check brake warning

[morpeth clan]

is this common
last two days I have had a orange circle pop up "CHECK BRAKE WEAR"
only 16700 miles we purchased it last year with low miles so don't think its been driven with a foot on the brakes
as the warning only popped up then went, I presume its a faulty connection ?
has any one else had this
suppose to play safe i will have to get the wheels off at the weekend
thanks

 

[AlanC]

It is unlikely to be a faulty connection.

When next in your van, on the dash display control panel on the steering wheel, press the left or right button a couple of times. The display will toggle through to this message. It flashes up on the home screen as a warning and to tell you to look here.

What the computer has detected is that one or a number of disc pads are wearing down and need to be changed soon. Probably the front set.

Alan

 

[morpeth clan]

thanks Alan
just been a run and no light on today
only thing in the info under service is next oil change and next service
would it not stay there in the display if it was wear on the pads
I have always got 40000 plus mile off car brakes obviously its heavy but 16000miles ?

 

[WelshGas]

thanks Alan
just been a run and no light on today
only thing in the info under service is next oil change and next service
would it not stay there in the display if it was wear on the pads
I have always got 40000 plus mile off car brakes obviously its heavy but 16000miles ?

It would seem that low milage vehicles, and yours would seem to be one, can frequently suffer from premature brake pad wear due to disk corrosion secondary to the vehicle being laid up for prolonged periods.
Just had my brake pads changed at 77,000 miles. Fronts were at 90% wear and rear at 70% but I’m of to Norway in May.

 

[morpeth clan]

interesting
so would a rusty disk for instance wear the pads ?
I think the wheels are off Saturday morning
the discs when I just looked with a torch (its 21.00) are nowhere near as smooth as our focus day car

 

[WelshGas]

interesting
so would a rusty disk for instance wear the pads ?
I think the wheels are off Saturday morning
the discs when I just looked with a torch (its 21.00) are nowhere near as smooth as our focus day car

Correct. The longer the vehicle is laid up then the deeper the corrosion damage on the disc and hence the greater the wear on the pads. If the vehicle is used regularly then you just get a fine film of surface corrosion which is cleared at the first application of the brakes and the discs remain pristine.
My rear discs are original but the front were changed due to some corrosion damage just on the inner surface. I average almost 20,000 miles/year and the California is used most days.

 

[morpeth clan]

if they are warn due to corrosion on the disk
I will probably need disks as well
I will have a good look Saturday morning
it was 12000 or so when we had it at 3 years old
now its 16700 so we have done 4000 since august ? approx as not digging info out
we should do 7000 to 10000 a year moving forwards so hopefully enough to fend off corrosion
in the winter it gets used on weekends to give it a run and a couple of school runs
they April onwards it will be used for holidays

 

[briwy]

Make sure you look at the back of the discs as well as front as I've found that both on our Yeti and Cali there was more corrosion there.

 

[LEE D-HODSON]

Morning all. Had the same issue as described above. Took it in to a local garage and all pads were fine but decided to have the fronts changed out anyway. Upon closer inspection the mechanic discovered that the wiring loom that the Pad Wear Indicator cable connects to was damaged, hence the warning light coming on.

 

[AlanC]

thanks Alan
just been a run and no light on today
only thing in the info under service is next oil change and next service
would it not stay there in the display if it was wear on the pads
I have always got 40000 plus mile off car brakes obviously its heavy but 16000miles ?

I think the warning display is independent of the main menu.

Keep pressing the right (or left) button with the engine running, the display toggles through home display, radio (if on) and a warning page about not changing anything while driving. Press again to go back to the home page and another display will appear, if there is a relevant urgent warning, before it goes back to the home page.

My warning message has turned out to be a broken n/s front sensor cable that connects the brake pads to the ECU. Apparently the cable is clipped back to the suspension and the retaining clip was broken.

As the rears were very low and the fronts below 50% wear anyway, I have had a full set of Brembo pads fitted plus new rear discs which were very worn and rusty.

