Polo hatch 2011 brake shudder, multiple disc replacements

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carbonblack

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I have had my 5th set of discs replaced on a 2011 Polo. 36000km. I don't drive fast, don't brake excessively and have never had an accident with the car.

The manufacturer keeps telling me the same thing about previously defective discs and that the problem is now sorted.

I don't believe them.

Has anyone else experienced a similar 'brake shudder' that you can feel on the steering occasionally?
 
May be a bit of a silly question, but have you checked your alignment and wheel balancing? Also, maybe try another dealer.
 
Hi Mike, thank you for the advice. Sadly, yes I have and can confirm that it is not related to that. The issue has been taken up with VWSA who have yet to come up with a suitable long term fix as this keeps happening every 6 - 9000km.

I was just curious to know whether anyone else might have experienced this.

VW told me that the problem is on certain vehicles and is caused by defective discs supplied by their south african manufacturer.
 
We had this brake shudder issue on our 2010 Polo Vivo, but replacing the brake discs seem to have resolved the problem for now. Can only be manufacturing issues.
 
My girlfriend has the same issue with her VW Polo, have also replaced brake discs and done alignment. No joy.
 
If it happens once I can understand the discs themselves being dodgy...but 5 times?

Do you by any chance wash your car immediately after having taken it for a long drive and then spray the brakes down with cold water? Because that's the only way I could imagine this kind of thing happening so easily.
 
carbonblack said:
I have had my 5th set of discs replaced on a 2011 Polo. 36000km. I don't drive fast, don't brake excessively and have never had an accident with the car.

The manufacturer keeps telling me the same thing about previously defective discs and that the problem is now sorted.

I don't believe them.

Has anyone else experienced a similar 'brake shudder' that you can feel on the steering occasionally?
Click to expand...

I am having the exact same problem. mine shudders when i brake on speeds of 40km/h-60km/h. going to have it looked at on Saturday. i thought because i have bigger wheels on which caused it perhaps.
 
KOPITE said:
I am having the exact same problem. mine shudders when i brake on speeds of 40km/h-60km/h. going to have it looked at on Saturday. i thought because i have bigger wheels on which caused it perhaps.
Click to expand...

I don't believe it's your wheels, the manufacturer has admitted defective discs are in circulation. Check your warranty on bigger wheels though, i'm sure they'll try and avoid liability and tell you that your wheels are the cause.
 
SauRoNZA said:
If it happens once I can understand the discs themselves being dodgy...but 5 times?

Do you by any chance wash your car immediately after having taken it for a long drive and then spray the brakes down with cold water? Because that's the only way I could imagine this kind of thing happening so easily.
Click to expand...

Hi, no i don't. That scenario has also been investigated.
 
BrokenLink said:
My girlfriend has the same issue with her VW Polo, have also replaced brake discs and done alignment. No joy.
Click to expand...

Stay on them and keep records. I have been told that they will keep on fixing things until the end of the warranty. After that you'll be on your own. Not good.
 
My 2005 Jetta 4 Tdi also had brake issues. Brakes would just start locking up while driving. Ended up replacing discs, pads, calipers.
In the end it was the spring inside the Master cylinder that was no strong enough. (Design fault). Hear of a similar car @ VW where they replaced the WHOLE braking system. (Booster, master-cylinder, calipers + all the pipes) and it still didn't solve the problem. They ended up placing 2 springs inside the master cylinder to solve the issue.

Edit .. Btw .. VW sux!
Sold the VW and bought a 4.6l V8 Range Rover. Even with a fuel consumption of 4-5km/l it was cheaper to run monthly than the Jetta.
 
Hi ,

I have experienced the same problem with my VW polo . My vehicle went in for the problem on 30 000 km and it was replaced . I now have the same problem on 67 000 km and I was told that it will be for my own account R2700 . 00 .

When it went in for the first time i was advised that it was a manufactures fault , and had peace of mind that it's now fixed . But apparently not . So the problem I face is that at every given 30 000 km i have to replace this essential part of the vehicle at my own cost ,which in essence does not give me the peace of mind of driving a VW polo .

Have you had the same problem again , and did you manage to take it up VW SA ?
 
I had a Daihatsu Sirion.

Awesome car, but I think a bunch of morons owned it before me - it was really treated horribly (mechanical wise). Anyway, long story short - I had the same issue with my discs. They kept warping and causing shuddering.

After much investigating (and money), it turns out someone welded something on one of the hubs. Because the hub was slightly warped, the disc kept warping.

It may not have been the disc at fault, but discs can warp too, not just drums :)
 
Bmoerkoek said:
Hi ,

I have experienced the same problem with my VW polo . My vehicle went in for the problem on 30 000 km and it was replaced . I now have the same problem on 67 000 km and I was told that it will be for my own account R2700 . 00 .

When it went in for the first time i was advised that it was a manufactures fault , and had peace of mind that it's now fixed . But apparently not . So the problem I face is that at every given 30 000 km i have to replace this essential part of the vehicle at my own cost ,which in essence does not give me the peace of mind of driving a VW polo .

Have you had the same problem again , and did you manage to take it up VW SA ?
Click to expand...

I would have taken the original invoice back the second time, and told them that it wasn't fixed the first time.
 
Holla also had this problem with a VW polo vivo 2010 sedan. VW replaced it under maintenance plan after complaining.

This thread doesn't help the fact that I already can't sleep.
 
There are issues in small quantities of Polos (both 9N and 6R) with brake shudder and excessive road/tyre noise.

If you flip through older copies of Car Magazine you will find the occasional letter from an irate owner and the run-arounds VWSA throw at them. Go ahead and do if you do not believe me, I am dead serious. The bad news is that these problems results from build problems, particularly suspension related, but when compared to the sales volumes of Polos it is a negligible percentage.

Bottom line is the one you have is a dud, sell it and get another.
 
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