Brake Pad fell off car

Lemlin

I had work done by the local Skoda garage on my 161 Octavia back in June. The work they did then included a replacement cylinder on the clutch, the timing belt and…

Brakes/Clutch/Transmission OP - 137.34 €

Warning Lamps - 68.10 €

The car hasn’t been doing much driving with me working from home but on Saturday I went out and reversed it on my drive to move it. The front drivers side tyre was acting as if something was rubbing it. I pulled forward and then then reversed again but noticed when I braked coming forward the brakes weren’t great. I got out and found the brake pad sitting on the ground.

I haven’t driven the car and am going to get it towed tomorrow but should I be going back to that garage or getting a second opinion? I wouldn’t have thought a brake pad should just fall out?

Damien360

Work done in June. It’s now December and you link the two events ? The garage wouldn’t even give you the time of day on that.

Lemlin

107650 on it now, there was 105405 when it was in the garage. They did state the front pads were 70% worn and they recommended replacement when next replacing pads.

Lemlin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118274201#Comment_118274201

See comments above. Car has done just over 2000 kilometres since. Some people drive that in a week.

They are the only garage have ever worked on the car and I wouldn’t have thought a brake pad should just be falling out?

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118274201#Comment_118274201

Luckily for the OP that's not how consumer law sees it.

OP contact the garage and let them resolve it.

Lemlin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118274305#Comment_118274305

I’m wondering though should I get a second opinion in advance of that, are they just going to cover their own error if the car goes back to them?

Toyotafanboi

Remind me why this is the garages fault?

Lemlin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118274428#Comment_118274428

I didn’t say it was. I am asking for opinions as I know very little about cars. Bottom line is I don’t think a brake pad should be falling off the car. Is it normal for that to happen?

magicbastarder

what work did they do in relation to the 'Brakes/Clutch/Transmission OP - 137.34 €' charge?

i.e. did they actually go near the brake assembly in question?

saabsaab

Brake pads should never fall off. What it looks like is the wear material has come away from the backing plate. Shouldn't happen either a faulty pad maybe the car was sitting for a while after being driven in the wet and the disks rusted onto the pad.

Toyotafanboi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118274488#Comment_118274488

Would be very unusual for a pad to fall out, it would need to be wafer thin. In fairness, the pad in the photo is bolloxed looking so it makes sense. I certainly would be getting the car towed to where ever will be repairing.

As far as I can see, the car is 5 years of age, 105k kms covered and the brakes were estimated as being low and you were advised of same, 6 months later, the pad fell out.

Fair enough they said 30% remaining and it's done 2k kms, but you could be dealing with something else like a stuck caliper and one pad has worn considerably more than the others.

If you've had good dealings with the garage so far, i couldn't think of a reason not to go back.

Akrasia

Brake-pad falling off is not good, especially on a 5 year old car, but if you've left a car outside in the elements for months on end without driving it, stuff is going to get seized, like the callipers, and trying to drive a car with a seized brake, will fail at the weakest point, which seems to have been the pad this time.

Consider yourself lucky it was a consumable like a brake pad, and not a disk or calliper than broke

If you've got an asset worth tens of thousands of Euros sitting on your driveway corroding by the the day, it might be a good idea to either sell it, or store it properly, or even give it to someone who can drive it every now and then to keep it operational.

Dirty Nails

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058221355/brake-pad-fell-off-car

Just so as you're on the right page - that isn't a brake pad,it's the friction material off a brake pad. Not a very common thing but it does happen.

Buffman

OP, you say the car hasn't moved much. Has it been left sitting for a few weeks without moving?

What you have in the photo is only part of the brake pad with what appears to be corrosion on it. The backing plate is missing and presumably still in the brake caliper. If I had to guess from your description in the OP, I'd say the brake pad was stuck to the brake disc with corrosion from lying up for a long period. When you moved it, instead of freeing itself, it broke.

A full Octavia pad including backing plate would look something like this.

Leaving a car lying up outside can lead to these sort of things, especially in winter. Try and drive it enough to get everything up to temperature a least once a week.

Sir Galahad

Looks like “Delamination”. The pad has come away from the backing plate. I’m not a mechanic but I wouldn’t blame the garage.

bbsrs

Can't see how you'll be able to blame that on a garage, count yourself lucky it happened at 3mph and not 60mph. Get new pads fitted and be happy you dodged a bullet.

Lemlin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118275451#Comment_118275451

The car is being driven at least once or twice a week. It just isn’t going that far.

I had thought about selling it but then if my work situation changes or I change jobs, which is likely in the coming months, I may need a vehicle for commuting to Dublin a couple of times a week again.

ba_barabus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118275712#Comment_118275712

Could very well be the cause of it, pads could have stuck on the discs from corrosion or during frosty weather and pulled it off.

Buffman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118275712#Comment_118275712

Ye, now is a good time to sell a 161 Octavia as prices are good due to lack of supply, so that's an option. Though if you think you'll need it in a few months, you'll be on the other side of that lack of supply if you want to buy.

Back to the brakes, you might get away with just new pads, but I suspect the disc still has bits of pad stuck to it or might have been damaged by the exposed baking plate, so will need to be cleaned or replaced. As always with brakes, best practice to do both sides at the same time.

cpoh1

If that was a main dealer service and has always been serviced there and the pads are genuine OEM I would be going back to the garage and expecting a curtesy changeout.

This just should not be happening with OEM pads with 25% meat left on them and very little mileage since.

Speedline

They are possibly 5 year old pads on a car which was left sitting. The backing plate on a brake pad is metal. If moisture gets in between the backing plate and the lining, it will rust if the car is not being used. The same is true of discs.

