[Duckman999]

Jetta sportwagon, 2010.

Drove from Atlanta to Charleston a few days ago. Fueled up around halfway there. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary during the fuel stop. When I arrived at my destination I could immediately smell brake/brakepads. 99% of driving was done on the interstate, and no I wasn't riding the brakes at all.

Local dealer here is now replacing all 4 rotors and pads but won't give me an explanation as to what could be wrong. I'm getting bogus crap like (it was cold, perhaps the car sat for awhile, etc). Only thing I could think of would be excessive water in the brake system, and freezing temps causing the hydraulic system to somehow put pressure on the brakes slightly for a long period of time. The fact that it was no colder than 37 would seem to rule that out. Brakes never felt squishy or spongy like they would with a ton of water in the lines anyway.... So as far as possible causes, I have no idea.

I did not get to look at the rotors or pads, but surely there has to be something going on here. Replacing the part without fixing the cause is just asking for the same thing to happen again...or worse and have the brakes lockup at speed.

ANY thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[chittychittybangbang]

It could be frozen parking brake cable. Water gets into the boot but normally it frees itself after the brakes heat up and you say it's warm enough so that may not be the case. Take a look through the FAQ to see how the parking brake cable/lever works. If it's frozen in the parked position it's possible the release spring won't loosen it. If you smell brake pad, something was holding it.

You could also try adjusting the parking brake lever to be slightly looser.

 

[Keithuk]

Welcome to the forum. welcometomyturbodies

Brakes never felt squishy or spongy like they would with a ton of water in the lines anyway....

If there was loads of water in the brake line it wouldn't make the brake pedal feal spongy, its still a fluid that won't compress.

I don't suppose you noticed if any of the wheel centres felt hot, one or two hotter than the others? If it was the handbrake cable sticking then the rears would be hotter.

 

[RIGolfTDI]

Did you notice any drop in you fuel mileage? If the brakes were dragging, your engine would have to work harder to move the car and therefore consume more fuel.