The brief
The A4 came in with the yellow brake pad warning light on, which means the pads have reached their minimum level and need replacing, and the ride had gone choppy and floaty at the same time, pointing at tired front shocks. He had both done in the one visit. The pads are the wear item, used up and replaced, and once the warning's lit they're at the end. The front shocks damp the springs, and as they wear the body floats and bounces and the front goes loose over bumps. Both are wear items, both had reached the point, and doing them together while the front of the car's apart is the efficient way, so it was the front pads and the front shock pair.
The diagnosis
On the lift the front brakes confirmed the warning, the pads worn near the end, with the discs measuring up and still serviceable; and each front strut got a bounce-and-inspect, both past it, weak damping, weeping, the body carrying on after a push. The calipers and the rears checked out. So it was a front pad replacement, the discs cleaned up and kept, plus a front shock pair, the matching corners done together.
The work
The worn front pads were removed, the calipers and slide pins cleaned and greased, the discs cleaned up, and a new genuine Audi-spec set of front pads fitted with a new wear sensor and bedded in. Then both front struts were unbolted and removed, and a new genuine Audi-spec pair fitted with the top mounts checked, every fastener torqued to the manual figures, and the front geometry checked and set. A road test confirmed quiet, even, progressive front braking with a firm pedal, the warning light off, and a composed, settled ride.
The outcome
Sharp, quiet front braking on fresh pads, the warning light gone, and a composed ride on new front shocks that settles in one motion. The A4 went home with the brakes and the front suspension both sorted. Worn pads and tired shocks were exactly the things due, so doing both together while the front was apart left the car safer and better to drive in one visit.
