Porsche 981 Disc Problems

[Danny Davison]

Hi,
This might be an old issue to members but it's driving me mad. The history is I bought a 981 PDK from Porsche with 3000 miles. It came with a judder and Porsche Newcastle said it needed all Discs and Pads. This was paid for by the selling Dealer in London. Now 3000 more miles and the problem has returned. Porsche Newcastle say it needs new Discs and Pads again stating it has hot sports. I'm not sure what is going on and need to know if this so common and what is the root cause? I drive it from Newcastle to Carlisle each day and there is a bit of heavy breaking, but I've never had this problem with any other cars on the same route. Any idea guys as it's really destroying my Porsche ownership dream! I'm gutted.

 

[AndrewCS]

Where are the `hot spots` ... on all discs ?

I have done 8k in the past nine months with no issues, wear rates indicate original equipment (11k prior to me).

 

[BrianJ]

No such problems with mine after 26k miles. By the way, you've posted in the Macan forum, suggest you move to Boxster or Cayman depending on what your 981 is.

 

[rowtietowers]

All sounds a bit strange to me. Through 4 different Boxsters, I’ve had to replace discs & pads once on 2 of them (mileage was well past 30,000 miles on each occasion from recollection). They just don’t wear that quickly - main issue is rusted discs from not taking the car for a run after washing - the downside of cross-drilled discs! I would query how they think the discs can have hot spots in view of the mileage - after all it’s a sports car! I would question the dealer further as it’s not acceptable to be shelling out that sort of money on a regular basis (I’m guessing circa £1,500 - £2,000) - sounds like it’s something more underlying causing the issue.

 

[tscaptain]

Moved to the Boxster/Cayman forum.

 

[ralphmusic]

Just to dispose of one possible issue, do you hold the brakes on whilst stationary after heavy breaking?

Did your Porsche Centre or you take pictures of the "hot spots", were they pad deposits?

Did they test the discs for distortion?

 

[Danny Davison]

Hi, I've not seen the photos. I'm not sure regarding disc distortion which I will ask about. I do sit with my foot on the breaks but not immediately after heavy breaking. I don't understand how you cannot sit with your foot on the breaks pedal at lights, etc. How long do breaks need to cool down before putting the car away with the breaks on, but as I say I've never done heavy breaking then sat with the breaks on. I'm totally pussled as problems with discs has never happen with a cheap mini or my wife's car. In fact it's never ever happened to me before to have disc problems again and again that keep needing replacing.

 

[AndrewT]

Could the brakes be overheating, maybe due to a binding handbrake or the PSM system which I believe automatically operates the brakes at times?

Is it just the front or rear brakes which are affected, or all of them? Manual or PDK transmission?

Maybe your Porsche centre could use an infrared thermometer to measure the disc temperatures to find out whether one or more are excessively hot?

 

[Danny Davison]

Hi,
It's PDK. Last time we started with the fronts then ended up replacing the backs as well. At the moment they are saying the fronts, but I've been here once before and as I say it happens after 3000 miles.


Could the brakes be overheating, maybe due to a binding handbrake or the PSM system which I believe automatically operates the brakes at times?

Is it just the front or rear brakes which are affected, or all of them? Manual or PDK transmission?

Maybe your Porsche centre could use an infrared thermometer to measure the disc temperatures to find out whether one or more are excessively hot?

[/quote]

 

[BrianJ]

You haven't got the known problem with binding plastic bearings on the brake pedal pivot have you, which can prevent the brake pedal from releasing properly and hence keeps the brakes on slightly? I thought it only affected early 981/991 (like mine) and it normally throws all sorts of spurious warning messages on the dash, but might be worth a check.

 

[Motorhead]

Danny,

I'd agree with Brian's comment.

Also, the brakes on modern cars operate in a "primed" condition, with the pads lightly touching the discs for maximum braking effort in the minimum time. Maybe your braking/ABS system isn't functioning correctly in this respect, but I would have thought that Newcastle PC should have been on top of this. In the first instance, I'd get them to bleed the system thoroughly.

Jeff

 

[Danny Davison]

Hi Guys,
Thanks so much for your comments especially those that are suggesting known problems and solutions. It's invaluable help compared to the dealers that just want to take your money and send you on your way until it happens again. Truely invaluable. I'm pleased I joined the club.
Regards

Danny

 

[turbo jonny]

Regarding the known problem of overheating due to faulty bush mentioned above .
I have a 2015 car . The PSM light came on and i took it to OPC Newcastle before the
discs were damaged . So it affects all years of 981 . This was at 9k miles though .
3k miles twice is very odd ...

 

[Buddy]

For it to have happened twice they should have investigated the car and even gone out with you to see if there is something you are doing which may trigger it except that first time it was not caused by your driving as the dealer was selling it to you and knew it had a problem! 3000 miles for a set of brakes is somewhat excessive! It definitely sounds like a problem such as the pivot and as such it's down to them not checking it properly the first time!

 

[Boxtastic]

A very late response, I know.......but it may be useful to someone else.....

I had exactly this recurring problem with a 997. It turned out that the wheels had been re-furbished prior to my purchase; and poor masking had led to a thick over-spray on many edges of the mating surfaces. So the wheels were not sitting fully flush on the hub... and every ~3/4k miles brake judder appeared. Fully cured by getting rid of the excess!

Diagnosed over the phone by Marcus at www.discskimmers.com a real pro!!!

 

[DWaldie]

This might be a red herring but a couple of years ago I had a bad cycling accident and couldn't drive for 11 weeks. When I eventually started driving my A4 the front disks where knackered as it had stood so long. The disks had rusted all around, except where the pads were in contact with the disks, creating "high spots". I tried all sorts to remedy it, but only new disks and pads resolved the judder!