Brake pads - How long after light comes on

[JCKST1]

Hi,


I have a A6 TDI and the brake pad warning light came on about 100 miles a go. I have checked and they appear to have some life left in them so I am not completely in the st but how long can I expect to see out of them before it's metal on metal?

I live in Southern Spain and I will be heading back to the UK next week. 90% motorway but also a stop in Andorra which means lots of climbing and descending, this I imagine would finish them off.

Local garages are shut until Monday and no doubt they will have a ridiculous waiting time.

Thanks in advance.

[carlingofblack]

You should be ok to go carefully and get it done back in the UK within a week or so.

When metal on metal, you'll hear a horrible grinding noise.

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

500-1000 miles, but it's impossible to say really. The less you use the brakes the longer they will last (obviously).

[mwstewart]

There's a decent safety margin when the light comes on. You'll get home no problem at all.

[gp3000000]

Checking the outside pad (the one you can see through the wheel) doesn't mean much, as on single piston calipers the inner pad wears 20-30% more, that's just physics.

You'll get home fine, however if you're unluckily and like most drivers these days don't use engine braking, you may be slightly grinding on the metal when you get there and hence need new discs.

[Qwert1e]

gp3000000 said:

Checking the outside pad (the one you can see through the wheel) doesn't mean much,

Totally agree. It's the pad you can't see which often causes the problems. Hence all the people sobbing that they need new brakes on a car which passed its MOT only three weeks ago.

[zeduffman]

Is the sensor only on one side? With my last two cars I've found the sensor on the near side has flashed up as needing replacing, thinking I've got a few miles to go yet and I can wait until the weekend, only to look on the other side and find there's nothing left on the pads. Just something to be aware of.