Uneaven brake pad wear

**scheides** · 06-18-2008

So I was rotating the tires on anna's GLI tonight and noticed that the brake pads were wearing unevenly. They're thinner towards the outside of the rotor. These are stock pads, the car has 30k on it. WTF?

Matt D. · 06-18-2008

WTF is right. Are they seated in the caliper correctly? It's under warranty, time to go ask VW "WTF?!"

**Kracka** · 06-19-2008

My Ford Contour did this too, except it was the insides that wore more quickly. They were completely gone, backing material chewing up the rotor, while the outsides were still at about 25%.

**Goat Blower** · 06-19-2008

Both inner and outer pads, or just the outside ones?

**scheides** · 06-19-2008

Inner ones were not as bad, but definitely the inner ones as well.

NOT THE BLUE LAMPSHADE · 06-19-2008

how are the calipers designed? pistons on both sides or just one? i just changed the brakes on my parents mitsu montero and the fucking pads on the inside of the rotor were completely gone and the outside ones had hella life left. the calipers on that had a 2 piston on the inside of the rotor. does that have anything to do with it maybe? if the apply force is on one side?

hellomynameis · 06-20-2008

I think it's common for floating caliper brakes to wear unevenly like that. I assume it's due to the fact that direct pressure is being applied to one pad and not the other. If there is any binding in the assembly that allows the caliper to move it would result in the piston pushing the one pad against the rotor while the other doesn't make as much contact.

Kevin 1G Drummer · 06-20-2008

So they're thicker on the "hub side" or "bottom" of the pad and thinner on the upper edge? If so, then it sounds like VW may be replacing your calipers.

xveganxcowboyx · 06-20-2008

There's a chance the pads were just installed a little off. At least, when I first bought my Talon I found the read drivers side pad was worn diagonally. The metal backing was a little askew. I put new pads in properly (and new rotors) and haven't had the problem reoccur in 3 years.

**scheides** · 06-21-2008

Hey guys, thanks for all the ideas. The pads are thicker on the hub side, and thinner the further towards the outside they get.

The brakes are a single-piston design, like a DSM. I'm going to call vw about it this week and see what they say.

**scheides** · 06-21-2008

This is not my car, but a pic someone else posted. Mine looks similar to this:

Some of these guys are saying its just the beveled edge you're seeing to reduce brake noise, others are saying they're designed that way for a reason, so there's more pad surface. These vw guys drive me nuts with their whacko theories....

Kevin 1G Drummer · 06-21-2008

Hmm, yeah... I don't think the pads are supposed to wear like that. The ammount of surface area gain there would be from wearing unevenly like that would be so negligable that there would be no performance advantage. I'd just see what VW has to say about it.