According to the dealership, my right rear pads are at about 5% and the left rears are at about 40%. Can I trust a Midas or something to figure out the problem? Brakes are supposed to be easy, so I'd rather not pay the dealer to diagnose it at their ridiculous labor rates.

I tried to look up some information on it, and this site (http://www.acuravigorclub.com/Timely...mely1204-2.htm) says that a faulty ABS may not release the pressure on a brake line. The ABS light on my dash has been on for about 10,000 miles, and I think that I've got the standard ABS ECU problem that comes with the B5 A4. Could this be the problem, or is it more likely to be something else?

Thanks.

 

I have had the wheel bearings mess with my brakes. As they go bad the hub/ disc will experience run out and cause more wear. Initally I overhauled the rear calipers thinking that was the problem, it was only part of the problem. If your going to own this car long get an "On the Car" wheel bearing press. I got mine on eBay for $300. I replace bearings more than I do tires! Hub Shark or Hub Tamer are two brand names. Bearings are easy with this tool and the savings in shop labor will pay for the tool in only a couple swaps.

 

I wouldn't.

If brakes are "easy," why aren't you doing them yourself?


You likely have a bad caliper. The hand brake is built in to the rear calipers and can freeze or stick. Additionally, the calipers sliders need to be re-lubricated from time to time to prevent the caliper from sticking.

And stop looking up information for your Audi on in an Acura-specific newsletter.

 

+1 I agree. Although I lean towards the slides needing lubricated.

 

1. No garage
2. It's 3 degrees outside

Why? Looks like a pretty generic article to me. Disc brakes are disc brakes.

 

I know what you mean with the no garage issue. Just actually worked on my rear brakes today in the snow flurries.. not fun but saving about two hundred dollars doing it myself is making it worth it for me being a broke college kid.

I had to do them because my rear right was grinding like a b*tch.. come to find out i some how lost a the inside pad and the piston was right on the rotor! How could this of happened?? the otherside still had a good amount of life to it tho.

Oh and another thing, a really good tip is to use PB Blaster.. i found out the hard way. Heard good things about it doing a little research a minute ago. Those suckers were hard to get off and wd40 just wasnt doing it. I did end up somehow stripping the bottom allen bolt for the rotor.. bad angle i guess. Have to finish up tommorrow and try to get that bolt out.. Anyone have advice with that? Im just going to try one of the extracter kits and try to grab the outside of the head. Any advice will go a long way thanks

 

use vice grips and a steel tube that will fit over said vice grip handle. that will do the trick for ya.

 

Because problems common with Acuras are not necessarily common with Audis.

If you had looked at an Audi-specific newsletter, you'd get much different answers to your scenario, like you are now.

I'm not bashing you, just trying to steer you in the right direction.


Has the dealer indicated what might be wrong? What "standard ABS ECU" problem are you talking about? This could be an easy fix such as a bad tone ring on the axle or a bad sensor. Pull the codes, don't assume it's something without knowing the full story. Your ABS light and unevenly-worn brakes pads could be (and likely are) unrelated problems.

 

I believe the dealer pulled the codes for me about 15,000 miles ago and told me that the ABS control module had to be replaced for something like $650. I told them that I wanted to hold off since I'm in college and money is scarce. I could stop by an Autozone or something and have them pull the codes to be sure.

It had symptoms of other posts that I have read on this forum too. At first it was intermittent. The ABS light would only come on when it was hot outside (80+ degrees). It progressively got worse, and now it's on all the time.