I've a 1.5 year old RRS autobiography.

It's done 15,000 miles, mostly in town with a few longer trips for holidays.

It's been serviced at the same place - Lookers - in accordance with on board service advice, promptly after they appear on the dashboard.

It's in just now with them. I have been advised by them one of the front discs is gouged and needs replacing. They say even though other disc and pad at the front is fine, both sides need to be replaced. I've ever had any on board alert suggesting a problem with brakes (is there such a warning system?) and Lookers never gave me any advisory on failing pads when it was in at its last service.

Is it likely that this should happen, specifically that one disc should become damaged whilst the other at the front is fine, from reasons other than defective parts? And is it conceivable at all that pads should have worn out after 15000 miles. And should the car have warned me in advance?

Thanks a lot for any thoughts. They are telling me not covered by warranty.

Changed my own pads at 23k miles (only to put in dust free ones).

Front pads had >50% left, discs had lost 1mm of thickness out of the 2 allowable. Lip totally tolerable.

Rears had 30% left, discs same as above.

I don't exactly drive it easy, although a lot of those miles are motorway ones.

What has "gouged" that disc? MY2016 HSE D SDV6 - gone due to fuel dilution problems.

By the age of 50 you have the face you deserve - George Orwell.

Might be due to a lot of stop a go traffic in the city and of course your driving style,

i.e. last moment braking (not to much anticipating) and /or foot constantly on the brakes.

If you park your car usually at the roadside one side always gets the (dirty) water spray of other car, which will effect the brakes.

Like wilf I changed mine recently, 18000, and 1 and half years old, front disk have lost around 1mm, and pads only around 2mm. Rear pads wear lot more then the front, then front are around three times larger so its expected. I had issue with pads being stuck due to dust. Replaced with low dust EBC.

A gouged disc would have to pretty bad for me to change it personally, not really going to effect braking performance or disc rigidity.

BTW, I am totally in love with the EBC redstuff pads - the lack of dust is remarkable, and what there is cleans off so easily. Such a difference from the OE ones. MY2016 HSE D SDV6 - gone due to fuel dilution problems.

By the age of 50 you have the face you deserve - George Orwell.

A small bit of grit or similar can get stuck at the leading edge of the pad and mark the disc. Mine has a small groove in the front disc (I replaced the fronts on mine 2 years ago) with no obvious reason. Warranty won't generally cover discs & pads as they are seen as consumable items. I'm in the shed, I'll be back in the real world in a minute.

There is no warning system that will tell you about uneven wear or brake pad wear, until the pads become very low and the wear contact brings on a warning light.

I suspect the dealer is being over zealous. It is true that discs should be changed in pairs, but they are probably considering that you might drive for another year or more before the next service becomes due and that the pads may not last that long. However, that means they may be only 50% worn at present. The ethos is that you should not have to visit between services, regardless of the cost to you the customer.

I do all my servicing myself, having been in the trade for over 30 years, but I would suggest that you tell the dealer to leave them alone and then get a local independent to check them for you. There is nothing that a dealer will do on a brake pad/disc change that is different from any other garage.

It is true that discs wear more these days than they did 25 years ago, because the non-asbestos friction linings are harder. It is commonplace to replace discs at the same time as pads because the discs can become scored or tapered in cross-section, which makes bedding in the new pads more difficult, leading to a long pedal travel. Couple with this the fact the a RR Sport is a heavy vehicle to stop and the brakes tend to work hard. So, I would be prepared to replace discs along with pads (I tend to everytime because it is worth it) but no need to replace until the pads are worn low and no need to pay dealer prices to do it. Take it to your local, sensible, independent. You can still go back to the dealer for annual services if you want to maintain the history.

I am now on my third Range Rover, having run a P38 for 8 years, and L320 for 9 years and now an L494. All of them maintained entirely by me. There is a great deal of mystique built up around dealer servicing. most of it nonsense.

Adam..