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Front discs at 7k

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Author Post
malnik   
Sat May 26 2012, 08:36am
I have a C4GP 1.6 exclusive petrol. It is 18 months old and we have now done 10k. At around 7k I noticed the front discs appeared scored, on touching them you could feel the lip at the edge and groves on the disc. The pads have lots of meat left though.
I got the car at 10 months old, with 700 miles on it. Clearly it had been sitting for a while, previous owner Citroen UK.

I took it to a dealer who serviced my previous C4 but he just said yes, m they are worn and it's caused but stones as the alloys have big gaps between the spokes allowing grit to get in, not warranty and when I do the service they will need changed.

I didn't feel this was reasonable wear at 7k so wrote to Citroen and they said what he said is what they go on.

So my question is it normal for the C4 to need new discs at 7k? Has anyone else had premature wear? I'm not a fast driver, currently showing 39mpg average for the last 4k, I'm mostly motorway cruising when we use it. And the dealer said the pads look new!

My concern is that I previously purchased a car that had been sat for 12 months ( I like a bargain!), and the brakes had seized on causing it to need new discs. I am wondering if that's what happened here but they wont even investigate that.
BigJohnD   
Sat May 26 2012, 09:02am

Member No: #82
Joined: Jan 22 2007
Location: Hoylake
7K is a very short life, the norm being anything from 30K to 50K.

If the car had been sitting around for a long time, the discs would have rusted. However I'm not sure that would fully explain the severe scoring.
kipper   
Sat May 26 2012, 10:11am
If, like me, you are doing a very low annual mileage, there is a danger of the discs rusting between drives. I had 4 months of no driving (due to ill health, I might add!), and the discs rusted up quite badly. On getting back into the car, the brakes sounded like I had a stone trapped between pad and disc, but cleared up after a few braking sessions over 5 miles. I often don't use the car for three or four days, and the brakes always scrape the first few times. After 5 years and 42K miles, I am on my third set of discs.
PentlandC4   
Sat May 26 2012, 03:33pm
Member No: #13613
Joined: May 08 2010
Location: Deepest Wiltshire
I've had a recurring problem with this because a) I'm gentle on the brakes and b) I live in a slightly saltier environment than a lot of other C4 owners. If the rust on the disc isn't cleared or, more specifically, spots of rust on the disc, then this manifests itself as scoring.

The only foolproof way I've found to stop the scoring happening (and it will happen with the above circumstances) is to give the car a good, firm, stomp on the brake pedal early-on in its first drive of the day (assuming, naturally, that it is safe to do so).

The rear discs are the worst culprits as their application in normal driving isn't as firm as the fronts, and in my case it's the rear discs which haven't lasted as long as they perhaps ought to.

I did read somewhere (Honest John, probably) that the removal of asbestos from the pads has made this far more evident, as the asbestos acted as a lubricant.

I'm guessing that if the car was being shunted around a dealers yard for a few months then it might explain the scoring. The discs go rusty even at the mention of water, and at low speeds they wouldn't be cleared of rust.
tomandjo2   
Thu May 31 2012, 06:33am
Member No: #20851
Joined: Jul 17 2011
Location: Cambridge
I would suspect if it was caused by brake pads alone they too would be well worn, I also doubt it would be caused by rust (if you wash your car the discs will show quite a considerable amount of rust as soon as they are dry.)

Have you measured the discs to see if they are within thickness limits.

If stones got in I would expect you'd hear a grinding/grating noise.

It might also be possible that previous owner did a lot of heavy braking and your pads were replaced hence them still having lots of life left in them.

If you do end up having new discs might be worth changing pads too just incase they are part of the cause.

A lip on the outside edge of a brake disc is normal.

Regards
Tom
gmerry   
Thu May 31 2012, 07:45am
Member No: #11625
Joined: Nov 30 2009
Location: aberdeen
Brakes are wearing components by definition.

Don't expect to get any joy from anybody (ie free replacements), just take the car to an independednt and get them replaced.

Regards
G
sloppysod   
Sun Jun 03 2012, 07:35am
Member No: #15935
Joined: Oct 16 2010
Location: Wrexham
tomandjo2 wrote ...

If you do end up having new discs might be worth changing pads too just incase they are part of the cause.

Hi all,
If your old discs are grooved then the pads would be also so it is good workshop practice to change the pads at the same time as the discs this ensures good pad to disc contact from the off. I think the disc manufacturers also recommend this.

Reading the text above, Yes..... it does seem to be excessive wear for a small amount of mileage. I also own a very heavy motorcycle and use sintered pads and I expect to get 20000 mile from a set of discs, so reading all the above and adding a little MMM to the equation, are Citroen discs up to the job? I think I would be tempted to look at after market parts, I have EBC disc fitted to my motorcycle and for a CITROEN/C4 Picasso/2.0/2006- pair of discs are from about £95 (Standard) to £160 (grooved) I bet Citroen want double!!
 

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