Wet roads plus winter salt and cold brakes is the biggest cause of disc corrosion. I always try to warm up the brakes as I arrive home after a wet journey if I know they'll be cold, and especially after washing the car. And for goodness sake, don't use acidic wheel cleaners like Wonderwheels. If you get it on the discs, you can see it reacting with the bare steel!

 

It doesn't always work, but setting off from rest in first gear with your left foot on the brake for 50m or so is a great way of warming things up and drying the discs & pads. Trouble is Nanny VW electronics don't want you to left foot brake so you may find that the system cuts the throttle rather abruptly and if you're not ready for it, the car stands on its nose!

VW electronics don't want you to left foot brake so you may find that the system cuts the throttle rather abruptly and if you're not ready for it, the car stands on its nose!

Think you'll find that is only if when pressing the brake after the throttle, if brake is pressed lightly first then throttle both can then be increased to dry discs off without the engine cutting power unexpectedly.

Think you'll find that is only if when pressing the brake after the throttle, if brake is pressed lightly first then throttle both can then be increased to dry discs off without the engine cutting power unexpectedly.

 

Hmmmm interesting....  I feel it sometimes works sometimes doesn't - I'll experiment again tonight when I've got the road to myself!

My yeti has 18k on the clock (21 mths old ) just had it serviced 20k on the notes the discs have been pointed out as badly corroded

Me thinks I need to contact Skoda !

I have had this reported on my previous cars, Roomster and Yeti. Neither had braking problems. I'm sure I've seen a comment somewhere on here that it's a "normal" comment on servicing possibly to solicit more profit.

 

Fred

This is an interesting observation. I checked my warranty booklet and it is exactly as you say. In my letter to Skoda I will include this observation. Skoda up to now always come back with the comment that pads and discs are wear and tear items without addressing the cause so lets see what they say now.

The fact that I needed new pads and discs at 24k miles seems wrong. The Yeti has been driven hard some of the time including harsh braking going down a hill EVERY day and lots of longer dual carriageway/motorway type trips. If the rear callipers had seized then why have the pads worn out. If pads were intact and discs corroded then the light use argument would hold more logic to me.

Absolutely agree with you. Our Yeti just had to renew rear discs and pads  - 37000miles and 5 years old. Never had this on any other car. Car always garaged and discs dried off by braking after washing car. Previous Fabia had a problem with rear brakes sticking! Just what rubbish are these discs made of now???

Edited 13 October, 201510 yr by survey

Absolutely agree with you. Our Yeti just had to renew rear discs and pads  - 37000miles and 5 years old. Never had this on any other car. Car always garaged and discs dried off by braking after washing car. Previous Fabia had a problem with rear brakes sticking! Just what rubbish are these discs made of now???

 

I think this is pretty common with most cars these days. My last car was a Subaru WRX. I replaced the rotors with every set of brake pads. I think it's something with the brake pads compounds containing more metal. Rotors have always been consumables but they are just getting consumed quicker these days.

 

I also don't think stabilty control helps these days. Unrelated vehilce I know but to demonstrate the effects of stabilty control. Newwe Land Rovers have a thing called trailer sway control. The idea is the stability control detects sway of the trailer and counteracts it with brakes. The system works so well though the driver often cant detect sway. So when a trailer like a caravan is loaded wrong like too much weight to the front or rear the trailer would normally cause the vehilce to sway, sometimes uncontrolably. Just note some Land Rovers have air suspension that raise and lower to keep a standard ride height so you don't see vehicles sagged or raised in the rear from badly loaded trailer. The issue comes when the system has been working so hard to counter the sway of the trailer the brakes are worn out within 1000km.

 

Happy Days.

Our Yeti's have a similar trailer control system activated when towing electrics are correctly programmed.

And it does work!!

A friend has just sold a Octavia vrs that had a regular service over 3 years and surprisingly still had original discs and pads after 80.000 miles so I was wondering if they are the same components and it wasn't a 4x4 which might might make a difference but I would hope to achieve over 40,000 .

