Brake Disc Problems after 3 months

[Daz9193]

Guys, brakes are clearly stated as not being covered by the Warranty offered with Citroen regardless of mileage or age on the car. Sometimes within 6 months or 5k Citroen may offer goodwill but this is rare.

What you need to understand is that with the drive by the EU to make more products recyclable brake pads and disc also fall under this umbrella. What that means is the components used are no longer as durable as they used to be and many parts are made from re-forged steel. Discs or pads needing replaced after a year on a car that does low mileage is not that uncommon these days which prompted Citroen to change the service cycle from 2 to 1 year.

I know this is not what you want to hear but expecting Citroen to pay for items that come under all sorts of different stresses and wear is short sighted, unfortunately wear and tear is one of the crosses you have to bear when owning and running a modern car. Granted I expect this view will undoubtabley made me unpopular in this thread...

Thanks for the insight Bigfeet, I have just spoken to the dealership again and they said that they are pushing Citroen to pay up as a gesture of goodwill and the dealership has said that they will stump up 50% of the cost if Citroen 'join the party' as they said. It seems as tho persistence is starting to pay off. Will keep this thread updated with any news


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[scubagazza]

I had a similar issue a few years back with Seat and they tried to fob me of with the old wear and tear crap, but I stood my ground as the car was only a couple of months old and had warped disc due to cracking, being of an engineering background I threatened to prove that the discs were at fault due to poor manufacturing/materials/quality control handling and go to trading standards with it . The discs and pads were replaced forthwith and the issue never recurred.

[Bigfeet]

^ Not wanting to sound rude but the thought occurs that the dealer decided to bare the brunt of the cost and pay for the discs in order to keep you quiet.

In all honesty would you have gone through with your threat if they decided to stick to their guns?

[Toxic]

Daz did you by the car with Citroen Finance?

[Daz9193]

Daz did you by the car with Citroen Finance?

Yes I did it's on PCP with Citroen finance


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[scubagazza]

In answer to your question Biggy "yes" there is such a thing as reasonable use that comes into the issue of what manufactures class as wear and tear on consumable parts within a certain timeframe. Also at the time I was working in retail management so I happened to be well versed on both sides of consumer law.

[Bigfeet]

...there is such a thing as reasonable use that comes into the issue of what manufactures class as wear and tear on consumable parts within a certain timeframe...

That's very true, there is indeed a time scale but there is, for automotive anyway, a mileage base too otherwise there would be no common ground. My advice to the OP is to attempt to appeal to the good nature of the dealer and see if they can obtain a good will gesture towards the cost.

On a side note the Finance Company would have no responsibility to the maintenance of the car, with Citroen Finance you sign documents with the clause stating that all maintenance and repairs are the responsibility of the customer.

[DaveB]

What you need to understand is that with the drive by the EU to make more products recyclable brake pads and disc also fall under this umbrella. What that means is the components used are no longer as durable as they used to be and many parts are made from re-forged steel.

Or maybe not. . .

Brake discs are still made from cast iron, as they always have been. Cast iron is just about the most recycleable material available - just melt it down & recast it. The only part of a brake pad that can be recycled is the backplate, now, as ever (apart from some exotic applications) made from mild steel, another easily-recycled material. What little there is left of the friction material can't be recycled as the resin, once cured, can't be reused & the only way to completely remove it is by burning, which totally destroys it.

The real culprit in reducing disc life is the banning, from the late 1980s on, of asbestos in friction materials. The replacement fibres, rockwool, steel wool, glass fibre, Kevlar, etc., are more aggressive than asbestos, leading to increased disc attrition rates.

Re-forged steel???

My personal feeling, based purely on empirical evidence, is that the disc surfaces deteriorate more quickly on brakes that are not doing a lot of work - short trips, lots of low-speed town driving, etc., but that's only an opinion!

[Bigfeet]

^ Thank you for your correction on the discs, always appreciate when someone fill in the blanks. Rep added to you good sir.

Will agree with You about the short trips, from what I understand that when the car is used very little you get a higher level of surface rust which in turn causes more wear to the pads/discs when the brakes are used.

That said I would guess that even extreme temperature changes could have an affect on the lifespan of the brakes.

[monkeynuts]

Both of my DS3's had to have their discs changed after a short mileage due to warping

The Thp had the fronts done at 8 K and now the diesel has had the fronts done at 10K and now the rears because one was so badly ridged on the inside it was crazy it looks like a saw blade

Most if the cars I have owned at some point have had the fronts done due to most of the braking is biased towards the front but I don't think I have ever done rears unless changing to different speck

The disc's Citroen use are like cardboard lol shite cardboard at that


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[Chris_Blue]

Whats a good average age of front wheel drive brake discs then? Would hazard a guess at 25k miles for discs- 2 years mileage or just over, for an average car?

[lfcrule1972]

My personal feeling, based purely on empirical evidence, is that the disc surfaces deteriorate more quickly on brakes that are not doing a lot of work - short trips, lots of low-speed town driving, etc., but that's only an opinion!

I'd have to agree with that based on my own experience, for 8 years I used to average 23-25k miles a year and never had any issue with the discs on 2x Vauxhall Astra's. As far as I can recall both needed replacing at 75k miles-ish and I did it myself with the trusty Haynes manual as the front/rear disc sets came in around £70 I think (incl Pads) at the time My mileage is less now as I have a new job and I will be looking to see when these need replacing.

[Daz9193]

Hi guys just an update on this one for you, persistence paid off and Citroen have coughed up for the cost of new discs and pads to be fitted.

They said "as a gesture of goodwill" not that I'm bothered why the paid up I'm just glad they have


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[Chris_Blue]

Nice one Daz- not as persistent as you LOL

[scubagazza]

Result, well done mate.