Polo 6R Warped Brakes-Covered By Warranty?

[Acko1991]

sorry i didn't think i had to explain the whole idea.....what u do is when u get to the lights....'make sure the car is in neutral if on a hill' release the brakes completely and let the car roll a little bit...that will change the position of the brake pads on the rotor...so all that pressure isn't in the same spot....then put the hand brake up.

Sorry for not giving a detailed description

[vanDub]

Hi,
So our relatively new polo 6R with 34,000 k's on it warped its brake rotors at around 25,000 km. It was bought as an ex demo/hire car from VW in Berwick, Victoria. We called about booking our 30,000 k service (that we still haven't gotten around to) and told them about the brakes-They said that they wouldn't be covered under warranty and so would cost ~$200.

Seeming that warped brakes on a car that has done only 30,000 k's isn't just wear and tear, would it be fair to push the dealer to do it under warranty?

Not likely to be covered by warranty as it is usually caused by getting the rotors hot from hard use and then getting them cold quickly by splashing water on them / driving through water.

Also you are not doing yourself any favours by going 4000K to date over its scheduled 30000K service. That could be used as grounds for denying all sorts of warranty claims. They are a little more lenient in the first 3 year warranty but are much stricter in any subsequent extended warranty (+ 1000 K has been quoted by my service manager). Some on here advocate oil changes every 7500ks, don't think anyone advocates going to something like 20000ks.

[alexaescht]

Ok re the brakes, we haven't got it serviced on time due to the cost of it all. Thanks for the insight.

[gslrallysport]

Playing devils advocate (and brake specialist) here, rotors don't warp... It's something called disc thickness variation, where pad material has been laid down unevenly on the rotor, generally caused by either cheap crappy (or overly soft) pad material, or flogged out wheel bearings. On a car that new, it's likely to be the VERY soft (ala dusty) OEM pads that are the cause of the DTV.

A little bit of light reading:
-Warped- Brake Disc and Other Myths

as it is usually caused by getting the rotors hot from hard use and then getting them cold quickly by splashing water on them / driving through water.

If this was true, every time I fly through a water splash in a rally car with RED hot rotors, then I should get 'warping', unfortunately for the theory it doesn't happen...

Back to the OP question, either machine or replace the rotor, and get some pads other than OEM and you'll be fine for alot longer than the original 25k's. OEM pads are typically very soft so that they don't make any noise during dealer test drives with 0 k's on the clock and no bed in. In the real world there's an allowance for a short bed in period, so aftermarket pads (even by the OEM manufacturer) don't need to be as soft, and thus don't cause DTV as much.

[alexaescht]

Playing devils advocate (and brake specialist) here, rotors don't warp... It's something called disc thickness variation, where pad material has been laid down unevenly on the rotor, generally caused by either cheap crappy (or overly soft) pad material, or flogged out wheel bearings. On a car that new, it's likely to be the VERY soft (ala dusty) OEM pads that are the cause of the DTV.

A little bit of light reading:
-Warped- Brake Disc and Other Myths


If this was true, every time I fly through a water splash in a rally car with RED hot rotors, then I should get 'warping', unfortunately for the theory it doesn't happen...

Back to the OP question, either machine or replace the rotor, and get some pads other than OEM and you'll be fine for alot longer than the original 25k's. OEM pads are typically very soft so that they don't make any noise during dealer test drives with 0 k's on the clock and no bed in. In the real world there's an allowance for a short bed in period, so aftermarket pads (even by the OEM manufacturer) don't need to be as soft, and thus don't cause DTV as much.

Ah ha, that'd make sense as if I don't wash it for a while the front wheels do get covered in brake dust, not quite as much as you'd find on a larger VW (I.e Passat) but still more than a Japanese car would have. Thank you for the many tips. Soft OEM pads would make sense as you say because they don't make any noise when they're new. Do you think that the VW replacements from their service department would be any harder, or would they be just the same as the originals? Thanks.

[JonW]

This makes a lot of sense. The aftermarket brakes on my Euro lasted much better than the OEM parts which would support the 'soft OEM pad' theory mentioned here. Good info imho.

[Blitzen]

Ok re the brakes, we haven't got it serviced on time due to the cost of it all. Thanks for the insight.

Why buy a new car if you can't afford to service it? Cost and service comparison are one of the first things I look at when buying a car.

When you go in for a future warranty claim, one of the first things they will do is look at your service log book (or your VIN on the computer). To see that you have gone that far over a service is giving them a lot of ground to deny warranty claims.

[brad]

Ok re the brakes, we haven't got it serviced on time due to the cost of it all. Thanks for the insight.

Go to a specialist independant or even the local ultratune or general garage. Any service stamp is better than none at all.

It's only around $300

Get the brakes fixed at the same time seeing as the dealer has wiped you like a dirty bum.

[alexaescht]

Blitzen and brad, I probably should have clarified this earlier but I am 14! This car belongs to my parents and they wanted me to ask the original question. I really try to tell mum the importance of servicing on time but as I'm 14 it can be difficult telling to. My dad spends most of his time overseas as he is a commercial 747 pilot. So, I do absolutely completely fully wholey understand that servicing is one of the most important things for a car, but I don't own it and I'm not the one that makes the money!!

[brad]

Your Dad makes between $150k-$450k a year & money is an issue? I know a few pilots - sure they are all QF oldtimers & therefore overpaid but money isn't an issue even for the 737/A320 guys.

Not your fault about your parents but as they say, as yea sow so yea shall reap.