Rotors have always been consumables but they are just getting consumed quicker these days.

 

Car are, on average, a lot heavier now than 20+ years ago requiring more work to stop. Also, I wonder if people are experiencing more stop-start traffic increasing the breaking duty cycle these days.

A friend has just sold a Octavia vrs that had a regular service over 3 years and surprisingly still had original discs and pads after 80.000 miles so I was wondering if they are the same components and it wasn't a 4x4 which might might make a difference but I would hope to achieve over 40,000 .

I agree. Cheaper components I'm sure.  My MB's have never had discs replaced in such a short time/mileage as the Yeti. Need to discover if there are better quality replacements available.

Car are, on average, a lot heavier now than 20+ years ago requiring more work to stop. Also, I wonder if people are experiencing more stop-start traffic increasing the breaking duty cycle these days.

On what do you base that statement?  I would have said the opposite.... much of the bodywork these days is plastic, rather than steel,  and what steel panels there are are much thinner than they used to be.  More engine and transmission components now utilise alloy rather than cast iron,  and so forth;  even spare wheels have either disappeared altogether or been replaced by skinny spacesavers.  All manufacturers are doing everything they can to save weight,  and so boost fuel economy.  Unfortunately I don't have access to kerbside weight figures for family cars of 20 years ago,  but I'd be very surprised if they weren't heavier than today's rather than lighter.

A mk2 golf 1.8 synchro weighs less than 1100kg. A Yeti is about 1400kg

Just a quick google suggests a Ford Sierra Sapphire 2.0 weighed 1130 kg, today's Mondeos are all over 1400kg, the most popular diesels over 1500kg.

My hunch is that cars are some 30% heavier these days.

All four of mine needed replacing at 9000 miles and 18 months old.

 

The dealer it was my fault for not using the Yeti too much and not braking harshly.

What next........you used it in the wet!!!!

What a load of *******s, the materials are rubbish.

 

I have a van with 90000 miles on the clock it is 10 years old, brakes all good.

 

I have a motor bike with 9000 miles on the clock it is 17 years old and the brakes are fine.

 

Come Skoda, give us are money back for something that is not designed to get wet or live outdoors.

Just a quick google suggests a Ford Sierra Sapphire 2.0 weighed 1130 kg, today's Mondeos are all over 1400kg, the most popular diesels over 1500kg.

My hunch is that cars are some 30% heavier these days.

I agree that cars probably are heavier nowadays. Whilst the bodywork etc. has got lighter, cars are now loaded with much more kit, airbags, impact protection (doors alone are more substantial) emissions/exhaust equipment, bigger wheels/tyres - the list goes on and it all adds up! 

 

Only problem with comparing old and new is that the same model has grown considerably in size as well!

Edited 27 April, 201610 yr by VAGCF

All four of mine needed replacing at 9000 miles and 18 months old.

 

The dealer it was my fault for not using the Yeti too much and not braking harshly.

What next........you used it in the wet!!!!

What a load of *******s, the materials are rubbish.

 

I have a van with 90000 miles on the clock it is 10 years old, brakes all good.

 

I have a motor bike with 9000 miles on the clock it is 17 years old and the brakes are fine.

 

Come Skoda, give us are money back for something that is not designed to get wet or live outdoors.

 

I agree, shocking quality.  Rears on ours needed replacement far far too early!

Yeti 2.0 TDI 170bhp 4X4 L&K.

Precisely as original comment. 24,000 miles but my attention was drawn to the issue at the last service earlier this year and informed that it was normal! Booked in this Thursday for replacement discs and pads at a cost of £235. No experience of this on any previous vehicles I've owned (55 years of driving). I think a contributory factor is the amount of muck that collects around the rear wheels which I pay particular attention to when cleaning the vehicle.........and yes, I clean my own vehicle with my bare hands........nobody else touches it! 

