# Rear brake discs scored at 3 years/33,000 miles



## adambsmith (Jun 2, 2016)

Our TT is approaching 3 years old and of course we have to MOT it.

I am concerned that the rear brake discs are quite badly scored (visible grooves in the discs) on both sides. Car has done 32,500 miles - it is used for a normal 50 mile daily commute (A-road and motorway with a bit of city) and some longer trips mostly motorway - no track use or anything like that.

Anyone else experienced this?

I will be unhappy if it fails a MOT at 3 years old and average-ish mileage per annum. I would hope that Audi would contribute/pay up on warranty if they need replacing for the MOT as this can't be normal wear and tear can it?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## tt3600 (Apr 8, 2006)

3 years of driving on the original set? I would assume you would need to pay up for them to be replaced.


----------



## Steve2017TTS (Aug 2, 2017)

adambsmith said:


> Our TT is approaching 3 years old and of course we have to MOT it.
> 
> I am concerned that the rear brake discs are quite badly scored (visible grooves in the discs) on both sides. Car has done 32,500 miles - it is used for a normal 50 mile daily commute (A-road and motorway with a bit of city) and some longer trips mostly motorway - no track use or anything like that.
> 
> ...


Hi,
Check the thickness and if within limits - get them refaced.
Cheers
Steve


----------



## phazer (Apr 2, 2018)

Brake discs like this will only fail if the tester suspects they have become "seriously weakened". Clearly this is subjective but it would have to be pretty deep and severe to weaken the discs to MOT fail levels.


----------



## no name (Feb 16, 2014)

Mine were totally shot after 3 years looked like they were 60 years old.


----------



## adambsmith (Jun 2, 2016)

Cheers all.


----------



## Mark Pred (Feb 1, 2017)

On my 16 plate TTS, the brakes went at 46,000 (just under 2 years from new). Audi quoted me silly money to replace, so I got an independent to do it for less than half the price, using Audi parts of course. I must admit, I was also very surprised how long they lasted or didn't. Most of my driving was in a straight line up the M11/A14 at the time, very little braking. Thing is, like tyres, your warranty isn't going to cover wear and tear on such components. At least you can get them sorted fairly cheaply, provided you don't use an Audi dealer that is. Using an independent will NOT affect your warranty BTW.


----------



## 90TJM (Sep 30, 2013)

Mine are similar age/ mileage ,was flagged up by Audi dealer but passed MOT.There is no lip on the disc and plenty of wear left on the pads.Maybe the steel used on the rears is soft , fronts still look new as I mainly drive on m/ways.


----------



## no name (Feb 16, 2014)

I don't think this is just an Audi problem.

Mrs Ford Edge isn't even 2 years old and rear disks look shagged.

Just crap steel and our salty ass roads I reckon


----------



## captainhero17 (Apr 10, 2018)

Mine are 4 years old and with 43000miles.
They look like Freddy Krueger's face. So far neither MOT or Audi told me that they are in need of change. Both pads and rotors.
And god knows that Audi would like to change everything on your car if they can convince you.


----------



## cliveju (Jun 27, 2018)

Disks rust if you don't use them. If you see rust forming then go out and do a few emergency stops on a quiet road.


----------



## foxmeister3 (Sep 5, 2015)

adambsmith said:


> Our TT is approaching 3 years old and of course we have to MOT it.
> 
> I am concerned that the rear brake discs are quite badly scored (visible grooves in the discs) on both sides. Car has done 32,500 miles - it is used for a normal 50 mile daily commute (A-road and motorway with a bit of city) and some longer trips mostly motorway - no track use or anything like that.
> 
> ...


During a recent routine service inspection Audi reported that my TT is also suffering from badly scored rear disc brake rotors. The car has covered around 30K miles in 3 years and I too was initially concerned about the problem so I decided to do a bit of research on the subject before deciding on a course of action. Apparently rotor disc scoring is a common problem on modern cars and certainly not peculiar to Audi. Assuming the brakes are functioning normally and the scoring is evenly spread across both rotors on the same axle the cause is usually due to the composition of the material used in the brake pads. Different models are often fitted with different manufacturers pads so not everyone experiences the problem. The exact composition of each manufacturers pad is a closely guarded secret, but asbestos fibres were banned in the early nineties so metallic friction material based on Iron and Copper oxides are used and these can score a steel rotor quite badly over time. However, it's not the scoring itself that should dictate when the rotors need changing, but the amount of wear left in the steel rotors and the brake pads. The thickness of both can be measured periodically and when one of these measurements of either rotor or pad is nearing the minimum this should be the signal to change the pads and rotors on both wheels of the same axle. Hope this information helps with your decision. As for my car, it went on to pass its MOT without any problem or advisories. There is still plenty of wear left on the brake pads and the rotors so I have no intention of changing them just yet, for what is mostly a cosmetic problem. Strictly speaking the scoring results in a slightly larger surface area of the rotor in contact with the brake pad so the braking effect will be improved. However I wouldn't advise any brake pad manufacturer to try to use that as a selling point !


----------



## adambsmith (Jun 2, 2016)

I needn't have worried about the scoring per my original post in this thread.

Car has passed its MOT at York Audi with just a tyre advisory and a note that the rear discs were worn/corroded.


----------

