Good morning, can anyone confirm if there is a problem with rear brakes

Bought a brand new Audi A3 from the main dealership in May.  Since day one I have had a squeak  and grinding noise on the rear brakes when running at low speed, less than 10 mph in traffic..

The car has been back into Audi three times .

First time mechanic test drove the car with me , said he couldn’t believe how noisy the brakes were , but said they was no problem…?

second time, they so called cleaned and re greased the rear brakes, which lasted about thirty miles

Third time dealership, said the pads had Glazed, of which they replaced, at no cost to me, but the noise was back within a couple days…???? 
 
I would much appreciate, if anyone could shed some light on this..? 
many thanks.

 

In your position I would demand, in writing, a replacement car on the grounds that the car is defective and the dealer has thrice proved himself incapable of fixing it.

It could be a long battle so keep records of all communications, which should preferably be written not verbal.

Afternoon Cliff, I much appreciate your advice, the car is currently booked to go in again to the main dealership on the 30th Dec ( the earliest booking) for further investigation, so I will keep you updated as we go…! Thanks again.

4 hours ago, SteveT said:

so I will keep you updated as we go…! 

Please do. You are not the only one in such a position so it would help everyone to know of your progress.

The fact they admitted the pads were glazed probly without thinking about what they were saying points towards the calipers not backing of correctly after application, unless your driving with your handbrake on which obviously your not if you were to glaze your rear brakes your front would be even worse, typically it’s 70% braking force on front and 30% on back 

Evening Sid, many thanks for your information and advice.

this is further questions I will ask at the dealership, when I take the car back in on the 30th.  I will keep you updated.👍🏻

Good morning all, the latest update I have at the moment is, the car went in again on the 30/12, the mechanic told me there is nothing wrong…!!!? Well, I thought I would now get a second opinion on this. I took the car to the same dealership, but at different location , they are now going to have the car for the day and investigate thoroughly on 9/1/25 , so I am hoping we can get to the bottom of this somehow.

Many thanks Steve,

Probably pessimistic, but be prepared that they will check the history and see your complaint has been disputed by the supplying dealer. 
Fore warned ….

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

What was the result of the latest investigation?

Morning Cliff, apologies for the late reply, thought I would get some miles in before I replied.

So, the car had the further investigation done with the same dealership, but at the other location, straight away I was met with a mechanic who was conscientious, listened and appeared nothing was too much trouble.

He test drove the car with me, couldn’t find the intermittent squeak, but did remark the brakes were on the noisy side…!!?

He did say, that being the new Generation 4 model with the mild hybrid system everything is so much quieter in the cabin, so any noise would be more noticeable..ie braking..!!!? 
they noticed straight away there was no grease in and around the pad housings and springs completely bone dry, of which should of been greased  at the investigation previously… they checked the disc’s , calipers and for any wear on the new pads , all as it should be..!! Only thing noticeable was quite a build up of  brake carbon (dust) on the brakes , which I have noticed myself when cleaning the car every week, but can’t explain when neither my wife or myself heavy brake and the car is only driven 10 miles a day for work .

On previous inspections the noise has returned within days or 30 miles.

At the moment there is No Binding Noise at low speed , as before and certainly not heard the Squeak and we have covered about 100 miles since the investigation. 
I can only hope this has resolved the problem, only time will tell…???  I still can’t explain was it a friction noise with no grease and what caused the pads to glaze so badly within 6 months…????

 

Fingers crossed for you, the theory of how everything works and fits perfectly from the factory is great but sometimes it just requires a tried and tested fix like a smear of lubricant

Thanks for letting us know.

I have this issue as well. It started after I left the car sitting for about a month. Anyway, Steve, I’d like to know if now, after a few more months it is still clear of the problem? Thanks. Love my A3 except for this and my CarPlay that doesn’t work! ( I’m sure I’ll get that sorted too.)

4 hours ago, Arminski said:

It started after I left the car sitting for about a month.

That is often caused by rust on the discs, especially if you washed the car with a hose before parking it. If so, firm application of the brakes a few times should clear it. If that does not solve the noise it would be worth inspecting the brake calipers and pads for seizure.