16 plate car has only just done 25k miles.

 

I'd expect them to wear quicker due to it being DSG and therefore generally less slowing using gears, but could this be a faulty sensor? Typical it happens when everywhere is shut for holidays...

Why would a DSG car go through brakes less quickly?

 

i had new brakes at 20,000

Probably a bit of salt in the sensor wiring. I would check the plug where the sensor goes into the loom, maybe a bit of wd40 in there as a temporary measure.

 

Whip a front wheel off makes it easier to check the sensor and look through the gap in the caliper. You can see how much pad is left.

 

Worst case if it has actually worn through the sensor you still have a couple of mm pad left.  If there is no metal to metal sound you should be good for a week or so.

 

Dealers are good at comments like "your brakes are only 3mm from the sensor" - oh so they are less than half worn then? 

3 hours ago, Tim1631 said:

Why would a DSG car go through brakes less quickly?

 

i had new brakes at 20,000

 

Not less quickly, more quickly - as below. I drive both manual and DSG vehicles every day and find no matter how anticipative and smooth you are, inevitably you use the brakes more often in a DSG, unless you use manual mode full time. Which I don't.

 

3 hours ago, pist0nbr0ke said:

I'd expect them to wear quicker due to it being DSG and therefore generally less slowing using gears

 

49 minutes ago, flybynite said:

Probably a bit of salt in the sensor wiring. I would check the plug where the sensor goes into the loom, maybe a bit of wd40 in there as a temporary measure.

 

Whip a front wheel off makes it easier to check the sensor and look through the gap in the caliper. You can see how much pad is left.

 

Worst case if it has actually worn through the sensor you still have a couple of mm pad left.  If there is no metal to metal sound you should be good for a week or so.

 

Dealers are good at comments like "your brakes are only 3mm from the sensor" - oh so they are less than half worn then? 

 

Thanks, I'll check it out. 

 

Yes, I'm used to garage's doomsaying - I took a colleague's Antara to a garage once and was told " you've got about 2,000 miles left on the front pads." How do you work that out?!

 

What was funnier was when I went back to get it MOT'd at the same place several months later and they advised there was "about 5,000 miles left on the (same) front pads"

 

Oh well, guess I'll shop around and see if I can get some uprated pads which I'll get a local indie to fit.

 

Cheers guys.

 

On my Mk 6 GTI, the Pad Wear indicator came on at about 50,000 miles. Was told the sensor comes on once 75% worn. The sensor only triggers when the Brakes are applied - it’s a very crude system where the wires are embedded into the composite and short on the Discs when they are applied. The BCU then logs the fault and it can be acknowledged which mutes it for 3,000 miles I think it was.

2 minutes ago, KevC_Derby said:

On my Mk 6 GTI, the Pad Wear indicator came on at about 50,000 miles. Was told the sensor comes on once 75% worn. The sensor only triggers when the Brakes are applied - it’s a very crude system where the wires are embedded into the composite and short on the Discs when they are applied. The BCU then logs the fault and it can be acknowledged which mutes it for 3,000 miles I think it was.

 

Mine came on when I started the car this morning (on DSG that means pressing the brake) and has stayed on, even after three restarts so far today.

 

No metal on metal sound so I guess it can wait 'til January.

 

Thanks.

Just now, pist0nbr0ke said:

Oh well, guess I'll shop around and see if I can get some uprated pads which I'll get a local indie to fit.

 

For any road use I go no further than standard Ate pads. They are well made and predictable have not found them lacking. A step up from some of the lesser known random makes

 

1 minute ago, KevC_Derby said:

The sensor only triggers when the Brakes are applied

 

The sensor is just a piece of wire encased in plastic fitted into a slot in one of the pads. When you wear through enough to touch the disk with the wire the sensor can trigger with the brake or it can just stay on if it is still making contact. The same can happen if there is a lot of salt in the connection or around the sensor

The front pads on my VRS needed replacing after 27K miles, far sooner than any other car I have owned.

 

Looks like I need front pads alright 

My mk2 DSG did 126,00 in 2 years and went back with the original pads 

DSG number 2 did 122,000 in 2 years and the front pads needed changing about a month before returning to ŠKODA 

Current DSG has done has 70,000 in 12 months with no outward signs of excessive wear 

Wear depends upon usage. 10 miles of stop-start traffic will generate higher wear than 100 miles of motorway jaunts.

1 hour ago, Orville said:

Wear depends upon usage. 10 miles of stop-start traffic will generate higher wear than 100 miles of motorway jaunts.

 

This, absolutely.^^

 

I live on a NSL B-road, half a mile to a T-Junction where I then join a winding hilly A-road (no better than a B-road really) to go anywhere. The nearest town involves a 2-3 mile steep descent on a twisty road, and the nearest dual carriageway is more than 30 miles from my house, never mind motorway.

 

So most journeys involve 60+mph within a short distance of the house, and plenty of braking when descending hills.

 

My wife drives the car 90% of the time and she certainly isn't heavy on brakes. I'm still quite surprised they're gone so quickly. Maybe the extra weight of the 4x4 gubbins is another factor.