I've recently had my Golf serviced by the local stealer, and when I collected it they advised that the rear brake pads were down to 3mm and should be replaced some time soon.

I checked them and it was true, however when I checked the fronts, they had about 11mm on them ? The car has now done 34,500 miles and so far has never need new pads so these are the originals.

I've never owned a car where the rear pads wear so much quicker than the fronts. With the extra weight of the diesel lump over the front wheels, I would have thought that the fronts would wear quicker ? I asked the stealer to check to see if the braking system was faulty or if the front/rear bias was wrong but It came back with a clean bill of health. Now I think of it, the rear alloys have always been dirtier with brake dust than the fronts since new, but I never thought anything of it until now.

Does anyone else have the same on their car. Should I be worried or is this just another MKV quirk (like the uneven tyre wear) ?

Cheers

Andrew

My back brakes clank when coming to a stop, but that's about it, when you say un even tire wear do you mean the edges or the middle etc? I have noticed with my front tires that the middle of them has worn down more than the edges, which would suggest they have been over inflated, i haven't put any air in them so it must be down to the dealers do you think?

AidenUK:

My back brakes clank when coming to a stop, but that's about it, when you say un even tire wear do you mean the edges or the middle etc? I have noticed with my front tires that the middle of them has worn down more than the edges, which would suggest they have been over inflated, i haven't put any air in them so it must be down to the dealers do you think?

Hi Mate,

My old man has complained about the same problem on his Jetta.  He checks his tyre pressures every week, never curbs his car and almost all the mileage is on motorways, yet the middle band of the front tyres is still wearing.  He's trying to get VW to admit a design fault and repair it, so will let ya know how he gets on...

Wigster.

mr_wigster:

AidenUK:

My back brakes clank when coming to a stop, but that's about it, when you say un even tire wear do you mean the edges or the middle etc? I have noticed with my front tires that the middle of them has worn down more than the edges, which would suggest they have been over inflated, i haven't put any air in them so it must be down to the dealers do you think?

Hi Mate,

My old man has complained about the same problem on his Jetta.  He checks his tyre pressures every week, never curbs his car and almost all the mileage is on motorways, yet the middle band of the front tyres is still wearing.  He's trying to get VW to admit a design fault and repair it, so will let ya know how he gets on...

Wigster.

That's good then, as long its not just me then, it's a pain in the back side really because obviously the tires will need replacing sooner and the Bridgestone Potenza RE050's which are fitted to my motor aren't the most lasting tire in the world, i think they must be a softer compound or something, i have no issues with the grip they give in the dry and wet though! If you could let me know how he gets on i would appreciate, somehow i don't think my local dealer will be replacing my tires for me though lol.

 Gulp, 55,000 miles....bloody hell, and I thought I was a careful driver

Seriously, I think I'll have another look into the brakes or handbrake binding, as most of my driving is motorway as well so it's not like I stamping on them at every turn or set of traffic lights. In fact whilst I wouldn't admit to being the best driver in the world (not even in the top 10% probably), I always just cruise at 70-80 (never any faster) and leave a good distance in front, so I'm pretty sympathetic with the brakes ?

Cheers for all the replys anyway chaps.

P.S. I've just learned by looking through Elsawin that the front pads are 14mm from new, whereas the rears are only 10mm.

Mine had done 47k and the rear pads were completely shot, had to have new discs as well!!  Front ones are still original (approx 5m).

There is no wear indicator on the back and I hadn't thought to check them.  My last car had done nearly 100k with the original back pads!

CJ

 I have 38K and i have been told that they are 60% used at my last visit to dealers

 Mine were sticking for a while and wore faster than the fronts & had to be changed.  It was easy to notice as when just in slow moving traffic or slight hills the car did not roll as freely.

They needed a good clean as the clogging brake dust made them stick.  Maybe because it doesnt get blown away as good as the dust on the fronts?

Once given a good clean & new pads it hasnt happened since.