# MKV Jetta rear brake issue



## 24vEngineer (Nov 27, 2007)

So I was doing some routine maintenance on my wife's 2008 MKV Jetta 2.0T and when I check the rear brakes the pads were paper thin. I looked at the front pads and they were damned near new. I was under the assumption that the bias was 70% front and 30% rear. 
Has anyone else had this problem? Are the brake bias settings mechanical or are they controlled by the ecu? I don't have the manual for this car and nobody has been driving with the e-brake on.








A little help please...


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## spitpilot (Feb 14, 2000)

*Re: MKV Jetta rear brake issue (24vEngineer)*

VW has upped their rear brake bias since goin to all ABS model line up..I first noticed this with my 2000 Passat...all the VW's I've owned prior to this car wore their front brakes out first....both my Passat and my Rabbit dust the rear wheels far more than the fronts..indicating rears are doin more work than B4. There was also an issue with MKV cars having parking brake cables adjusted too tight at the factory..don't know if that applies to your car...but it would be somethin I'd check on...change those pads ASAP...rear pads are ez to change..but the rotors..not so much! I upgraded my Rabbit brakes to GTI set up and getting the rear carriers off was a major PITA..the bolts are 14mm triple square and super tight...plus the rear suspension memebers interfere with getting a good shot at the bolt heads with your wrench..and you don't wanna crank on those triple square bolts with the bit off straight...strip those puppies out and you'll be in the "deep brown"! I got a super short triple square bit from MetalNerd website..suggest you do the same if you're gonna DIY a rear rotor change...also the carrier bolts are "stretch torqued..one time use only"..so pick up a set of 4 at the dealer B4 doing the swap! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## 24vEngineer (Nov 27, 2007)

*Re: MKV Jetta rear brake issue (spitpilot)*

Thanks for the heads up. I got those pads changed the same morning. 
How do I go about adjusting the parking brake setting? I talked to a couple of other guys and they said that that is what is causing the pads to stay engaged when the brakes aren't engaged.
http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## spitpilot (Feb 14, 2000)

*Re: MKV Jetta rear brake issue (24vEngineer)*

Its a hassle..you have to pull the center consul apart to get at the cable adjusters....to check on this..drive around with minimal usage of brakes for awhile..stop gently then jump out and feel the hub (stick your finger thru wheel opening on the alloy wheels and touch the rotor hub..carefully...if its way hot..hotter than the front hubs...you got brake drag issues. If that's the case..your car should still be under warranty...see what dealer can do 4U...might adjust cables! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## KulturKampf (Nov 30, 2009)

i went through this run around after i changed my pads for the first time....my cable was way to tight on the driver side and my rotor would glow red upon heavy breaking so after one dealership put new calipers on i took it to the dealership i bought it at (54 miles away) and they adjusted them for me. another way to test it is to jack it up and try to spin the wheel..if it free wheels your good if not get them adjusted...im just glad warranty covered all of mine


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## gstrouse (Oct 13, 2000)

*MKV rear brakes*

Just changed the rear brakes on my 2007 Wolfsburg. It had 34K miles on it. The new pads went in very easy. No problem. I have the tool to turn the caliper pistons back in. But now that it's all back together, I noticed that the rear brakes are running hot. And the rears always had excessive dust. So from reading this article, the E-brake cable is the cause? Wouldn't this only be an issue with new pads? I never checked the temp before on the rears, but I would consider 34K miles on rear pads to be excessive. So I'd think the wearing would havce been constant. Not just when new. I can call the dealer to find out what they think. But I'd like to stear clear of them if I could.


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## gstrouse (Oct 13, 2000)

So I had my MKV to the dealer. They didn't find anything wrong with the rear brakes. I've never owned a car where the rear brakes wore out before the front brakes. But this would appear to be the case with these MKV Jetta's. Dealer stated that 30K mile range is normal for these cars. I decided to experiment to see if there was any dragging on the rears going on. I live in an area with rolling hills. So one morning I was able to get out to an area with very little use of the brakes, and let the car cost down hill for over a half mile and let it coast to a stop. I then got out and there was no heat built up in the rear brakes. I was able to directly touch the rear rotors. So no dragging going on, not by parking brake or dragging caliper piston. So drove home using brakes as normal, and again, touch the rear inside wheel and it's hot, while front is not an issue. I'd say that this heat I'm experiencing is indeed caused by the over bias of the rear brakes on these cars. If it was designed that way, then I'll live with it. Anyone else with any comments?


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## waabaah (Jun 24, 2006)

not really a comment on it but all the vw's i have had, i have always had to change the rear brakes before the fronts. 

with the rear pads so close to the rotor my brake pedal has always felt touchy and engages perfectly unlike other manufacturers brake pedals. i love the tightness of my brakes/brake pedal and i would sacrifice replacing pads and or rotors every 30k (or even 15k) for this feeling.


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

On most VW's and Audi's with 4-wheel disc brakes, the rear pads tend to wear out before the fronts. I'd just replace the pads and forget about it, you probably don't have any abnormal problems.


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## spitpilot (Feb 14, 2000)

Just make sure you bottom out the rear pistons...I switched my rears to GTI sized rotors and thought I could get away with just slightly retracting the pistons since I was reusing pads with about 5K miles on em...one side worked fine..other got hot...pulled caliper and retracted piston to the limit...no problems..guess the adjuster needs to be retracted almost all the way to reset properly...


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