Volkswagen Case Study · 88

Volkswagen Tiguan front brakes, pads and discs replaced.

A Volkswagen Tiguan came in squealing under braking. The front pads were worn and the discs scored. Both replaced as an axle set, the braking sharp and quiet again.

Job done

Mechanical Repairs Brakes Volkswagen Specialist
Volkswagen Tiguan parked at the workshop, in for front brake inspection.

The brief

The Tiguan had started squealing while driving and under braking, the wear-indicator chirp that means the front pads have worn down to the warning point. He brought it in, which is the right call, that squeal is the warning that comes before the grind. The front brakes do most of the work on any car, and on a heavier vehicle like the Tiguan they work harder still. The pads are the wear item, designed to be used up and replaced, and the discs they clamp wear too, thinning and scoring over their life. The Tiguan's front pads had worn down and the discs had reached the end of their life with them, so the front needed pads and discs together.

The worn front pads and scored disc on the Volkswagen Tiguan.

The diagnosis

On the lift the front brakes told the story: the pads worn near the end, and the discs scored and below minimum thickness. The calipers and slides were freed off and checked, they were fine, just the pads and discs gone. The rears still had life. So it was a front axle set: new genuine VW-spec pads and discs on both sides together, because you don't fit fresh pads to a scored, undersized disc, and you do the pair so both sides bite the same.

The old front discs removed alongside the new set.

The work

Both front discs and the worn pads were removed, the hubs cleaned up, and a new genuine VW-spec set of discs and pads fitted, the calipers and slide pins cleaned and greased so they move freely, every fastener torqued to spec. The pads were bedded in properly so they'd grip evenly from the start. A road test confirmed quiet, even, progressive braking with a firm pedal and no pulling.

The new genuine VW-spec front discs and pads ready to fit.

The outcome

Quiet brakes, a firm pedal, even bite, sharp progressive stopping, and the squeal gone. The Tiguan went home stopping properly again. Worn pads turn into scored discs the longer they're left, so doing the front pads and discs as an axle set put the braking back where it should be, the safety job you don't put off.

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