Costly Brake Replacement

[Stoob]

My 2020 ZS EV was serviced yesterday and they advised that the front and rear break discs will need replacing in 5 months or so. Mystified as they recently MOT’d it 2 months ago but did not make that advisory then. Also, the price is HUGE! Around a £1000!
Questions: is this normal (Car only done 18,000 miles, first 12,000 in Edinburgh)? Should I shop around for cost? Or to get a second opinion? Is it sane to ignore?

 

[Alb]

Were they saying the discs were worn, corroded or damaged in some other way?
Perhaps you could upload some pics.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

It seems a bit Mystic Meg that they can see 5 months into the future but not 7, and that excess wear is occurring in two summer months? If they change the discs then they should also change the pads , is that included in the quote. ? A grand is a bit much , but not overly so if you are on London rates. Discs and pads should last well over 18000 miles unless you are taking it around Goodwood every weekend. A local garage or Mot centre ( preferable ) can put it on the lift and let you know a 2nd opinion in 5 minuets for a modest fee.

 

[BOB353]

My last car, a D-Max had new disc fitted at about 100k km so 18,000 mile seems a bit soon to me.

 

[JohnV6]

On fleabay MG approved discs & pads are c £300 for all 4. Labour might be the killer but after 18k it seems very excessive.

Find a good local garage & get them to have a look

 

[Stoob]

Were they saying the discs were worn, corroded or damaged in some other way?
Perhaps you could upload some pics.

They weren’t that specific. Honestly, I can’t remember the exact words. I was reeling! I’ll upload some pics.

 

[GaryMG4]

They weren’t that specific. Honestly, I can’t remember the exact words. I was reeling! I’ll upload some pics.

@Rolfe had a similar stealership issues, she had an independent check and chose move dealer.

 

[Alb]

As a reference, I sold a 15 year old (performance) car in June and it still had the original front discs and pads!

 

[Lovemyev]

They weren’t that specific. Honestly, I can’t remember the exact words. I was reeling! I’ll upload some pics.

Pictures please .

 

[decrep]

an EV should have minimal brake wear because most of the time it's using regen.
However because of this, disks can corrode, if not used occasionally.
Minor corrosion can be worn off by friction braking, down a hill in neutral, in reverse or charged at `100%.

 

[Lovemyev]

This situation is common on a lot of EVs and especially in the rear brakes.
Lack of friction brake usage ( due to Regen braking ) allows the discs to become very pitted with rust.
A lot of main dealers have locked onto this situation and are generating revenue by installing replacement parts.
Now, third party suppliers are able to offer replacement pads and discs, at much lower prices !.

 

[Stoob]

Pictures please .

 

[Stoob]

A picture of front and back discs. The discoloured patches are partially removable with a damp cloth. Some grooving is visible on the one disc.

 

[Stoob]

an EV should have minimal brake wear because most of the time it's using regen.
However because of this, disks can corrode, if not used occasionally.
Minor corrosion can be worn off by friction braking, down a hill in neutral, in reverse or charged at `100%.

I do use KERS a lot. Always have it set on the highest level. Send silly not to.

 

[Data]

Stoob, I'm a retired technician & from the pictures those discs look fine. The grooving on one or two of them looks ok. Not bad enough to need replacing. The one caveat is that the grooves may not be showing up properly on the photo but I suspect they are fine. If you need new pads they will settle down ok. Have a chat with your dealer about this or go to another dealer for a second opinion.

 

[Fokmg]

Looks a bit like a stealership to me.
Those discs look pretty reasonable to me and I am always keen to ensure my brakes are A1

I would recommend that you spend a few days with Kers set at one and drive around being a bit heavy on the brakes, this treatment I am sure will clean up the disc surfaces.

I make sure that the brakes on my MG5 always get a bit of a thrashing particulalrly if the car has been left out in the rain or after cleaning it.

You will often hear a bit of a "crunch" when pulling off first thing in the morning (usually if it has rained and the discs get a bit rusty), if you do it is always good practice to give the brakes a bit of use to make sure the disk surfaces are all cleaned up BEFORE switching KERs to 3

I live in a very hilly part of Wales and do sometimes need the brakes KER3 can`t cope with a 1 in 6 hill without speed building up!

It is a problem that EVs are very light on the brakes (look at the review of The Cleevely MG5 at 140K, the brakes are hardly worn

Get a second opinion , the real problem with servicing EVs is that once the ashtray has been emptied and the screen washer is refilled there is not much more to do so the dealers go on a job creation scheme!!!

 

[MG Clive]

I don't think there's much wrong with those discs, the grooves in the 2nd and 3rd pictures are the worst, but they don't look bad enough to need replacing.

 

[Alb]

Discs look fine.
Would be interesting to know the thickness but I'd be 99.9% sure they are OK.

 

[JohnV6]

They look fine to me too.

 

[Gadget Geek]

Get a free brake check from a third party. If you can get a printout of the report, even better.