Brake Problem

nile

Registered User
Joined
Dec 21, 2009
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
NULL
Just wondering what everyone thinks about this issue.

During some spirited driving the other week in my RS3 (61 reg 6000 miles).
I was caught up behind a tractor and noticed my brakes felt " Spongy - not right ", I continued on with care @ 15 mph for another mile or so @ good distance from the tractor, it braked and turned off, at this point,I realised my brake pedal had lost all pressure, i just pushed the pedal to the floor, only the sound of slight grinding & no stopping.

Thankfully I used the traditional handbrake and slowed the car without any problems or heart attacks.
I limped the car home 50 odd miles using the handbrake and dropped the car into Audi the next morning, that was 10 days ago.

The mechanic's have said they have found nothing wrong in diagnostics and test drives,They agreed the brakes where slightly spongy, so bleed the brakes as a precaution.

They have invited me in to test drive the car tomorrow, but am slightly concerned that, had the pedal failed 5 minutes earlier, I wouldn't be writing this.

If the brakes where goosed then I could understand, but how can they completely malfunction, no waring lights or senors & then miraculously be ok again ?

FYI the car has been an absolute beauty, in every other aspect of the 6000 miles, I have refrained from posting just incase i jinx my own car, but.... here i am.
 
Just wondering what everyone thinks about this issue.

During some spirited driving the other week in my RS3 (61 reg 6000 miles).
I was caught up behind a tractor and noticed my brakes felt " Spongy - not right ", I continued on with care @ 15 mph for another mile or so @ good distance from the tractor, it braked and turned off, at this point,I realised my brake pedal had lost all pressure, i just pushed the pedal to the floor, only the sound of slight grinding & no stopping.

Thankfully I used the traditional handbrake and slowed the car without any problems or heart attacks.
I limped the car home 50 odd miles using the handbrake and dropped the car into Audi the next morning, that was 10 days ago.

The mechanic's have said they have found nothing wrong in diagnostics and test drives,They agreed the brakes where slightly spongy, so bleed the brakes as a precaution.

They have invited me in to test drive the car tomorrow, but am slightly concerned that, had the pedal failed 5 minutes earlier, I wouldn't be writing this.

If the brakes where goosed then I could understand, but how can they completely malfunction, no waring lights or senors & then miraculously be ok again ?

FYI the car has been an absolute beauty, in every other aspect of the 6000 miles, I have refrained from posting just incase i jinx my own car, but.... here i am.

Good luck with the fix.
obviously something not right.
i find the brakes epic.
 
After testing the car with the technician, the brakes are working fine / alittle spongy, but thats to be expected.
They changed the fluid and blead the brakes, it passed the standard mot/pdi tests they can do, but we both agree, there still is "what if" ?
In the meantime i'm stuck in a A5 SE, I might have to call audi assist soon for something fun.:kissmyrings:
 
As you all know the RS3 shares the brakes with the TTRS. It's air to say that they haven't been without their share of problems...vibration poor stopping have all been well documented.

Just to advise you that due to the different offset on the RS3 to take into account the unique front wings there's not a Big brake kit on the market for them at the moment, I've adapted the TTRS 362mm kit for an RS3 owner and there's a 390mm kit in the offing too that fits.
 
Thanks for the response, just to be sure i checked with my insurance and they suggested the dealership state in writing what they have done and that they are happy the car is road-worthy, which they did.
My only complaint, the brakes are squealing again wet or dry, if the squealing did stop before, it was around 5k miles.
Sounds worse than ceramic's on previous S8, but at least it was something to talk/brag about.
I'll look up the TTRS brake issues, never knew that, I have taken the extended warranty with this car, intending to keep it as the run-around in the future, so i won't be mapping, changing brakes or springs anytime soon :-(
Thankyou.
 
The front brake pads are DRY and thus vibrating (at a very high frequency) against the brake caliper pistons and/or brake caliper housing (not the disc).

So please just remove all 4-pads (no special tools required), apply Copperslip, and refit: bye-bye brake squeal.

My RS3, at 1000 miles or so, had horrendous brake squeal from the front brakes at low speeds, applying Copperslip to the back-face of the pad resolved the issue, and brake squeal has not returned (now at 2500 miles).

Note: the application of Copperslip is a very old remedy for this well known problem (have had the same problem on my Lotus Elan(s), A2, S3 and TT).
 
Last edited:
Handy tip, seems straight forward thankyou sir.
Audi obviously know, but don't recommend anything to solve it?
Quick search £3 on amazon ....ha
 
Hey Nile,

I have reported both the issue (brake squeal) and resolution to my local Audi Service guys one of whom claims that 'dry' brake pads resulting in low-speed brake squeal in not uncommon...

For the record: I did take my RS3 (at 1300 miles) to Audi in February this year to seek advice on the horrendous brake squeal I was getting at low speeds and was told that it was not a warranty issue but that Audi may look at it as a ‘good will’ gesture. Thank you very much thought I, so I drove the car home, removed the pads and applied Copperslip to the pads myself, problem gone (I am a hands on automotive design/engineer/etc.).

I then reported (in writing) back to Audi with both my own observations and the effective resolution. Also, having recently taken my TT into Audi for an MOT, I again raised the issue and provided them with the link to 'squeeky brakes'.

So, someone within Audi does know…
 
  • Like
Reactions: nile

Similar threads

Replies
2
Views
929
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
1K
T
Replies
36
Views
9K