member2178

Hi everyone.

I have a 2018 A4 Quattro 45 that I purchased in 2021 as a CPO model. I currently have 85k miles. I brought it to the dealer a few days ago for routine maintenance. My front brake pads are at 5mm (rears are at 6mm). They offered to do the front brakes for $1,700 to which I told them I'd hold off and do it at the next service. I then asked why so expensive, do this also include the rotors, to which they said yes. I then asked if they could do the pads only as I have done this on many other cars of mine when the rotors are still fine (i.e. no warping, no vibrations on braking, etc.). They then said that they only do the pads and rotors together and won't do the pads only as they claim that they need to be done together to "be within spec". Has anyone done pad replacement only (i.e. not replacing the rotors at the same time) at the dealer? If so, how much did they charge? Did you need to really push to get them to do the pads only? Insight would be appreciated!

mikeru

I've never had brakes replaced by a dealer, but I have done lots of pad replacements myself. If the dealer won't do pads only, find another shop to do your brakes. You aren't limited to Audi dealerships for repairs/maintenance. In fact, after the warranty is up my vehicles never see a dealership.

minmet

I guess measurement of 5 mm and 6 mm may not that accurate. Otherwise, you still have couple mm pads’ life left. Rotor within spec or not all depends on thickness and condition. If you don’t have any vibration and they are still above minimum thickness etc., you certainly don’t have to change the rotors. Dealer is different though especially for premium brands. They think you are rich and want a bigger job for your money

superswiss

Doing brakes at a dealership means you gonna get raked over the coals. Source your own parts and take them to a good indy. Having said that, rotors have a minimum thickness. Front rotors usually allow about 2mm of wear and the rear about 1 mm. The minimum thickness should be stamped on the hat, so it's just a matter of measuring them. In order to just replace the pads w/ another set, your front rotors can't be worn more than half way, otherwise there's not enough material left to support a second set of pads, or you have to keep measuring them and replace them before the second set of pads is worn. Rotors, especially front rotors, don't have a lot of extra material on them these days. The days of turning rotors and just replacing the pads are kinda over. If you just replace the pads, you should turn the rotors to make sure the surface is fresh, but as said that will pretty much take off all the remaining material.

Also, at 5-6 mm left, your pads still have life on them. Pads start around 10 mm and at 3 mm it's recommended to replace them and at about 2 mm the brake wear sensor trips, so you still have a bit to go.

Jonatino

Brake pad wear sensors exist for a reason. If break pads were meant to be replaced earlier, the sensor would go off earlier. Dealership tried the same thing with me. Ignore them until the sensor goes off. But when it comes time to replacing the pads, just eat the cost and do rotors as well. Its a luxury car and of all things to be frugal about, it should never be the breaks. I saved about $800-1,000 in labor by doing pads and rotors myself was really easy to do.

JohnEnglish

Pretty much everyone does pads and rotors only now, even indy shops. As already mentioned, the days of turning rotors and replacing the pads are pretty much over. Your best bet is to get an independent shop to do the work and get them to recommend alternative parts. I got the front and rear rotors and pads replaced on my car for almost the same price that the dealer was quoting me for the rear only.

SMac770

The rotors have a 2mm wear life, from 30mm to 28mm. If this is the first front pad change for the car, then you basically measure the rotor and if it's less than 29mm, it's not going to stay above min for the life of a second pad set. So it's not that the rotor is at min yet, but that it'll be below min by time the new pads are at the point that you look at brakes again. If the rotor is in fact still more than 29mm, then keep rolling it. The problem is then they go and put those damn dust shields on so you can't easily measure the rotor thickness with only the wheel off. And can't at all on the rears, at least for B8. Unless you have calipers with a very low clearance claw head. The rears are also 2mm life.

Can't comment on the pad measurement, as it seems too many using mm based solely on the friction material itself? The Audi workshop manual process measures the friction material, backing pad, and pad plate together. Min thickness per Audi is 10mm, when measured as per Audi. At least in the 8W maintenance procedures doc.

"I have done this on many other cars", will burn you every time if you try that on a modern Audi.

142 guy

Unless your 85,000 miles has been all highway cruising, the rotors are probably approaching their wear limits. As SMac770 notes, if they are not past their wear limits they will probably be past the wear limits before the new pads are at their limits. Once the wheels are off and the old pads are out the the incremental labour cost to remove the calipers and replace the rotors is relatively small which is why this becomes a 'while you are in there just do it ' job.

If you really think the rotors are OK you can spend $30 for an inexpensive vernier caliper and measure the rotor thickness to determine if it is anywhere close to its wear limits.

The bigger issue appears to be going to a dealership which typically have the highest labor rates and always use Audi parts typically at the non discounted price. If you check around, you can probably find an Audi independent repair shop who will do it for much less. An independent will likely use aftermarket rotors and if you check RockAuto, you can source all 4 aftermarket rotors for between $100 - $250 depending on the specifics of your A4 and which brand name you want to go with.

Acuransx

FCP Euro -- check it out. Also check out their lifetime warranty -- not against defects but includes a free replacement set of parts when what you buy wears out -- its no joke.

Our A4 /18, PP, SP, etc. has 52K miles. Brakes won't need to be done for another 20-25K miles is my guess. Seems brakes on this platform last a very long time unless you are all city driving/hard on brakes. I sourced all 4 rotors and pads for all 4 corners from FCP Euro (Zimmermann rotors and Textar pads (both OEM suppliers -- have these on my /15 A6 and they are same, if not better (read: no warped rotors which was an issue with this car when new) than what car came with. Been on my A6 now 25K miles. And best thing - if I recall correctly brakes for all 4 corners with the sensors were under $600 total. Even adding $300 labor for each axle you are under front quote from the dealer. An indy is a must for these cars. And I agree with superswiss and others here who are of the view that with 85K miles rotors are best replaced.

Best,
Jeff

superswiss

FCP Euro is an excellent recommendation, but keep in mind that they changed their policy. They no longer give a cash refund with their lifetime warranty and instead you get a store credit. They still honor the previous policy for orders that were placed before the change. I got my most recent front rotors and pads for free after the shipping costs to send the worn parts back and a slight price increase of the parts in the meantime. Shipping the worn heavy rotors etc. back to them is not cheap, though, so keep that in mind. It was well worth it for my C63 where a pair of rotors costs $1000, but if the rotors are just a couple of hundred dollars then it may not be worth it to ship them back.