE pads. 


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## swift7777 (Aug 1, 2016)

Yep - backs were toast. Inside pad being the worst.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

JSWTDI09 said:


> .....VW and BMW (perhaps all German car makers) do it a little differently. My guess is that they do not like the "nose dive" common when hitting the brakes. VW tends to do most of the braking with the rear brakes in normal slow speed city driving but the force bias shifts to the (usually more powerful) front brakes during hard braking....


They have traditionally had a brake propositioning valve to vary the front/rear braking for conditions. That is what limits nose dive, not a fixed front/rear setup.


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## _chassis_ (Jun 21, 2019)

swift7777 said:


> Yep - backs were toast. Inside pad being the worst.



swift, what assist systems do you have on your vehicle? Adaptive cruise control and lane keeping systems use the brakes, particularly the rear brakes. Brake pad consumption is higher on vehicles with assist systems like these.


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## MK04Mat (May 26, 2010)

I was told by VW (about my 2014 GLI) that there is more bias in the rear (not the typical 80/20 split, more like 70/30 or more) so the car brakes flat (makes sense). According to VW though, TONS of people complained that the brakes were (in a massively whiny voice) "*too loud*" so VW put softer pads in the rear. :banghead:
So far on my 2014 GLI approx...
20k - Rear brake replacement
40k - Rear brake replacement
41k - Rear brake replacement - seized E-Brake/caliper issue
60k - Rear brake replacement
70k - front brake replacement
I don't even drive aggressively with this car

VW told me this is very common... my experience with all my previous VW's is that it is BS. However, what else would explain why I am having to replace my rear brakes constantly. Now you guys have me worried that VW is still doing it and i can look forward to this issue with the Tiguan...
Atleast the 2019 SEL-P 4 motion's brakes don't feel like you are putting your foot in a bowl of oatmeal everytime you hit press the brakes and worry you aren't going to stop. I was SO happy when i first test drove the Tiguan, i was like "the brakes are soooo much better than the GLI's!"


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## OEMplusCC (Jan 27, 2013)

Rear brake pads wearing down sooner is nothing new. My 2010 CC has already second set of rear brake pads while front are still original with ~40% life left. Car has 90k


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## HarryPooter (Mar 21, 2016)

My front brakes were toast at just over 12k, had to replace the rotors (scored beyond turning) and new pads. VW wouldn’t warrant them as the brake warrant is 12,000 and I was at 12,865. Biggest crock of BS ever!


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

HarryPooter said:


> My front brakes were toast at just over 12k, had to replace the rotors (scored beyond turning) and new pads. VW wouldn’t warrant them as the brake warrant is 12,000 and I was at 12,865. Biggest crock of BS ever!


So, what about this is VW fault?


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