Hi Guys, new on here so sorry if I'm re-treading old ground but I've been reading site with interest over last few days and I think this hasn't been covered???

I've been looking to get brakes done on my 06 RRS HSE for last few days, rang local stealer £400 plus VAT just for pads and sensors which I thought was way over the odds so rang round a few other places, amazingly Kwik fit came out the cheapest so booked it in there this morning. After inspecting the discs he said they had a lip, were worn and could also do with replacing I queried it but he showed me they only measure 26mm and legally they needed to be at least 27mm??? I sensed I may be being shafted but hey, I'm no mechanic so you just have to trust these guys.

£337 didn't seem too bad for discs and pads plus sensors fitted on front (Brembo) all parts genuine I was told. Here's where it gets interesting.

He then said your warning sensors/lights/beep is still on. I said well how much for the back ones done? he said, I won't do them...it's too dangerous?? I could lose my fingers, i tried it once before and it ended up knackering the EPB and cost Kwik fit 2k to put right.

I was a bit flabbergasted by this as there are several posts on here that more practical guys than myself have done it themselves without too much difficulty. Especially as it had been mentioned that they'd only be about £62 fitted on an earlier call.

So non-plussed I left still with the annoying beeping and warning light on the dash. Got back to work and rang rd a couple of other garages and been told that they won't do it either???? I'm informed it's main dealer job and they won't touch it.

I'm loathe to take it to stealer and get charged £150+VAT for something that is seemingly so simple. Are they just being awkward? Think i P sed the guy at Charlie Browns off because I went with Kwik Fit so thats why he wont do it but I also got told the same by ATS.

This seems ridiculous to say the least. Any input greatly appreciated. better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt

If you search on here there is loads on this - many have done their own, i did mine (non brembo) but someone on here has a detailed guide on Brembos as i recall....

27mm legal sounds like KF BS to me

Non Brembo parts - full set - around £120

Find the member on here with Brembo's that created that guide - that'll be good background for you....

Cheers for that MAW,

Has anyone else any idea why mechanics would flat out refuse to do it when its on a car with an electric handbrake? As you say it seems simple enough and certainly looks it from the tutorials on here. (admittedly though it's 15 years since my last foray into the car maintenance world when I did just about everything to my Fiesta RS turbo because of sheer poverty - the insurance bill as a 19 yr old ensured that!)

As for KF BS I fear you could well be right, if anyone can confirm the facts on the "27mm" statement and if it is indeed BS I'll be back there for an explanation in a hurry.

To clarify my vehicle has totally standard rear brakes, the Brembo's are on the front, now gripping some very shiny new discs I probably didn't need  better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt

have a chat with 10forcash (Torquetune)on the forum sponsors page, he does maintenance aswell

Lots of the disco3 lads use him for there servicing and other mods they need doing

I think he requires you use the email function nowadays as it gets to him quicker

I got my local ATS to do them for £80 - I just got the parts and the sensors

Thanks Nick, was that all round or just back? Bargain either way really. Unfortunately my local ATS refused point blank to do them, said you needed a special tool to wind back the handbrake or something which he didn't have??? No mention of that on the tutorials on here. I'm going to buy the pads and sensor tomorrows and have a look for a local fitter who doesn't want to fill me with BS! Wish I'd done that with the fronts. better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt

They'll never own up on the 27 mm rule - if yours had been 22 the rule would have been 23.... IIRC LR advise every other pad change disks are advised but only downside is the fact the new pads will shoulder sooner .... until the car is much older and the material reduced .....

KW BS I suspect although you would have needed them sometime

The EPB has absolutely nothing to do with the rear brake pads so I don't understand why Kwikfit or any of the other so called tyre and brake specialists didn't want to do the job.


I got a local garage to change my front and rear pads and wear sensors. I supplied the materials and they charged me £50 labour to do the lot. Absolute bargain.  Arctic Frost TDV6 SE. Aspen Leather, Cherry Wood, Privacy Glass, PTI, Tow Pack, Mudflaps, Tasmods, a new Fuelflap, a RRSport.co.uk umbrella in the boot & a RRSport.co.uk sticker on the rear glass.
__________________

Some people accuse me of thinking the world revolves around me, but I'm not stupid . . . I know it revolves around the sun. Which shines out of my @rse!!!