Alan

 

[morpeth clan]

hi all
my brake warning has not come on since, very odd.
it was on for a while twice ,last weekend.
if its dry I will jack up and check all round the disks, there are grooves on the front disks and the rear are notably pitted with rust, from standing around as discussed.
I will check any looms connections etc.
I have done a hundred or so miles since.
but as we start using it a lot from April I want to make sure I won't have any issues, as also going around the highlands in may.
will be an expensive year as 4 years old so will do cam belt/ water pump.
I see vw give a two year guarantee on this job. is this worth it or should I stick to my local garage.

 

[morpeth clan]

brake wear warning now back on and staying on
so started to get wheels off
soon realised the security locking wheel bolts are that tight I can't budge them
the near side front for some reason had no security bolt so at least I could get one wheel off
the disc although not really smooth is not that bad with minor grooves and the pads have plenty left
the sensor wire connection is ok
so hopefully I am safe for a few miles if the others are the same until I can work out how to get the stuck security bolts out
really interesting on you tube looking at various tricks to try
maybe I will just pay a couple of hours in the garage
I will see after I try a few of the tricks on the bolts
wonder if the near side front security bolt had issues and that's why its no longer fitted

 

[morpeth clan]

well this may be costly now
had cali in local garage who had a good look when on ramps the rear disk and pads are indeed required
problem is
he stopped the job as they could not release my jammed on locking wheel nuts
I have a couple of chips on the front wheel but none on the back but they won't try any more
I have been to a couple of tyre places who have the kits for bolt removal but no one wants to chance it
so I am now booked in at Newcastle van centre
who will charge £125 for a hour to try or come up with ideas
quite poor really when garages pick and choose jobs
I may as well let vw do the disks and pads as well as although more costly is it right for my local chaps to have it back and just do the brakes
have a good idea the wheels have never been off in the 3 years the other chap had it
so must be corrosion on bolts

 

[WelshGas]

well this may be costly now
had cali in local garage who had a good look when on ramps the rear disk and pads are indeed required
problem is
he stopped the job as they could not release my jammed on locking wheel nuts
I have a couple of chips on the front wheel but none on the back but they won't try any more
I have been to a couple of tyre places who have the kits for bolt removal but no one wants to chance it
so I am now booked in at Newcastle van centre
who will charge £125 for a hour to try or come up with ideas
quite poor really when garages pick and choose jobs
I may as well let vw do the disks and pads as well as although more costly is it right for my local chaps to have it back and just do the brakes
have a good idea the wheels have never been off in the 3 years the other chap had it
so must be corrosion on bolts

Hope it’s all sorted soon.
As I’ve said before “ Low Milage “ Vehicles are not without problems.
Low miles are not necessarily Good miles.

 

[morpeth clan]

30th march its booked in
we have lots booked from April so time now tight
so if its bad its got to be done
still like my low miles as van in top condition and really brakes are a service item
its just bad look with these bolts
worst case ?
new wheels I hope not

 

[westfalia]

Y

I may as well let vw do the disks and pads as well

Yes i would too, i wouldn't be taking it back to a
guy who couldn't get the nuts off. Did he try and improvise
in any way ? Did he have any tools in his workshop ?

You could maybe try at your local ATS or Euromaster place first
before VW do the brakes.

 

[morpeth clan]

shame as he has been good with the routine service work of our cars
but you have to think now
would you trust Him on a breakdown fault
he has a kit for alloy nuts but the one for our size is worn and he did not want to buy tools for a one off !
very disappointing really for a garage that we have used a bit
I suppose I have a bit of time before vw appointment
so could drive around a few tyre places as the warning light has only come on 30 miles ago I must be okay for a couple of hundred miles fingers crossed

 

[WelshGas]

shame as he has been good with the routine service work of our cars
but you have to think now
would you trust Him on a breakdown fault
he has a kit for alloy nuts but the one for our size is worn and he did not want to buy tools for a one off !
very disappointing really for a garage that we have used a bit
I suppose I have a bit of time before vw appointment
so could drive around a few tyre places as the warning light has only come on 30 miles ago I must be okay for a couple of hundred miles fingers crossed

If the pads are really worn you’ll soon know, metal on metal makes a very distinct sound, and you’re going to be replacing the discs anyway.