Polo hatch 2011 brake shudder, multiple disc replacements

Drum brakes can warp easily, especially the rear ones used for the park/hand brake. If you drove hard and your drums are hot and then you apply the park brake and let them cool down they can warp into an almost oval shape.
 
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?
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I am experiencing exactly same problem with my polo 2012. Brake discs have been replace 3 times. And the shuddering seems to start every 5000km. I know that you posted this in 2013 but would like to no if you got the problem sorted and what you did. They have replaced drums and bearings.
I now took it up with vwsa and they just give me the run around saying that its a wear and tear part and the warranty does not cover wear and tear. I don't know what to do. All I know is that this is definitely not caused by wear and tear or water on hot discs.
 
Olicaul said:
I am experiencing exactly same problem with my polo 2012. Brake discs have been replace 3 times. And the shuddering seems to start every 5000km. I know that you posted this in 2013 but would like to no if you got the problem sorted and what you did. They have replaced drums and bearings.
I now took it up with vwsa and they just give me the run around saying that its a wear and tear part and the warranty does not cover wear and tear. I don't know what to do. All I know is that this is definitely not caused by wear and tear or water on hot discs.
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I've said it before - 99.9% of the people who experience disc warping are driving too hard or braking too late - I went out with every customer who complained, and without fail, they were all braking too late for robots and stop streets, despite them swearing to me that they drove gently.

Check your driving style before you go through another set of discs.
 
Fazda said:
I've said it before - 99.9% of the people who experience disc warping are driving too hard or braking too late - I went out with every customer who complained, and without fail, they were all braking too late for robots and stop streets, despite them swearing to me that they drove gently.

Check your driving style before you go through another set of discs.
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I don't think it is a case of warping but more a case of the pad material distributing unevenly onto the disc, especially when new/skimmed. You HAVE to brake gently for at least the first 200-400km so the pad and disc can wear itself evenly and from there you can either do a bed-in procedure or drive easy for another 500km to complete the bed-in of the components.

That said, the above only applies if you have brake judder when the discs are warm. If the brakes judder when cold, the disc is fakked.
 
lcbxx said:
I don't think it is a case of warping but more a case of the pad material distributing unevenly onto the disc, especially when new/skimmed. You HAVE to brake gently for at least the first 200-400km so the pad and disc can wear itself evenly and from there you can either do a bed-in procedure or drive easy for another 500km to complete the bed-in of the components.

That said, the above only applies if you have brake judder when the discs are warm. If the brakes judder when cold, the disc is fakked.
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Good points.

Despite begging people to bed their brakes in gently, I have yet t find any customer who has!
 
Fazda said:
Good points.

Despite begging people to bed their brakes in gently, I have yet t find any customer who has!
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I reckon it is because gentle braking is relative, depending on the driver. Perhaps a leaflet describing how to properly bed your brakes would help. On the other hand, if they keep coming back, it is good for business, yes?
 
lcbxx said:
I reckon it is because gentle braking is relative, depending on the driver. Perhaps a leaflet describing how to properly bed your brakes would help. On the other hand, if they keep coming back, it is good for business, yes?
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It's actually very frustrating as they are convinced that you have done a bad job, or the car is crap!

My very own brother who is an exemplary driver in most respects, is a late braker, and I tried telling him that, and he ignored me until the business fitted a meter to all of their cars, and he was called in and told that he was braking too heavily....:)
 
Fazda said:
I've said it before - 99.9% of the people who experience disc warping are driving too hard or braking too late - I went out with every customer who complained, and without fail, they were all braking too late for robots and stop streets, despite them swearing to me that they drove gently.

Check your driving style before you go through another set of discs.
Click to expand...


This is the 1st vehicle I am experiencing this problem with and I have only driven VW before. My previous VW I owned for 5 years and never had to replace discs.
I also have a tracker fitted from my insurance company that monitors my driving and then reward good driving by cash backs and I've received cash backs every month.
 
I have a 2009 VW Polo Classic. I have the exact same issue. Had my brakes replaced in November due to the shuddering. Now it's back again. I won't even consider going to VW themselves. VWSA has the WORST after sales support there is.

I was also thinking, can faulty bearings cause shuddering?
 
Hi

VW replaced the bearings and hubs on my vehicle and the shuddering was still there. The only thing that resolved the shuddering was replacing the discs. But then the shuddering started again +-6000km.

Someone mentioned to me that the brake pads should be replaced with the discs. I not to sure how correct this is and if I should consider it.
 
Olicaul said:
Someone mentioned to me that the brake pads should be replaced with the discs. I not to sure how correct this is and if I should consider it.
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They should definitely be replaced with the disc.

But even if they weren't I don't see pads warping a disc, but they would cause the shudder for sure.
 
Has your car been driven through any big potholes?
If so it's possible that you have a bent hub which will cause uneven break wear even if you replace the brake rotors (discs).

About three years ago I drove through a pothole (missing piece of road) and after about 10000 km's my car started shuddering when breaking.
Initially the bent rims where the issue and I eventually replaced them but the problem persisted.
I then replaced the brake rotors and pads but the problem was still there although not as pronounced as before.
The problem turned out to be a bent front hub which I replaced and now everything is fine.
I didn't think that bending a hub was possible but evidently it is if you hit a big enough pothole. :wtf:
 
Fazda said:
I've said it before - 99.9% of the people who experience disc warping are driving too hard or braking too late - I went out with every customer who complained, and without fail, they were all braking too late for robots and stop streets, despite them swearing to me that they drove gently.

Check your driving style before you go through another set of discs.
Click to expand...

You may have said it before, but it doesn't apply in this case. I do not brake hard, nor do i drive fast. The car has only 64000km on the clock and is 4 years old. This was a second car that i only used around town. There is a serious problem and i'm curious as to what VWSA will do from here. We're on disc set nr. 8 and the problem as returned this week with the vehicle out of warranty.
 
Hi, a bit late, but i just reopened this post. The theory of replacing both is not a solution in this case as VW dealership claims to have done that several times with no success.
 
Paul_S said:
Has your car been driven through any big potholes?
If so it's possible that you have a bent hub which will cause uneven break wear even if you replace the brake rotors (discs).

About three years ago I drove through a pothole (missing piece of road) and after about 10000 km's my car started shuddering when breaking.
Initially the bent rims where the issue and I eventually replaced them but the problem persisted.
I then replaced the brake rotors and pads but the problem was still there although not as pronounced as before.
The problem turned out to be a bent front hub which I replaced and now everything is fine.
I didn't think that bending a hub was possible but evidently it is if you hit a big enough pothole. :wtf:
Click to expand...

Hi Paul,

No potholes, i used the car around the city. I am curious to see what the next step will be with the dealer.

This problem has been persisiting like clockwork around every 6000 - 7500km. No hard braking, no fast driving.

One thread up here mentions a build problem with a particular group of polos. It sounds the most plausible to me.
 
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