Had mine done all round by ATS, took an hour max and ATS mentioned nothing about the EPB.......it's questionable whether the sensors need doing either...but they are only about £12, so you may as well

There's a load of info here:

http://www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/albums/use..._Brake.zip

if you want to change them yourself.

If changing only pads, then no real issue, all pretty straight forward.

if changing disks, then you need to put the EPB into service or mount mode so that it allows the disk to be easily removed.

When doing rear pads, I'd recommend adjusting the EPB so that you can avoid the 'screamer'

link above contains a mixture of posts and useful info for doing so.

EDIT the sensors ONLY need doing if a) you have the brake warning light come on or b) you've broken it when removing the pads.

Oh replacing the sensor is easy at the brake end, but the connector is a bit of a pain to get to. once the sensor is replaced though, the beep will go away automatically.

Sounds like KF just tried ripping off the rear disks which would cause all the damage..... Bodsys Brake Bible
Software Updates Contact me
RRS Timed Heat/Remote kits - Contact me
BAS Engine Re-maps/ EGR Blank EuIII and EuIV
Clock On The Dash/ SNOTM /3Flash / BT Update /Service Reset/Error Codes read\ Gearbox Reset
See it HERE

Update, and I have to say I think this is pretty unbelievable

I decided to get the rear pads from stealer today and try one or two more local mechanics then if no joy have a go myself at the weekend.

I went to main dealer in Manchester (was over there for meeting today) bought the rear pads and the sensor £38 + VAT pads and £8 + VAT sensor. While I was there got chatting with the guy, told him the story about KF and what they charged me for doing front discs/pads and sensors.

He said "what do you mean sensors? as in plural, there's only one on the front one on the back" I had the invoice in my pocket and there it was : Sensors x 2 £55 or £27.50 each. He said I'd defo been done at the very least for one sensor and although manufacturers RECOMMENDATION is 27mm that it's by no means a law, and it wouldn't have failed an MOT or anything and basically should have been my call whether to have the discs done or not. Not as I was led to believe, illegal and a matter of him losing his job for doing it.

I called into another garage back in Shef this aft and got the same sucking of air through teeth blah blah we cant do them blah blah, felt like giving up then went to another one round the corner and he said, Yeah no problem, I'll put them on for £25... for that much It's hardly worth getting my hands dirty.

So, result on the brakes, lesson learned, buy them from stealer or other source, find a decent mechanic and it should be possible to get the whole car done for well under £200 without too much difficulty (for those of us who don't have the confidence to do it ourselves - I'm sure I'm not the only one, despite the fact that it looks pretty straightforward) I know other guys have given this advice on here but doesn't do any harm to re-iterate it AND ABOVE ALL DON"T GO TO KF!!!!

Now for the truly shocking bit, I went back to KF and challenged the guy I'd dealt with yesterday about why he'd charged me for 2 sensors but only fitted one, The cheeky c sat there bold as brass and said "yeah we have to do that it's how we make our money, the computer just automatically puts two on the bill"

It was great actually as there were 2 other mugs (like me) in reception so I ripped into him saying what a load of BS and I used to run a bar and if I gave a customer one pint but charged him for two then tried to justify it by saying it was how I needed to make my money then I'd be shut down within a week. He eventually started to squirm (i say eventually, he was mega hard faced) and said I'll refund you for the sensor so I then challenged him about the discs.

It then descended into a what he said he'd said as opposed to what I said he'd said argument which obviously wasn't going anywhere so in the end I just packed in and left, I didn't go as far as threatening trading standards on him as he started playing the I've got a mortgage to pay and if I'd just done your pads then something had gone wrong with the discs I'd have been sacked etc etc but to be honest I wish I'd pushed it with hindsight.

I suppose the only consolation is if anyone from the Shef area reads this then they'll know (if they didn't already) to steer clear of KF and CB's, as they may end up much lighter of pocket than they needed to be and quite probably be charged for work thats not even done or doesn't need to be.

Thanks for all the words of advice on here, hope somebody finds this enlightening. better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt

Last point from me on this, I've whinged about enough garages on here may as well big up the one who did a good job. For anyone with a RRS in the Sheffield area I'd reccommend Steadfast performance tyre centre S3 1TE, friendly service, quick clean job done no fuss.

£25 + VAT for rear pads and sensor fitted, I guess fronts would be pretty much the same so even using genuine dealer parts thats pads all rd for well under 200 quid. Bargain and less than half the price of the stealer.

 better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt