[paul]

Hi all this is my first post and wanted to share a problem I encountered with Audi and their franchises. My wife's 2018 Q2 was purchased new and has undergone all the servicing at the Audi dealerships (initially Stoke, and now, because we've moved, Cheltenham). Cheltenham Audi have reported that the rear pads were very worn and need replacing and when I checked, this was correct and so I decided I'd do the job myself. I therefore ordered Brembo discs as well as the pads as I thought it better to replace both. I did the front set first and noticed they had hardly worn which was weird as the front brakes to most of the braking (which is why the front brakes have a pad wear sensor). I left the original discs and pads on the car and I reported the issue to the dealership and Audi UK. Audi UK got back to me (by e-mail) and stated they would get Audi Cheltenham to give me a call. A week went by and nothing, so I contacted Audi UK again (by telephone). They apologised and stated they would speak to Audi in Cheltenham. Later that day, the Cheltenham dealership called me and so I explained the situation. The upshot was they said it was probably due to the rear brakes binding. I stated if this was the case then fuel consumption would be drastically reduced (which wasn't the case). In the end they said to bring the car in for an inspection. I did this and they found nothing wrong and so I asked them again, why had the rear pads worn so low compared to the front pads. The manager ended up stating that there was an issue with the pads on some 2016-17 models (not just the Q2) where the compound was found to be too soft. That said, they stated there was nothing more that they were prepared to do and I should get back to Audi UK. I spoke with Audi UK again and they too stated that there was nothing they could do even though I insisted that this was their problem given it's one of their cars. They did say to get back to the dealership. To this end, it seems that Audi UK are not admitting to the design flaw with the brake pad compound and the dealership, until I pressed them, were never going to reveal there was a problem with the pads. All in all, it seems both Audi UK and the dealerships are covering up this issue. I only have verbal evidence from the dealership about the issue so have no real evidence to hit Audi UK with. Has anyone come across this issue? Difficult call I know as usually, the pads wear then you change them automatically without much thought.

 

[Argyll]

First thing to do is to check whether Stoke Audi replaced the front pads at any time. That might explain why there is so little wear.

Secondly, think yourself lucky that the discs are still in good shape - Audi discs (in my experience) are rubbish and all my Audis have had discs replaced after circa 3 years. I always ask for mid-priced after market discs when doing so and they have always lasted longer than the oem ones.

Finally, and most importantly, don't waste you time chasing dealers - life is too short. Modern day "mechanics" don't seem to have a clue about how cars work so I avoid them wherever possible. You are lucky in that pads are a relatively inexpensive issue so just replace them when necessary and enjoy your Q2.

 

[paul]

Hi Argyll,

The car's done 32000 miles and it's been fully serviced by Audi and so any replacement parts such as pads are billable and we've not paid and it's not mentioned on any of the service records - if they indeed changed the front pads for whatever reason then that raised two questions, are they keeping this quiet? and why didn't they replace the rear pads if indeed there was an issue with the front ones?

I agree with your comments on the discs which is why I chose to replace these at the same time.

Again, I agree with your comment on the dealerships and given the issue I have, the main onus is on Audi themselves as it is clearly a manufacturing flaw by then choosing to fit untested soft compound pads to the rear braking system.

To end, this is not about the money, it's (i) the principle of the matter and (ii) it's important to let everyone else know in case they have a similar situation ;-).

 

[Simon Audi]

Thinks yourself lucky

We had a 2014 Mini Countryman that needed Front and Rear Pads at 8000 miles and 18 months old..

Its a wear and tare item sir.... so not covered under WTY.

From memory was around £400 for them to change them.

 

[paul]

Thanks Simon Audi, the point is in my case, the rear pads wore out way before the front and the dealership admitted Audi fitted pads where the compound was too soft on a number of their 2017 & 2018 models and yet they haven't made an official announcement, preferring instead to "bury" the issue.