That lining clearly detached because of corrosion.

Pads and discs can heat up to a couple of hundred degrees while in normal operating service. This prevents any corrosion usually as it drives out any moisture.

saabsaab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118278290#Comment_118278290

I think you should ask them. Using it twice a week it shouldn't snap off like that.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118278290#Comment_118278290

Did the main dealer change the pads? The dealer told them the pads were due for replacement soon but that is as far as their involvement with the brake pads seems to have gone.

mickdw

Did someone fit a cheap pad last time around?

No way should that happen on a car going through main dealer service.

If the pad looked anyway rusted or old, dealer would have been requesting it changed out. 6 months sitting shouldn't do that to a pad.

saabsaab

Lemlin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118278856#Comment_118278856

Car has only ever been serviced by a main dealer. I’ve decided to move to a new garage in the area. Had the car collected this evening and it’s being dropped to them in the morning.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118278377#Comment_118278377

We've a 93 car with pads possibly 20 years old that's driven around fields and then parked up for months, the pads in this haven't fallen out or froze.

Unless the OP lives beside the sea the bit of the pad that fell off didn't get that much corrosion in few months of low usage.

Toyotafanboi

That still doesn't make it the dealers fault by any stretch?

FDave

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118278290#Comment_118278290

Any pads with 25% left are pads that need to be changed, not ones that can go 20K km to the next service. Heat cycles degrade the friction material and the amount of useable pad would be a lot less anyway.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118281158#Comment_118281158

A car with a main dealer service history looses a bit of the brake a few months after it being worked on by the dealer with very little driving since and it's not the dealer fault!

The people in the trade are back to try and claim that the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act doesn't apply to them again I see.

Darc19

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118281490#Comment_118281490

Where does the poster say that the dealer did work on the brakes where the issue is?

All I can see is that the dealer said it was 70% worn and would need to be done at NEXT service.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118281497#Comment_118281497

An expert worked on a car. A non expert drove it for a few months. A part that shouldn't fall off has, the expert is the one who has to explain why and how a safety critical part fell off a car soon after they worked on it.

Speedline

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118281490#Comment_118281490

They don't take each individual brake pad out and inspect them during a service.

standardg60

Nothing to do with the garage OP, happened to me with an old set or rear pads a while ago. They were due a replacement anyway, as were yours. It's unusual but it can happen.

cpoh1

Lads the original poster stated it had full main dealer service history, they checked the pads a few months beforehand and recommended changing at the next service.

The OEM pads are clearly defective and they likely missed the condition of them at the last service.

For me i would be marching back to that dealer and expecting a free changeout and apology. What if his family were in the car and they happened during a stop from a faster speed?

magicbastarder

there was six months between inspection and failure; so proving the pads were showing visible signs of failure six months earlier is not a simple task i expect.

also, what would constitute a normal inspection of pads? simply shining a torch on them to see how much meat is left, or taking them out and checking for delamination?

saabsaab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118281561#Comment_118281561

An old mechanic used to. Took them out cleaned them inspected them and put them back at the service.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118284593#Comment_118284593

a main dealer isn't going to do that. the dealer did an inspection 6 months ago. they are not responsible for happens in the meantime.

Speedline

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118284593#Comment_118284593

Yes and they used to remove the spark plugs, clean and re-gap them and refit. Those days are long gone.

ba_barabus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118284593#Comment_118284593

They would have done it when greasing the sliders.

Buffman

From the OP:

'Brakes/Clutch/Transmission OP - 137.34 €'

I know the OP says the pads weren't changed but does anyone know what the OP actually got for their €137?

cpoh1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118284625#Comment_118284625

They are responsible for the defective pads they put in the car day one, let alone the inspection 6 months ago. OEM pads should not fail like this no matter what and they should be standing over them.

Speedline

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118285631#Comment_118285631

As I've already said, the pads could be in the car from new. That's nearly 6 years. The car is long out of warranty. Pads are a consumable item. I'd be very surprised if a main dealer would entertain replacing them foc.

cpoh1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118285730#Comment_118285730

Warranty status of the car is irrelevant, and it doesnt matter how old the pads are, original manufacturers parts shouldnt be falling apart like that.

These arent any old consumable either, if that pad had fallen out in a different situation there could have been serious repercussions. I'd be fuming.

magicbastarder

there's no confirmation/suggestion that the garage in question was the original retailer of the car, has there? they'd be who would be who you'd have to go to if it was a warranty issue.there's plenty of breaks in the chain here:

may not be original garage

may not be original owner

car is out of warranty

garage said the pads would need replacing soon anyway

pad failed 6 months after last inspection

the OP was going to have to replace the pads soon anyway, this is not under question.

saabsaab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118285730#Comment_118285730

Its such a serious potential hazzard that I suspect that they or after contact with the pad makers will do just that. All pads back and front too. They don't want to risk adverse publicity.

Speedline

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118286802#Comment_118286802

I've seen whole pads falling out of cars in the past. The disc wears down along with the pads, and the pad simply slips out. I've seen it mainly on older VAG group cars, although it's 15 years since I worked full time on cars.

Toyotafanboi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118285631#Comment_118285631

Ah you're well wrong there.

mickdw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118286822#Comment_118286822

On yer typical vag setup, pad can escape if disc wears down well beyond limit and pad wears down to metal.

This can't be the cause here only being 2k after main dealer service.

magicbastarder

so i brought my kettle to the electrical repair shop. they told me the element was near the end of its life, and would need replacing soon. i said thanks, and took the kettle home.

six months later, the element failed. this is clearly the fault of the electrical repair shop.

saabsaab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118286873#Comment_118286873

Take it up with Joe Duffy or the small claims court? See what happens.