Opinions Please

[jims-terrano]

Hi guys, would love to hear your opinions about this please.

Took my Skoda in yesterday as there was a horrible vibration from the brakes and for several months the brakes have appeared to grab as I have been at low speed such as coasting up to a junction.

The Skoda dealer replaced both front disks and pads along with giving the rears a brake service.
Front disks were warped and the rear sliders were sticking.

It had it's second service just before Christmas and has done 2,000 miles maximum since. I mentioned the grabbing then and they said no nothing wrong.

The car is 2 years old and has done 20,000 miles.

Had to pay for all this work which was not cheap, now knowing my driving and I'm not a speed merchant. This all seems rather odd and to me a sticking caliper is a manufacturing fault so should of been a warranty claim surely.

Cheers Guys

[rustic]

Originally Posted by jims-terrano

Hi guys, would love to hear your opinions about this please.

Took my Skoda in yesterday as there was a horrible vibration from the brakes and for several months the brakes have appeared to grab as I have been at low speed such as coasting up to a junction.

The Skoda dealer replaced both front disks and pads along with giving the rears a brake service.
Front disks were warped and the rear sliders were sticking.

It had it's second service just before Christmas and has done 2,000 miles maximum since. I mentioned the grabbing then and they said no nothing wrong.

The car is 2 years old and has done 20,000 miles.

Had to pay for all this work which was not cheap, now knowing my driving and I'm not a speed merchant. This all seems rather odd and to me a sticking caliper is a manufacturing fault so should of been a warranty claim surely.

Cheers Guys

Quite a few corrossion problems on the Briskoda site, caused by exposure to the weather, our Yeti has done 36k+ in just over 2 years, but kept in a garage keeping our Mav company. All original brake parts, and plenty of wear left on discs and all pads, tyres still good too, but... most of the miles are straight line motorway journeys, with good anticipation and so 55-60 mpg.
So no guesses why Mav has very low mileage lol....

Skoda will rarely accept liability for corroding or sticking sliders. They just buy the lowest cost parts from the cheapest supplier, like all car manufacturers these days.

I think some preventative maintenance is required...
Might look at my yeti sliders soon given the heads up lol...

Rustic

[jims-terrano]

I've also had trouble with the alloys welding themselves to the hibs, that was one of the reasons it went in too. When they called me and told me how much it was I asked them to smear a little copper slip on the two surfaces but guess what they didn't.

[perelaar]

After 15 years of driving Skoda, Seat and Volkswagen (>25k miles / year, company cars), never had any problem with brakes, discs or sliders. Even though plenty potential for corrosion here, with all the salt on the roads.

Would they be using different parts for the UK market?

[terranosaurusdoug]

Seems very poor to me Jim, surely modern cars and they're components should last longer than that. There are averages and statistics on longevity etc. I believe, and what should be expected. Brake discs should last longer and are expected to last longer therefore you have been sold a vehicle with substandard parts and I believe there has been cases of people arguing and winning on those grounds

[macabethiel]

The alloy wheels sticking to the hubs is a very common problem as you will know and exists on almost every car I have owned over the last 20 years.

I used to apply Copper Ease with an old brush but now I use the Copper Ease Aerosol and spray the face of the hub after I have wire brushed the face and hub center where the wheel locates. Likewise a good brushing of the inner wheel surface and applying spray.

Getting in the habit of washing off any salt from the hubs in winter when washing the car helps.

Knowing how Dealers work here at MB we would just replace the brake caliper unit or part in question usually when it's within the warranty period. Our Technicians would not be interested in cleaning up sliders etc as there is not enough time to make it worthwhile and would affect their bonus. Repair kits are not a stock item so are unlikely to be fitted. In addition they would not have Copper Ease as it is not a factory part. They might spray on some brake cleaner before fitting the new pads and if lucky apply some grease from the sachet that comes with some brake kits.

Low mileage and standing outside will not help, brake judder as you have described will probably be as a result of corrosion where the pads sit when the vehicle is not in use. Personally if you want to tackle it yourself I would strip the brake sliders down and give them a good wire brushing to remove the corrosion and apply brake lubricant rather than Copper Ease to the sliders as it will take the high temperatures involved with brakes.

I would then get in the habit of braking quite heavily with my foot on the throttle once a week for a few yards to rub off surface rust and get those sliders working.