2007 Volkswagen Jetta: grinding or squealing brakes

Filed Oct 23, 2009 · Brakes · 26,500 miles · OR

I own a 2007 jetta with only 26k miles on it. Without any initial warning the rear brakes started to grind on the rear passenger side. I took the car to a specialist who told be one rear brake was grinding on metal and the other was about to get to that point. My front wheel drive brakes were still 100% and not showing any sign of wear. They felt this was very unusual for brakes to do this so soon and suggested I take it to the car dealer to have them check for faulty brakes. I took the car in and they said it was normal for this car to do this so early. I want you to know that I have owned many cars in my lifetime and tend to replace them after about 50k miles. We have never had to replace brakes on any of our cars. This is not normal and should be investigated for a flaw in the model. They also told me the pads in the rear are thinner than the ones in the front. This does not make any sense to me. I am out $350.00 dollars and will never purchase a vw product again. This was my first experience with this car maker. Additionally this car is a stick shift and I am not a lead foot driver. Now I wonder about the safety issues of their brakes.

Filed Feb 17, 2009 · Brakes · 26,789 miles · MD

The 2007 volkswagen jetta has an issue with the rear brakes. I have less than 27,000 miles on the car and need to replace the pads and rotors. Within 1 week of hearing the inital grinding noise, I took the car to the dealership and was told there was 1/32 left on the rear rotors. This is unheard of for rotors to wear so quickly.

Filed Feb 16, 2009 · Brakes, Transmission · 00 · crash

2007 jetta 2.5l rear brake failure in june 2007 resulted in accident where I was unable to stop and vehicle was hit driver's side. Reported to vw and was told it was normal failure. Brakes continue to function intermittently (grinding, squealing, seizing) december 2008 rear brakes replaced (30,000kms) at my expense as vw has refused to acknowledge this as an issue. August 2007 clutch fails and vehicle is taken to vw for repairs. Advised it was normal wear and tear (18,000kms) and would not be covered under warranty. Had clutch inspected by a clutch manufacturer who advises parts failed as a result of improper installation. Vw issues refund after legal action is pursued. Have had vehicle inspected at independent mechanic who agrees with sub standard workmanship and parts on this model.

Filed Jan 31, 2009 · Brakes · 22,000 miles · MD

At approx 22k miles my rear brakes began squealing and then grinding loudly. Was told that I needed new rotors and pads at a cost of approx $500. Was told by independent service shop that the brakes not only were extremely worn down, but the wear was fairly uneven as well. I have never heard of brakes wearing out so quickly. It is absurd to think that I will have to do this every 12-18 months.

Filed Jan 21, 2009 · Brakes · IL

I have only 21,000 miles on my car, at approx. 19,000 miles I noticed a slight squeak to my rear brakes occasionally. I have brought my car into have them checked. Volkswagen claims this is normal wear and tear, they claim it is normal for rear brakes to go out within such a short amount of time. This is not normal, nor is it safe. Brakes should last a lot longer, and I should not have to replaced them every 18-20,000 miles. This issue needs to be addressed immediately. Volkswagen is selling poor quality vehicles and they are attempting to shrug it off as normal wear and tear because they do not want to admit their fault in the design of the braking system on their most popular models. I have a 2007 volkswagen jetta. I have heard the same issue with their gti and rabbit models of the same year or later.

Filed Dec 14, 2008 · Brakes · 16,000 miles · MD

2007 jetta wolfsburg rear brakes made from a softer material causing them to wear at a much faster rate than the front(approx. Every 16k miles). Info is straight from vw USA. Why would they put the sensors on only the front if they know the rear will wear faster and no info in the owners manual. Unreasonable repair on a front wheel drive car. Front brakes still look new while back brakes are worn and cut into the rotor. Vw USA says this was a fix in response to customer complaints of rear brake noise. Softer material causes more brake dust and brakes squeal all the time. Having to replace brakes much more often is not an efficient fix. I have seen many complaints about this on edmunds.com. This is an issue.

Filed Nov 24, 2008 · Brakes · 28,867 miles · CA

I have a 2007 volkswagen jetta wolfsberg edition with 29,000 miles on it. I am the original owner. My rear brakes were making an awful squealing noise. I brought the car to the dealer for scheduled maintenance as well as for my brakes. I was told that my rear brakes had 1mm and 2mm left on them and needed to be replaced and this was part of normal wear and tear. The car is not even 2 years old and they want to charge $425 to replace the rear brakes. I have owned toyotas before and have never heard of such a thing. This is a huge flaw that volkswagen refuses to own up to. I have talked to my dealer, drito brothers, and customer relations about this issue. Apparently, volkswagen does not care about their customers and continue to make an inferior car. I think it needs to be investigated with a potential for recall. I have read many online forums with many people running into this same issue. I had an outside mechanic take a look and they feel there is a major flaw in the car as the wear on the rear brakes is uneven while the front brakes are not showing any wear at all. Thank you for looking into this issue.

Filed Oct 22, 2008 · Brakes · 29,000 miles · PA

At 29,000 miles I started hearing a grinding noise in my rear brakes. Called dealership advising of noise and was given an appt for 2 weeks later. At appt was advised that rear brakes and rotors needed replaced. Vw advised me that it is normal for the rear brakes to go before the front brakes. No repair work done, car has been sitting in my garage.

Filed Oct 9, 2008 · Brakes · 1,000 miles · FL

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 volkswagen jetta. Whenever the contact attempts to drive his vehicle, he hears a grinding sound coming from the brakes of the vehicle. The dealer stated that all of the brake components needed to be replaced. The failure has occured on more than five different occasions. The current mileage was 40,000 and failure mileage was 1,000.

Filed Apr 22, 2008 · Brakes · 22,150 miles · OH

I noticed grinding in the rear brakes after only 20,000 miles on my 2007 vw jetta 2.0 turbo. No warning lights, no wear sensor trips, no indication of brake pad failure. I took the car in for service in monroe, michigan and I was told that vw rear brakes wear out faster than the front brakes and that it was normal, even after 20k miles. If this is the case, than why do they put the electronic wear sensors on the front brakes instead of the rears??? I was told that since it was normal wear, that I would be responsible for brake pad replacement costs. I argued that something must be wrong if the pads are wearing out so quickly and with no warning. They refused to cover it under warranty and made no adjustment or investigation as to why this happened.

Filed Jan 9, 2008 · Brakes · 20,000 miles · CA

At 20,000 miles my leased 2007 vw jetta's rear brakes started squeaking and grinding. Took it to dealership and was told that the rear pads and rotors need to be replaced ($350!). I've never had a car with brakes problems this early, specially a front wheel drive car. I did some research and I see that this seems to be a manufacturing defect and vw should acknowledge it and fix it at no cost to the customer.

Filed Oct 2, 2007 · Brakes · 17,000 miles · VA

I have a 2007 volkswagen jetta (wolfsburg edition). My car has 17,000 miles on it. I brought it to the dealer because the rear brakes were grinding extremely loud. Upon inspection I was told that I needed new rear pads and rotars. I have never in my life had to replace rear brakes and rotars at 17,000. I purchased this car brand new and have not even had it one year. I don't think any car should have rear brakes completely go at 17,000 miles.