2006 Jetta rear brakes question...anyone had similar problem?

Jack up the rear of the car on level ground with the front wheels blocked. Do the rear wheels turn without any drag? Rear brakes get used a bit more on VWs than some cars if the VW has ABS. It might be possible that the parkig brake mechanism is goofed up.

Rear brake service is supposed to be free for 1year-20000km on new car(and if you replace them with oe part at dealer)

Oso

1. Your brakes are dragging for whatever reason.

1. If your Volkswagon dealer holds true to form he is going to try and hose you down. Get ready for them to try and blame whatever they can get away with on your driving habits. Also be prepared for the standard "they all do that" line.

A few thoughts:

One, disc brakes always drag a little bit. It's normal for there to be no clearance between pads and disc. And it's normal for them to warm up with driving, and for the drag to increase a little bit when they're warmer. One of the advantages of drum brakes is that they have less drag when they're not engaged, because there's a spring that retracts the pads. There's nothing to retract disc pads. So, just because you may notice some drag -- for instance, the rear wheels don't spin freely when you jack the car up and give 'em a spin -- that's not conclusively the result of a defect or problem.

Two, VWs have softer pads on the rear wheels. They wear faster and create more dust than the fronts. That, again, is not necessarily a defect or problem. The rear pads are softer to reduce squeaking noise. Under normal use, you'll have to replace the rear pads much, much sooner than the fronts.

Three, it may very well be that the parking brake linkage needs adjustment. There's a procedure, it's not complicated. Get yourself a Bentley manual, it goes through the whole megillah and makes it simple. Because VWs do require owner involvement, you should get the Bentley manual, no matter what. It's an excellent reference, even if you never actually do any work yourself.

Four, maybe you ought to just give the rear pads some time to seat. After they wear in a bit, they'll probably quit dragging as much.

I have a 2004 Jetta TDi with ABS (no stability control)...I spoke to my dealer and he told me that there is a problem with the proportioning valve (it goes kinda backwards).

My Jetta has 65,000KM and I have 60% front pads remaining and 25% rear pads remaining. He told me it has something to do with the stability control option and its affects on the braking system. (He told me about a customer who used up his rear brakes pads in 23,000KM.)

Helps to account for why it costs half as much to do the rear as front brakes.

Just another VW oops I guess.

( A walk around the dealer lot looking at the used cars showed me most have more rear than front brake wear.)

hmmm I would prefer to ONLY have to change the pads on the rear while keeping the rotors/discs. As opposed to replacing the rotors that are rusted out and look like they have done nothing all of their lives. YES I have seen the rear pads wear down quicker than the fronts and I was told at VW that they are using softer (AKA quicker wearing) braking materials. AFAIK This softer material should help braking and keep noise down.

Would you rather have the front and rear pads wear out at the same time? and every VW Diesel of recent years gets many more miles per pad than a gas engine. You give up a few ponies but have better engine braking and that's a added bonus for brake pad life.

You get less engine braking with a diesel. There's no throttle plate to create engine vacuum.

it's not the lack of a throttle plate, but the around the 20:1 compression which causes more engine breaking than a gas engine. cranking compression is about 400psi per cylinder and when no fuel is added the engine wants to slow down quickly.

But the fact is, diesels have less engine braking effect than gas engines, you can feel it immediately when you drive one, after being used to driving gas engines. That high compression only matters when the valves are closed. When they're open, there's no impediment to airflow.

Ever heard of a Jake brake?

Chris,

My wife has a 2006 Jetta with 11,000 miles on it with similar problems. The dealership says it is normal wear and tear (I laughed in their face!!). The back brakes ARE dragging!! The back brakes are metal to metal and need to be replaced. I contacted VW Customer Care and they are looking into it. If problem is not resolved, the car will be sold and I will never let my wife buy another Volkwagen again. By-the-way I own a 2006 Lexus IS350 and 2007 Lexus RX350... I personally would never buy anything else.... My wife however likes VW... but she is swaying my way!!!

Doug

Chris wrote:

This is definitely not right. We have had a VW in the family to one extent or another for the last 30 years. Every one of them from the '66 Type III to the present two ('87 Vanagon Westie & '99 Eurovan Winnebago) uses brake pads/shoes at approximately a 3:1 ratio front-to-rear. Two have had ABS, one has traction-control. One has a proportioning valve. Pennsylvania State Inspections, if done honestly, list the pad % on the paperwork, so we have a long history to call on. BTW, about 30K miles is the most we have gotten from a set of front brakes. The Eurovan is getting *rear* brake pads now (~40% remaining) after 59,000 miles for the first time, along with its third set of front pads (20% remaining on second set). I guess I could let the rear go another year, but see the scare-mongering line below as to why I did not.

If the dealer does not make it right instantly and without question or demur, go straight to the Zone Manager. The next step is the brakes either freezing or fading... and that could be your life... or your family's. Just keep that in mind if you are given any resistance.

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA

I wouldn't be too quick to compare older VWs to current ones in terms of brake pad wear front/rear. Current VWs have been biased quite a bit towards the rear in terms of braking. Even the '99 Eurovan mentioned isn't balanced like current VWs are. I have a '00 (same as '99) and it still wears more in front than in back but VW changed the brakes on '01 and up eurovans to be more biased in back and this (higher brake pad wear in the back) has been a case with B5.5 and later Passats too, so the Jetta doesn't surprise me either. However 2.5 months does sound excessive even by current standards.

I have a 2003 Jetta that I've owned since new, and I just turned 70,000 miles. I have the original brakes all around, and they're still in great shape. It is a manual transmission, though, and I downshift a lot to slow down. I suppose my situation is the exception rather than the rule.

-Corey

My 2003 has 140,000 miles on the original brakes with plenty of pad left. I thought I saw some other person post about the same excessive wear recently. I have had VWs for 30 years and none have had problems with excessive brake wear. I suspect you got a problem car which does happen on occasion.