brakes not working properly after a wash

[mawallace]

I've owned my golf for around two and half years.
I washed my car, as normal and left it on the drive.
After the weekend (two days) I drove off to the work. When I got to the bottom of the road I braked and the car kept going and juddered.
Next junction similar thing. I kept lightly touching the brakes and after five miles the brakes worked properly.
I'm assuming something seized due to the wash. But any idea how it happened and how ti stop it happening again

 

[Sandman GTI]

I've owned my golf for around two and half years.
I washed my car, as normal and left it on the drive.
After the weekend (two days) I drove off to the work. When I got to the bottom of the road I braked and the car kept going and juddered.
Next junction similar thing. I kept lightly touching the brakes and after five miles the brakes worked properly.
I'm assuming something seized due to the wash. But any idea how it happened and how ti stop it happening again

Others may have better info, but I lean toward rust.
Are the rear wheels drum brakes? If parking brake on during wash something might have rusted enough to not release.

 

[mawallace]

I think it's disc all round

 

[sg11]

Sounds like flash rust. To help prevent this, after I wash my car I always drive it around the block and make sure to use the brakes to help dry them off.


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[Hobby55]

Or use one of those hand car washed whilst you are out and on the drive back it will dry! In the weather we're having at the moment I've not bothered having it washed!

 

[MarcA]

You didn't spray tyre black stuff did you ?

 

[mawallace]

Nope I did spray alloy wheel cleaner

 

[Mk5Dom]

100% light surface rust on your discs.
Just remember to brake earlier for the first few times after washing your car.

 

[BlueHen]

I use a leaf blower to dry my car after hand washing. The brake discs form surface rust while I'm looking at them. I also get a little clunk when the parking brake first releases.

It's all gone when I brake for the first traffic light.

Perhaps you have some slightly heavier rust going on.

 

[Finglonga]

Surface rust as said, only way to stop it is make sure the brakes are dry before leaving the car overnight. Doesn't hurt it as happens to mine every time it is washed and left, after a couple of stops it goes.

 

[breaking badly]

There's no Mk.VII with drum brakes. Even Mk.IV Golfs came with disc brakes all around.

I've owned my golf for around two and half years.
I washed my car, as normal and left it on the drive.
After the weekend (two days) I drove off to the work. When I got to the bottom of the road I braked and the car kept going and juddered.

Normal. Never wash a car and leave it standing still for two days. Common sense says you'd need to drive it.

Nope I did spray alloy wheel cleaner

Even worse. Alloy wheel cleaners are aggressive, accelerating brake rotors and pads to rust.

 

[lancslad1985]

There's no Mk.VII with drum brakes. Even Mk.IV Golfs came with disc brakes all around.



Normal. Never wash a car and leave it standing still for two days. Common sense says you'd need to drive it.



Even worse. Alloy wheel cleaners are aggressive, accelerating brake rotors and pads to rust.

The S comes with drum brakes at the back, as my last car was a Golf Mk7 S and it didn't have discs at the back. It didn't have much else on to be fair either!

Not all alloy cleaners are aggressive. I work for a car care company and one of our cleaners doesn't use the corrosive acids/alkali chemicals you see in some cleaners (the other one does). Plenty of competitors have gone this way too now from our testing, but people still buy the acid/alkali one in their droves because it means spray on/rinse off.

Have to agree about the comments about driving after washing. Even just sitting in the rain (like yesterday) my discs had surface rust.

 

[breaking badly]

Did you accidentally get a 3rd world spec Golf? Just kidding.
VW seem to love cost cutting on some markets more than I could imagine.
Continental/western euro spec - rear disc brakes have been standard from
Mk.IV on, though I don't know about eastern euro Golfs.

Agree on rust. Brake rotors are made from cast iron, since stainless steel
has poor properties regarding thermal conduction and expansion. But ...
iron will rust when wet. You can't get around this fact.

 

[lancslad1985]

Did you accidentally get a 3rd world spec Golf? Just kidding.
VW seem to love cost cutting on some markets more than I could imagine.
Continental/western euro spec - rear disc brakes have been standard from
Mk.IV on, though I don't know about eastern euro Golfs.

Agree on rust. Brake rotors are made from cast iron, since stainless steel
has poor properties regarding thermal conduction and expansion. But ...
iron will rust when wet. You can't get around this fact.

I HAD a 3rd world spec golf, but ironically that S was my favourite car ever. There was nothing on it to go wrong, I could get 70mpg out of the 1.6 diesel, it was cheap on tyres and if you kerbed them the steelies popped straight back out!

I also say was because my current GTD is by far and away my favourite

Oh completely agree about iron and rust. My car was standing in storm Doris last week and one side was extra rusty and the other was clean because all the rain came from one direction. I clean mine at work and leaving it standing for a few hours before I go home makes the brakes stick at first, so I'd dread to think what it'd be like after two days!

 

[golfdave]

The S comes with drum brakes at the back, as my last car was a Golf Mk7 S and it didn't have discs at the back. It didn't have much else on to be fair either!

.

According to etka & VW price cat 2014 all MK7 inc S have disc brakes front & rear....

I have not seen a Golf with rear disc brakes unless an early one...

Send me a picture to prove other wise please as all info states rear disc....

& we all talking UK so Europe spec.....& still even on ROW spec I have not found drum rears on MK7