Chaps and chapetes,

I will tell you the story of my Sunday evening, full of suprise and woe.

I set off to drop our friend at Stansted airport as he was going back home. Left plenty if time to allow for traffic......which was just as well. I got to about 4 miles from junction 19 on the M25 when the tyre pressure light came on, so I started to slow down and make my way to the inside lane.

Slowed down as I've had a phantom reading before but after another mile it didn't feel right so I pulled on to the hard shoulder.

Got out and straight away I could smell something wasn't right, looked at the rear passenger side disc and it was bright red with smoke bellowing out of it.

So got everyone out of the car and well up on the inbankment out of harms way. Typical no recovery service as I forgot to renew.

Next 20mins was spent calling around to get someone to come to rescue the friend so he got to the airport. Sadly no one was able. Quick look on the map and gps location and I was only just under 2 miles from Watford. I decided to limp the car to a safer location.

Got off at junction 19 and stopped at the petrol station. Wheel off to look at the brake. (After 30mins cooling). Limited tools so after a bit of poking about at the disc it was moving by hand so wheel back on so wheel back on and off motorway continued to Stansted.

Arrived just in time and friend got away safely. Disc wasn't hot when I got to stansted, no warmer than the other side.

So now to my question.

What caused this? And how much do you think it's going to cost me?

I've had hot discs from 2 causes:-

1) Caliper locked on. Could be siezed or could be hydraulic pressure not releasing (second more likely if your car has BFD or ESP).

2) Stone stuck between disc and backplate. In this case, the disc is almost certainly scored, which will cost you for new discs and pads.

I'm counting already a set of new discs and pads. Guess I'll have to pop it in to a garage as I'm not happy when it comes to the brakes.

I also had the abs warning message come up when I stopped.

The ABS and tyre pressure warning will likely be down to the huge amounts of heat cooking the sensors.

Had exactly the same problem with mine a few months ago, mine was the offside rear though. Took it back to the garage who 'couldn't find anything wrong with it' it happened again, so took it back, they tested it on their brake tester and it was within tollerance. Took it back again, they said 'oh yeah, we think it's the caliper seized'

 

This was replaced under warranty, got the car to work after picking it up and guess what - that's right, hot disc again and brake pedal stiff. I was pretty miffed at this point so took my 10mm spanner and loosened off the handbrake cable slightly under the arm rest in the car and have not had a problem since!

Had same problem - It were the Calliper in the end up which didn't open back up when i released the handbrake. Calliper replaced no more problems

Had that a little on mine when i first got it....Realised i was doing the handbrake to tightly....

it was bright red with smoke bellowing out of it.

Got off at junction 19 and stopped at the petrol station. Wheel off to look at the brake. (After 30mins cooling). 

 

 That reminded me of a week after I got my first Skoda. I sold my old 406 to my father who used it as a taxi and main fan burnt itself out (common apparently). With smoke coming from bonnet and a real burning smell he turned into the petrol station he was stopped at lights more or less next to. When I asked why of all places he went in there, "I knew they had fire extinguishers", some logic I thought but still lol. Then I asked why he didn't use the one he had fixed under drivers seat that was a requirement of his PSV? "Do you know how expensive those are?". I bet the staff in the Asda petrol station couldn't believe their eyes when someone pulled in for all they or he knew fully on fire. I did feel bad but it was only proper defect with that car to date (bar CD player died last year) and she hit 400K a few months back  

Sounds like a seized calliper to me that, or one that's not functioning correctly certainly.

 

TPMS could possibly have come on because the ABS sensor was picking up a noticeable rotation difference on that wheel, compared with the others, because the caliper was stuck onto the disc.

 

I would take it to a garage, and have the brake assembly apart and that calliper inspected for free movement.

Going to pop it in to the garage. ....I'm thinking if this might be a good time to upgrade the rears? As the RS3 calipers and discs fit.

I see no reason to upgrade the rear brakes, but that's personal preference.

 

The RS3 rear setup will only add weight in my book.

pics!

Sadly no pictures, did think about taking on but then thought the hard shoulder on a busy M25 in the dark was not the best time.

As for the rs3 upgrade, I hear your point and would agree that the rears do little braking compared to the front.

But I do a few track days and really want to up the game, so fronts will be upgraded so it's more aesthetics for the rear. I'm not sure what other options are out there.

Going to pop it in to the garage. ....I'm thinking if this might be a good time to upgrade the rears? As the RS3 calipers and discs fit.

Doesn't the RS3 just use the same spec rear setup as the S3 /R32 ie 310mm x 22mm disks and the same calipers?

Doesn't the RS3 just use the same spec rear setup as the S3 /R32 ie 310mm x 22mm disks and the same calipers?

Not sure after reading so much stuff on forums it all gets confusing after a bit. It sounds plausible.

Is there not a stronger return spring that costs pennies to fix the problem? After all the rears don't do that much to stop you, that's more down to the fronts/ shocks and tyres I thought?

So I finally got the octavia in to the garage. Passenger side rear caliper has seized/sticks. £560 to repair, including new pads and discs and passenger side disc has overheated.

I'm going to contact skoda uk and see if they will help towards this as it's not even 4 years old yet plus both pads and discs had lots of life left in them.

So do I just replace with like for like, or should I upgrade the rears to something a bit better? Or just upgrade the pads and discs?

I've got time to get this sorted but it needs to be completed before December.

Any suggestions would be great.

Like for like and if the splash guards are damaged, then I'd get them replaced too.

 

I'd not normally say that with the rears, but when doing mine last time, I noticed the rears seem to get really really dirty on the Octy.

I'm guessing something to do with the position of the calipers, but still.

I think after looking into it that like for like is what I will do. I've not got the time to shop about and track down someone to do the work.

Going to try and see if Skoda will help out with the costs.

What are people's views or thought's on how likely and how much Skoda will give?

Calipers "seize" in two modes:

 

1. Piston sticking in cylinder.  Needs a rebuild or a new/recon caliper.

 

2. Slider pins corroded.  Remove them (normally an irritatingly obscure 7mm allen key), clean with a Brillo pad and refit with some lithium grease.  Virtually zero cost.

 

Worth checking, as (2) is as common as (1).

 

Incidentally, an early sign of caliper sticking is a severe vibration, just like an unbalanced front wheel, immediately after firm braking.  It goes away after a few hundred yards but is caused by the caliper refusing to let go on one side.

Is there not a stronger return spring that costs pennies to fix the problem? After all the rears don't do that much to stop you, that's more down to the fronts/ shocks and tyres I thought?

 

Disc brakes don't have return springs.  The piston is barely retracted at all and if it is, this is merely due to the rubber seal and the slight runout of the rotating disc.  What normally happens is that the pads continue to rub the disc, but with no actual pressure.

 

Early disc brakes developed by Porsche did have a retraction method (as do bicycle disc brakes) because the engineers were worried about the drag with the brakes off, then they worked out that it was totally insignificant on a car.