Sticking brake calliper

158,200 miles, 30th October 2014

This should have been an acceptable wear and tear repair which, if diagnosed early enough could have been fixed relatively easily and cheaply. Unfortunately I didn't spot it early enough.

18 months ago I had all the car's brake discs and pads replaced. When this work was being carried out they were unable to wind back the nearside rear brake caliper to accommodate the new pads and so it had to be replaced. Fast forward to a couple of months ago and I started to notice something unusual with the car's fuel consumption. It usually peaks during the summer months but this year it had not. Also, I didn't think much of it at the time but thinking back now I had sometimes noticed that the car didn't seem to coast quite as freely as I remember it doing just after I'd had the brake discs & pads replaced. Finally, when I began to hear a repetitive, faint squeek whilst driving at about 30mph I decided to investigate. It didn't take me long to discover that the offside rear wheel was hot to the touch. That was the problem!

New Brake Calliper, Disc and Pad
Click on photo to enlarge.

A quick review of the car's service history showed me that this was not the brake calliper which had been changed with the new discs and pads. Therefore, it seemed quite likely that this calliper was the culprit and it too now needed replacing.

My local VW dealer agreed with my diagnosis but unfortunately, because of the brake binding over a period of time, this had warped the almost new discs and they too along with new pads needed replacing.

Final bill: £630 all inc. Ouch! Lesson learnt: All the warning signs were there: Reduced coasting distance, change to usual MPG figures. In future I will not be so quick to reassure myself that everything is ok.