brew22

Hello all, I have a 02 A4 with the 3.0 engine. I felt my front brakes needed changed, and the rotors turned. After doing all that, my brake pedal feels A LOT softer than it did before I changed the pads, and had the rotors turned. I used the gold duralast brakes from autozone, and I was told these were to OEM specs. My brakes have the sensor on them. I took the car out for a spin, and the brakes felt really soft, almost going to the floor. I have read a little bit about people saying you have to slowly break in the brakes?? No hard brakes for 200 miles? Is any of this true? Thanks for any and all advice, this is a great site, and Im happy to have joined up.

lyleswk

My experience with brake pads is you get what you pay for. I con't confirm or deny that duralast "gold" pads are to OEM specs, although I doubt it. I have always gone back to truly original pads from the dealer or reputable online company like ECS or high quality aftermarket like Hawk. Never had the sensation of soft pedal for longer than 3 or 4 brake applications to seat the brake pads.

brew22

Thanks for the reply. I'm having a hard time thinking this is only a brake pad issue, seems like there has to be more.

lyleswk

My logic on things like this is suspect the last thing you touched. In your case, if the pedal felt fine before the new pads were installed and doesn't now, then suspect only what you touched. If it was a straight forward swap, then it has to be the pads. If you had some issue, then think through that. An example: I changed the rear pads on my Z last night and inadvertently turned the piston on one side the wrong way and it came lose. I screwed it back in and when everything was put back together, I tested the brakes and had a soft pedal. It occurred to me that I had introduced air into the line on the wheel where the piston came lose. Bought some brake fluid, bled that wheel, and all is good.