My 2000 A4 Avant has 58,000 miles. Rear brake pads were replaced at 40K. Front's have never been done so I have been researching new pads (will probably go with Mintex Red Box). I brought the car to Midas today for a free inspection, as I'm not sure if my pads need replacement or not yet, though I suspect they do. Midas says I need front pads and rotors, rear is OK at 50%. They say my front rotors are to thin to turn and that Audi spec is that if they are at "900" or lower they are OK, mine are at "911" (not sure what units or what this is measuring). Estimate $580.

My questions:
1. Does this sound reasonable that my rotors cannot be turned and need replaced? To my untrained finger, they feel pretty smooth, though maybe not totally perfect.

2. How bad would it be if I replaced the pads (myself) and didn't do the rotors?

3. Midas guy says Audis often need rotors at same time as pads....true?

4. Is the price ridiculous at $580? I'm planning to do this myself, so will save some money, but I'm an amateur.

5. What's the point of the brake sensor cables on the pads if the light doesn't come on when I need pads and rotors?

All insight appreciated!
thanks.
Justin

Brembo front rotor set is about 200, and the front pads another 50-100 depending on brand/quality. 330 bucks or so total in parts if you do it yourself, plus your getting a nice Brembo upgrade.

--carbide01

1. Does this sound reasonable that my rotors cannot be turned and need replaced? To my untrained finger, they feel pretty smooth, though maybe not totally perfect.

If they're too thin they'll warp easily. Replace them with Brembo OE for a good value/high quality replacement.

2. How bad would it be if I replaced the pads (myself) and didn't do the rotors?

The rotors could warp under high heat if they're too thin, see above.

3. Midas guy says Audis often need rotors at same time as pads....true?

Sounds like BS to me. My experience has been 2/3 sets of pads worn out per rotor <brembo rotor>. However, if the pads got too low and wore the rotors more quickly, your current ones might be shot.

4. Is the price ridiculous at $580? I'm planning to do this myself, so will save some money, but I'm an amateur.

You'll save a lot by doing it yourself, it is not a difficult job for the fronts. If you have a friend with some experience that can help as well. Check the archives for help, i'm sure you'll find tips/ maybe even a step-by-step.

5. What's the point of the brake sensor cables on the pads if the light doesn't come on when I need pads and rotors?

Agree. I wouldn't worry about whether the pads have senor leads or not.<ul><li><a href="http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AR8&amp;url=/brakes/index.jsp">Brakes</a></li></ul>

$580 does not sound too high if they are using OEM parts.At 60k it probably does need rotors.They have most likely already been turned,providing they are orignal.Once they turn a rotor at say ".911" it would probably be under or close to under ".900" after they turn it.There are other factors about your car I would need to tell you the minimun specs such as engine size and caliper type and vented or non-vented rotors.Midas may be wrong in reading all the specs.I have heard many horror stories about Midas and personally would not let them work any car I owned,but you may have a good Midas store near you and I am sure there are good Midas stores out there.Midas stating that Audis often need rotors and pads at the same time seems to be a very ambiguous and misleading statement.i don't know what happened with your sensors.

If you need rotors out of warranty (sounds like you do) don't use OEM. Aftermarket rotors can be had for less $ and are better performing as others have said. Specially true for the heavier A6's, but cannot see why an A4 wouldn't benefit too.

If you don't want to DIY, any competent shop can do the pad &amp; rotor swap in a couple of hours or less.

If it's been 2 years or more, change the brake fluid too - cheap insurance.

i just replace both front and rear pads/rotors for $250. The rotors are OEM from Autohausaz with Mintex pads. i did the work myself and it took about 2 hous.

I worked for a Midas parts distributor for two years. Midas will use the cheapest crap they can get their hands on and tell you it's the best. Midas makes more money on parts sales then they do thier labor. Of that 580.00, only 100.00, if that is actual labor, the rest is soaked up in parts cost. My guess is that they'll use a cheap knock-off Aamco China rotor and the cheapest non shimmed crap pad they can find. Parts total for them, ehhh, about 60.00, at most. Trust me, I've seen it 1,000 times! I've seen pads and rotors on common GM (30.00 in parts) go out as 350.00 jobs! LATERS!

Although the shims aren't staked and fall off half the time! Good pad material though.