Rear discs worn out before the front ones? (Tiguan 2021)

How old is the car? Were the front discs already replaced by a previous owner?

Also what is the make and model?

The same thing happened with my Seat Ateca, which is based on the Tiguan platform I think. I remember thinking it was odd at the time too

It's been a long day 😂

No idea but sounds unusual and as per above how many km on them. Wonder could manufacturers of these modern cars be cheaping out even further putting thinner/lighter grade disks on the rears given they're expected to preform less work.

My old Volvo S60 has disc brakes all round but the mechanical handbrake is a separate drum brake running inside the disc. Given the smaller diameter the handbrake performance isn't great but it'll hold the car on any incline and has been trouble free for years despite doing low mileage and often left up for a week or two at a time. Pretty good design overall.

Some of the disc change recommendations are going to be dealers upselling/gouging. VW group and especially Audi are known for this, someone has to pay for the glass palace showrooms and this work is routine and piss easy for a mechanic. Also, unlike oil changes, brake jobs won't stop being a revenue stream for them if all customers switch to EVs.

They won't. As long as cars have discs and pads, dealers will try to convince customers that they need changing. Even more so when they don't have a steady revenue stream from oil changes. There's often no need to replace the brakes on an ICE either yet dealers still recommend it and people fall for it.

Also, regen braking and lack of use means that brakes may rust more. More rusting = more scoring = discs looking bad and more customers convinced that they need changing. And quite possibly more NCT fails on insufficient contact between disc and pad.

PS I got 325k kms out of the original front discs and pads on my diesel car. That's 200k miles and it wasn't motorway only driving. The replacement set has 270k kms and has plenty of life left in them. I got a lot less out of the rears though - probably due to lack of use.

The fact is that most people know very little about cars but know that brakes are important. They are wide open to being manipulated by dealers and this is exactly what happens. It's not "on them" FFS.

As I said, regen braking = more brake rust but regardless of whether EVs need more or less brake maintenance, unnecessary brake jobs will become a bigger part of the motor trade's gouging arsenal as they look to replace lost revenue from no more oil changes. Brake jobs, rotating the tyres, cabin filter replacements, plugging in the computer and (as flagged by the CCPC this year) suggesting to customers that their warranty will be void if they don't get this work done at a main dealer.

Are you possibly mixing up pads & discs? Rear pads often have less lining thickness.

No actually I am correct, the abs system is used for grip and cornering in the Vag group, this is why the rear brakes wear out quicker than the front. The abs system is kicking in without illuminating the dash👍

No idea why you quoted Kermit in that.

It would seem from the web that early rear disc wear is common in modern cars due to a variety of systems using the brakes, auto hold, stability, cornering systems and abs. It pops up on other manufacturers too. Driving style has an impact. You can always get a faulty batch of my pads to or discs.

Probably worse on something sporty, heavy or driven hard.

In assume smoother you drive, less breaking, less accelerating and a lighter left foot. All helps