My car has led a sheltered life, 6000 miles in 3 years, always garaged (internal so its not only dry but temperature doesnt vary much night/day, never below 10 deg as well). Usually only take it out on dry sunny days and avoid taking it out in wet or bad weather. We use the Fabia on rainy, wintry days as well as for short trips. So its at home and in the garage safely tucked up for up to a month at a time, with the parking brake always off.

 

Despite this Briskoda induced OCD , it appears the rear discs are indeed made out of swiss cheese. In particular the passenger side has become quite pitted on the outside, at last service Skoda reported that the inside face was far worse "mainly in one place where the pad had clamped the disc when parked"  Confirmed by their health check video clearly showing it. Hmmm. Disappointed but not unexpected judging by this forums testimony.

 

The front discs are nice and shiny , as is the rest of the car underneath, the suspension etc.

 

So, frustrated that nobody here is man enough to try, today I decided to be the forum pioneer/guinea pig and use the EPB as an emergency brake to see what happens.

 

First, I checked YouTube to see if someone had already tried this and what to expect. Found an american video with a Honda Civic, where the EPB pulls the car sharply up making lots of loud alarming farting/grinding noises. Another was  a Topgear video in Golf R (closer to a Superb), no farting/grinding was evident but a sharp pull up.

 

Handbrake Turn with Electronic Parking Brake

 

So I set off down our estate, got up to 20mph , onto a straight quiet deserted bit, checked it was safe to proceed, EPB on, loud farting type noise from rear for a fraction of a second and sharp pull up, took no more than 2 seconds.  Judging by the way the car squatted, it was rear braked only. Quite dramatic but controlled. Tried again, this time at 30mph, same again, fart and sharp pullup, though the car evidently travelled that bit further and took a bit longer. I tried it a third time, same.

 

Nor sure what causes the fart, might be ABS, but its quite brief followed by a smooth but sharp deceleration. Be prepared!

 

Anyway, I can confirm it definitely helps to clean up the rear discs, although my three low speed attempts weren't enough to completely remove the pitting. I can't see the inner face to check that side. Gonna have another go at a faster speed when the car is out again and the mood takes me, but that might be another month.

 

I will have to take the rear wheels off (for the 1st time) sometime later this year, before they become too welded to the hub. I will check the inner faces then, and if I remember, I'll report back.

 

So if you're going in for an MOT or a service/upsell attempt, or those discs look like a scrapyard castoff, why not try it yourself, just make sure its safe to do so, straight deserted road, weather/road surface good, and brace for impact! 

 

Definitely don't try it with passengers/pets or half a ton of bricks in the boot.

 

Having suffered from the made of cheeserear discs I found reversing at 15mph down a gentle slope and then braking hard 2 or 3 times worked as well.   Rear discs gubbed at 26k miles and33 months.  Though this was a car that lives outside on Scottish roads that are salted for several months a year.

Thanks xman for your pioneering spirit 

 

My VRS's rear discs were pitted and noisy and got replaced at under 20k miles and under two years.  It had an analogue handbrake so was easy to keep clean and shiny afterwards.  The GTI has an EPB so I was wondering how to go about it.  After a few stationary weeks recently there was a noticeable donk donk donk from the rear that took a couple of miles to clear.  Like irc's reversing suggestion too.

 

Gaz

Edited 16 March, 20215 yr by Gaz_
Correcting the poxy autocorrect

does anyone know what type of brake discs skoda use, and is there better makes that can be swapped to solve this obvious problem.

17 minutes ago, paddywack1878 said:

does anyone know what type of brake discs skoda use, and is there better makes that can be swapped to solve this obvious problem.

I’m going to say EBC as that’s what’ll happen my rears in a few months, when it gets warmer outside. 

any links to the EBC ones thanks bud.

4 hours ago, paddywack1878 said:

any links to the EBC ones thanks bud.

Sorry I’m terrible at links and anything computer related. Something like EBC brake shop or EBC brakes direct would be my usual spot for ordering what I need. I think EBC themselves added links in a thread in the maintenance section of this forum. 

ok no probs, i am still looking for a car when i get one i will look at changing those back discs .

EBC brakes are **** imho.

Edited 16 March, 20215 yr by Bigeater

5 hours ago, paddywack1878 said:

any links to the EBC ones thanks bud.

 

Not a direct answer, but worth being aware of (and a Brisky sponsor):

 

 

Gaz

1 hour ago, Gaz_ said:

 

Not a direct answer, but worth being aware of (and a Brisky sponsor):

 

 

Gaz

Stop sharing that!! I need a set of yellow stuff for the front of mine. 😂

I’ve found driving in eco with DSG to clean the rears up lovely, it still looks like my pads are like an 1” too small as the outer edge of disc looks untouched (but weird) but at least the middle has come up better at 36k or so

Edited 17 March, 20215 yr by Danoid

11 hours ago, Danoid said:

I’ve found driving in eco with DSG to clean the rears up lovely, it still looks like my pads are like an 1” too small as the outer edge of disc looks untouched (but weird) but at least the middle has come up better at 36k or so

Is that because you find yourself braking more? On the rare occasions I use eco I tend to use the paddles to pop it back into gear if coasting too quickly.

4 minutes ago, unclerichy said:

Is that because you find yourself braking more? On the rare occasions I use eco I tend to use the paddles to pop it back into gear if coasting too quickly.

Exactly that, when I’m eco is disengages then tend to coast a lot more, so I can apply the brakes for longer.

 

At first I hated eco as the driving experience is more clunky feeling with lag etc but i’ve got use to it, I keep meaning to put it back into normal driving mode but keep forgetting

Following comments here and with some further testing, I can confirm what others have suggested as an alternative. Hard braking whilst reversing at a fair speed applies the rear brakes in priority to the front, so also useful for cleaning up the rear discs. Makes sense that leading brakes are used depending on direction of travel. 

 

Obviously this method is a going to be a bit gentler than using EPB (forwards) at speed, depending on how fast you reverse and how hard you brake. Obviously its more dangerous to reverse at speed especially on a public toad but less dramatic without the mysterious fart from ABS or whatever.

 

I would recommend some cleaning is done regularly as once the disc corrosion gets to certain level, it may be difficult to restore them to an acceptable condition.

 

A little often rather than a lot all at once.