Break pads and discs

I

Ianvn

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2008
Messages
229
Reaction score
19
Location
Pretoria
I need some help.

Today we handed in my wife's car for a service at Citroen.
Currently it has 23000km on the clock and we have been noticing that the car starts shaking when you are doing more that 100km/h and try to break.

The dealership phoned earlier telling me that they need to replace the break pads and the discs.
They are busy finding out if the discs can be replaced as a warranty claim.

But surely break pads can't just last for 23000km. They are telling me that you normally have to replace it between 20000 and 25000 which doesn't sound right to me.

Is this the case?
 
Depends if the brakes have not been replaced before? Generally, if the old brakes are not replaced, it will scrape down the pads. Possible, but unlikely.
 
If the car vibrates when you brake from 100km/hr then the discs themselves are warped. It only needs to be a fraction of a mm to produce this.

Disc warping can be caused by braking from a high speed and leaving the pedal depressed, when the hot pad material is still clamped onto the disc and it cannot cool down gradually.

Taxi disc pads can wear out over 500km, most people get 40 000km or much more, but it depends on the pad material and your driving style.

[typo/spelling]
 
Last edited:
F1 Fan said:
Depends if the brakes have not been replaced before? Generally, if the old brakes are not replaced, it will scrape down the pads. Possible, but unlikely.
Click to expand...

He said the car has only done 23000km, so it is unlikely to be old brakes. Just unfortunate.
 
What you are describing is called judder. Cold judder is when you have this shaking when you immediately apply the brakes when the discs are cold. This is due to a warped disc which is either a due manufacturing defect or it got warped when it was hot and suddenly got cooled, like when you drive though a puddle. Since Citroen seem to want to replace both, I'm leaning towards a manufacturing defect.

Warm/hot judder is when the car initially seems to brake smoothly but then starts juddering as the disc heats up. This is due to hot spots developing on the surface of the disc.

Warm judder can sometimes be cured by changing pads but typically the disc eventually warps and needs to be replaced anyway. Cold judder can only be cured by replacing both disc and pads.
 
Thanks for the replies so far.

Citroen want to charge me for the pads and the discs, and that is why I am asking all these questions.

I don't want to pay for something that I feel is not my fault. And the car is under warranty.
Normal wear and tear I don't have a issue with paying, but this just feels to soon to be normal wear and tear.

edit:
Just got a call from Citroen saying that the warranty claim was rejected and I will now have to pay for the parts. They would have covered it up to 20000km.

What a joke.
 
Last edited:
I would not be willing to pay for the discs if it was me, pads yes. How much do they wanna rape you for out of interest sake?
 
R3000.
I told them to get lost and I would sort this out with their head office.
 
I would def tell them to get stuffed as well..

23000kms would be acceptable for brake pads if you drove like a complete hooligan, and brake discs should still be practically brand new.

Take the vehicle to a brake specialist to get a real opinion.
 
I bought a C3 brand new in 2011. Discs have been replaced twice. The service manager told me it's my driving style but on my previous car I only replaced discs over 100,000km. My Citroën is only on 50,000 now so this guy is obviously just lying to cover the fact that they use softer parts so that they can score on replacement parts. Luckily the second set of discs were covered by warranty but I had to kick up a huge fuss to have them cover it. My mother in law had a 207 for 3 years and had to replace brakes and discs every year. She now has a suzuki swift for three years which is on 45000km and hasn't replaced discs or pads yet and she is extremely heavy on brakes.
 
How much would it be if you do it yourself? I know Citroen parts are expensive...
 
Got the car back and was handed their customer service department number.
So I am 1st gonna try sorting it out with them before taking it somewhere else.
 
Ianvn said:
Got the car back and was handed their customer service department number.
So I am 1st gonna try sorting it out with them before taking it somewhere else.
Click to expand...

another option would be to get the dics skimmed... ?
 
Highly unlikely your wife managed to destroy her discs in 23000km unless she secretly a rally driver heeling and toeing everywhere she goes. Or she has a rally BF :p
Its wheel balancing im sure of it. When its sorted, go back to the dealer and slap the service guy for lieing to you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X