benson01 Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Hello all. Has anyone experienced problems with the brakes on the Polo GTI sticking when the car has been in the rain or washed and then left overnight / for a few days? I think it's the brake pads sticking to the discs because of a quick rusting process (my discs get rust spots on them very quickly after being idle for a period). I've had this on a Honda I owned previously, but never as bad as I get it on the Polo. Tonight was my worst ever experience of it. I washed the car on Sunday afternoon, and gave the alloys a good cleaning too. The car has been left since then until 6 pm this evening (two days), and it was not even freezing tonight. When I made off in reverse I felt the familiar feeling of the brakes being stuck (like if you had left the handbrake on - which I had not!) The car strained but would not move. As I said, I've had this before but what was different this time was the sheer amount of revs I had to give it to free the car from it's infirmness! Quite a scary amount of power in fact. It would not move in either forward or reverse. Eventually getting fed up with this I gave it some welly and the brakes broke free and we moved backwards. But...for a few seconds I heard this horrible clanking sound coming from the brakes. Oh feck I thought, and a feeling of anxiety formed in my stomach. I've broken my brakes! I carried on driving out of my road, and the clanking sound disappeared. I drove the car 40 miles tonight and the brakes seem ok. There is no pulling to the side when either driving or braking, but I can't be sure something has not gone twang! It can't be right that this happens so badly. What do I do in winter if it's this bad now........ Any ideas folks. Do I need my brakes adjusting? What's the feeling on how much strain the brake pads can take when trying to free them. I guess the dashboard would show a warning if the brakes were damaged on the GTI right? Cheers all. ***PS - should I add this to my list of known Polo GTI problems Corroding BBS / Gearbox and clutch failure / Sticking brakes ....yada....yada....yada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritey Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 I've had a slight issue when I didn't drive mine for a weekend after a good wash down on saturday morning, but it was only just noticeable. This could be because I don't have a huge amount of pad left But then it could be that your problem sounds quite extreme, personally, with brakes I'd get them checked asap not just for the saftey of yourself & passengers but also for every other road user / person walking along the road ! Hope its nothing major! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R32North Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Sounds like binding brakes.... check the disk to see if theres quite a big lip on the edge, if so this could be causing the brakes to bind on when not in use - you put the hand brake on and the lip catches the edge of the pads and it can be quite a struggle to break free. If you have a lip, take off the wheel and see if you can 'chap' the lip off with a hammer. If the lip is too thick and a the amount of whacking with a hammer might damage the disks, then file away the lip or get new disks and pads. Also, I'd take off all the pads and clean the caliper and mounting bracket, use a wee wire brush / screw driver and scape away all the dust, grot and grime that accumulated, until your down to the metal - do this on all edges that touch the pads. When done, use some copper slip on these contact points and replace the pads - DO NOT get copper slip on the pads or disk, if you do clean with brake cleaner!!!! Now your pads should be free to slide and also not bind on due to the removal of the lip on the disks - remember if the lip is huge then the disks are getting worn down quite a bit and replacing them might be a good idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moschops Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 This is common after washing the car and leaving it standing, the compound in the pads seems to absorb water like a sponge, then if left they dry out causing the pads to stick to the discs, normally the rears. Both my wifes current GTI and her previous 16V do/did it, on the 16V they even replaced the discs and pads under warranty but it made no difference. After I've washed the car I give it a quick spin down the road and apply the brakes sharpish (get the heat in them) and gently apply the hand brake, then park the car with the hand brake off and leave in gear. Oh and if they do stick you'll need to give it some welly to free them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R32North Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 The brakes on my R do that, but not as much as it sounds like it is being described - hence why I though it mught be the brakes binding. But maybe the wee polos brakes have a worse time of it, should be easy to resolve tho ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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