Pitted and Rusted rear discs.

[TorbayC3A]

Hi all,

Just had service and MOT and they've flagged up the rear discs as being Pitted and Rusted after just over 12000 miles. They've put it as advisory only as we do low mileage saying it'll last until next year but I'm minded to get it done sooner.

I remembered something on here before about rear discs rusting and I found the post about peoples rear brakes sticking on.

Juan mentioned in that post that he replaced his discs and pads Brembo which perform much better so that seems to be a sensible thing to do.

So a couple of questions if anyone can advise please.

I've purchased the extended warranty from Citroen so would fitting the non Citroen parts invalidate it?

I'd prefer to get them fitted by my Citroen dealer so they can't blame the fitting if problems occur later. Would a Citroen dealer fit Brembo discs and pads?

Cheers.

[Juan Sheet]

Hi

Not at all. Condition for warranty is servicing, not parts and they cannot enforce legally any such restrictions, and the same goes for the servicing. As long as the vehicle is serviced as per the manufacturer's recommended intervals and the exact operations are performed (and you have documented evidence) then you warranty has to be honoured.

Brembo is a well-known brand and the quality IMO far outweighs the Citroen Originals. Mine were originals and they were in a horrendous state - with not only pits everywhere, but also huge grooves over the whole disc!

Since fitting the Brembo Discs and Pads for a while now I am well-pleased with the performance and condition. Be aware that the rear discs include the rear Wheel Hub Bearing and ABS reluctor ring so make sure you get the correct ones.

I will be fitting these in future. I told Citroen at the last service how bad these discs were and they seemed to acknowledge that (unofficially). I can only speak as I find, but I know what I'd rather have on my car and I'm usually a stickler for OEM parts getting everything dealer - sourced, - but there are limits and when I'm driving with my family I know what I would rather have under me for stopping.

[Fastbysuzuki]

Yes the original disc are poor quality, I think one of your problems is the low mileage you do, its something to do with the braking setup the majority of braking is bias to the front brakes and lesser to the rear ( this is not an unusual setup) but on cars that only do low mileage the rear disc pads become tight in the carrier leading to the problem.you describe.
When I came to change my rear discs the pads where that tight I had to use a punch to hammer them from the carrier I live around 400 metres from the Irish Sea and it’s now a yearly job to strip and clean them fortunately I am able to do this myself.
One symptom of the problem I found to recognise is that the handbrake becomes much less effective as the pads are tight in the carrier.

[Juan Sheet]

My discs were equally bad front and rear, so no difference between front and rears in terms of the condition : huger deep circular gouges over the discs- the worst I have ever seen.

Here’s a front and rear disc at the time: it doesn’t show the other grooves very well, but running your finger over the discs there are multiple ‘tracks’’.

Handbrake not affected in terms of performance - very effective on first few notches.

With Electronic Brakeforce Distribution replacing the old mechanical compensator system applies braking force to each wheel where needed according to weight and the other factors determined by the other ESP functions. We normally have 2 front passengers and a boot full of shopping cartons, but never had any issue with the pads coming out.

But having the guard protectors for the rear discs fitted has made a huge difference in the annoying clunk we used to get after releasing the handbrake and starting to move off. The rears used to stick on first thing, but with the guards on and all the Brembo pads and discs it hasn’t happened since.

[Airtool]

Sorry to butt in on disc issues.
I have a hell of a clunk when rear brakes release when i move out of my garage so i contacted citroen this wk, i stated that that a cover can be fitted to elleviate this problem would they fit under my warranty.Their answer was there is a cover available but it is only for cars in areas that have conditions of snow.
I then asked could they look at my front tire wear which is excessive on outside of nearside tyre after having had tracking checked and found to be ok, citroen garage response was alignment not covered by warranty.
I finally asked can they look at clutch cable, on depressing pedal it is not smooth as it was, their response clutch problems will not be covered under warranty as it a wearable item.
I wonder why i paid £300 for a warranty.

[Juan Sheet]

The warranty excludes alignment / tracking unless it's needed as part of another covered operation.

But they appear to have the last part wrong regarding the clutch That's incorrect and I'd argue that with the warranty company directly (even though it is Citroen Warranty they use another company) - I've done this before and they have over-ridden the Citroen dealership, contacted them and authorised repairs - so always worth querying this as often it's down to not reading the warranty carefully or their lack of intelligence in understanding what it means!

Specifically, the warranty states under the section 'Excluded Items'

• Brake and clutch frictional material

So if there is a mechanical fault with the clutch then it should be included as long as it's nothing to do with the frictional side of it. So if the master / slave Cylinder / thrust bearing or other components not related to wear items is faulty then it should be covered.

As for the rear disc / brake guards which I had done. It was in the middle of winter but we had no snow that year when I had them fitted, but again the actual technical document that covers this states it is for vehicles between 1000 and 25 000 kms. They do change the bulletins and update them periodically, and I had mine done at just within the mileage limit. But not an icicle in sight - mine did it all the time, every morning. See below for an extract from the technical document and you can see it specifically also mentions rain. So I would query that too as you can see it clearly mentions the 2 conditions separately, Snow and then rain!

CONDITIONS IN WHICH FAULT APPEARS
After driving on a snow-covered road and a long period stationary, with or without the parking brake applied ; After driving in rain and a long period stationary, with or without the parking brake applied

2. Service Action
CAUTION : This document is applicable to vehicles with a mileage between 1000 and 25 000 km
Fitting of brake disc plates.

2.1. Parts required
2 Brake disc plates (Part number 16 062 337 80 ).
8 Hub carrier bolts (Part No. depending on vehicle specification).

[TorbayC3A]

Juan,

Thanks for reply to my original, good to know fitting the Brembo won't affect my warranty.

I'll ask the dealer if they will fit Brembo, if not guess I'll have to take it to an independent.

I don't know if I'd be up to fitting myself. Do you know if specialised tools are required, I'm thinking something special is needed to get the pistons back into calipers?

Cheers again.

[Juan Sheet]

The dealers will not fit aftermarket parts (liability / insurance issues).

Just get a local trusted mechanic to do it. These are the same vehicles as the Vauxhall Crossland X, so anyone having done the rear discs on these will know about the hub and ABS ring.

I'd leave it to the pros to be honest, unless you have the right equipment. The bearing hub bolts have to be carefully fitted and torqued correctly and the area cleaned with the correct fluids. Correct piston wind-back tools will also be needed too for the pistons and handbrake cable removal etc.

[TorbayC3A]

Thanks Juan, that all makes sense.

[Airtool]

Yes thank you Juan for clarifying my issue to.