Edited 5 July, 20169 yr by Rogertheteacher

Our Yeti is 3 years old with 16k miles. I noticed rusting discs at the 2 year service - hard braking did not shift the rust as the pads were not sweeping all the discs. I asked the local Skoda dealer to check the brakes when booking the 2 year service but they ignored me. When I collected the car they said they would only replace all discs and pads! I went to an independent garage and watched as they stripped the brakes down. All four had been assembled with no lubrication to the sliders or any other part. Lubing with an aluminium version of copperslip improved things slightly. At the recent 3 year service the dealer gave me a list of work needed  - a total of £750!. All discs and pads, new brake fluid, DSG oil and filter and Haldex oil - at 16k miles. On checking the DSG and Haldex oil is at 40k so not needed yet and I had the front discs/pads and fluid change done by the independent garage. The rears will need doing next year.

Some dealers really are a waste of time!

 

Mike

A good honest dealer is worth there weight in gold. I'm amazed at how many still try on the old' kicking tyre' routine. My dealer, I'm pleased to say, has been very good and I feel confident that they provide a balanced view in their recommendations, some I choose to decline e.g., pollen filters which cost me a small amount of money and not much time.

Wet roads plus winter salt and cold brakes is the biggest cause of disc corrosion. I always try to warm up the brakes as I arrive home after a wet journey if I know they'll be cold, and especially after washing the car. And for goodness sake, don't use acidic wheel cleaners like Wonderwheels. If you get it on the discs, you can see it reacting with the bare steel!

It doesn't always work, but setting off from rest in first gear with your left foot on the brake for 50m or so is a great way of warming things up and drying the discs & pads. Trouble is Nanny VW electronics don't want you to left foot brake so you may find that the system cuts the throttle rather abruptly and if you're not ready for it, the car stands on its nose!

Yeah. I found that out the painful way.

They could bloody warn you about it.I though my left foot had gone numb and lost all feeling. That, at least, would explain why my face hit the steering wheel.

Yeah. I found that out the painful way.

They could bloody warn you about it.I though my left foot had gone numb and lost all feeling. That, at least, would explain why my face hit the steering wheel.

As I mentioned earlier, if you have a bit of speed lift foot off throttle  then press the brake very lightly before putting some throttle on and both can then be increased without the engine cutting out. As long as the brake is pressed first there will be no pitching forward and the pressure can be increased. I even spoke to Skoda on the phone to ask how to dry out brakes after fording water and they could not give me an answer.

I'm pretty sure it cuts out as a safety feature thinking with brake pressed with throttle on you are making a mistake and you really mean to stop.

My brakes dry themselves most times...

I live in Norway, the west coast. Salty conditions. What I see, is that the calipers tend to seize in the trace where the caliper seal is situated, causing a reduced movement of the piston. This again creates some heat, and the heat opens for more surface rust. The first time I do the brakes, i demount the caliper completely, clean it thoroly, and remuont with red grease (made for calipers/rubber mounting). I use more than needed, and clean off the grease pressed out while rewinding the piston. I've fount that this prolongs the lifetime of the brakes in total. I guess you have all felt a strong resistance whe winding in the pistons? After you do this, the brakes are as new. With a pressure bleeder, the bleeding of the brakes is done in less than ten minutes. Worth a try if the brakes wear out faster than normal... I've done the job on several cars now, and all are perfectly fine for years. I'm now on to doing the job on my 2012 Yeti the next few days.. Good luck if trying on the job.

With mine it is simply the fact that I don't use the brakes, what with the auto box and the drag coefficient of a small bungalow I find I just don't need them for most driving and also since we live in rural Lincolnshire it is never stop start driving in the first place. I don't hoon about any more anyway. So the result is the brakes front and back are very rusty.

An old thread but I'll add that last year at 3 years old and 18k miles my Yeti failed it's first MOT on rear brakes.

 

Skoda fitted brand new Skoda discs and Pads.

 

Now 12 months on and another 2k miles it's failed again on rear brake corrosion and pitting.

 

I'll be fitting Pagid this time.