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Technical 2012 Abarth eating rear brake pads

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Technical 2012 Abarth eating rear brake pads

a73uk

a73uk

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My brothers 6 month old Abarth has eaten its rear brake pads @ 18,000 miles for no apparent reason, the fronts are still fine.

I`ve never come across this in any car, usually you replace fronts 2-3 times before needing to do the rears, not the other way round.

Marylebone Fiat are saying there is no problem with the brakes so it isnt covered under warranty.

His previous 500 Sport didnt need rear shoes for 90,000+ miles, so he isnt in the habit of leaving the handbrake on or anything..

Anyone else had this?
 
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a73uk said:
My brothers 6 month old Abarth has eaten its rear brake pads @ 18,000 miles for no apparent reason, the fronts are still fine.

I`ve never come across this in any car, usually you replace fronts 2-3 times before needing to do the rears, not the other way round.

Marylebone Fiat are saying there is no problem with the brakes so it isnt covered under warranty.

His previous 500 Sport didnt need rear shoes for 90,000+ miles, so he isnt in the habit of leaving the handbrake on or anything..

Anyone else had this?
Click to expand...
The 1.4/Abarth calipers tend to pick up a lot of crud which then means the pads aren't able to slide freely. This then means they stick and wear prematurely.

Disassemble and reassemble with plenty of copper grease and then do that once a year or so and you should be OK :)
 
306maxi said:
The 1.4/Abarth calipers tend to pick up a lot of crud which then means the pads aren't able to slide freely. This then means they stick and wear prematurely.

Disassemble and reassemble with plenty of copper grease and then do that once a year or so and you should be OK :)
Click to expand...

Theres no way that should be happening on a 6 month old car (he actually started noticing it at approx 3 months old), and the laws physics dictate it shouldnt be happening at all, the rears should be subject to significantly less crud than the fronts & do less than 1/3rd of the total braking...

I can only assume theres either a fault with the callipers or the limiting valve, or, the pads are too soft/faulty.
 
a73uk said:
Theres no way that should be happening on a 6 month old car (he actually started noticing it at approx 3 months old), and the laws physics dictate it shouldnt be happening at all, the rears should be subject to significantly less crud than the fronts & do less than 1/3rd of the total braking...

I can only assume theres either a fault with the callipers or the limiting valve, or, the pads are too soft/faulty.
Click to expand...

Theory is nice and all, but in practice how I've described is how it works. Well documented issue with Abarth's and 1.4's also.
 
a73uk said:
Wow, ridiculous.. Cheers for the link..

And I bet when the dealer replce the pads, they dont bother sorting the problem...

This car hasnt even seen a winter yet.. Neither has it sat around (as I said, 18k in 6 months)... Unreal..
Click to expand...
Not to be rude, but you've had a few Fiat's and even a Jag, you should be used to cars having bits which weren't very well designed :p

Discs and pads can be had for less than 50 quid, take it all apart, grease it up with copper grease and then do the same every year or so and be sure not to pressure wash the caliper :)
 
I`ve had Jags for 15 years & none have ever broke down, the 13yo XJR I`ve got (which I`ve had for nearly 4 years) & not a things gone wrong with it, & despite me driving it hard most of the time, its not needed anything done to the brakes at all, despite me using its 400bhp, (60 in 5 secs & 155mph) regularly.

None of my current Fiats (the youngest being 19yo) have any brake issues either, in fact the only one that did was the Tempra`s rear calipers that started seizing after about 10 years...

I just spoke to him, his 18k service cost a fairly staggering £435, they also offered to fit the EBC brake pads I got him for £90+VAT, he politely declined..

They also informed him the front calliper bolts are rusting & need changing, & no, they arent covered by the warranty either...

Looks like Fiat are quite happy sitting near the bottom of the JD Power survey, doesnt it..
 
a73uk said:
I`ve had Jags for 15 years & none have ever broke down, the 13yo XJR I`ve got (which I`ve had for nearly 4 years) & not a things gone wrong with it, & despite me driving it hard most of the time, its not needed anything done to the brakes at all, despite me using its 400bhp, (60 in 5 secs & 155mph) regularly.

None of my current Fiats (the youngest being 19yo) have any brake issues either, in fact the only one that did was the Tempra`s rear calipers that started seizing after about 10 years...

I just spoke to him, his 18k service cost a fairly staggering £435, they also offered to fit the EBC brake pads I got him for £90+VAT, he politely declined..

They also informed him the front calliper bolts are rusting & need changing, & no, they arent covered by the warranty either...

Looks like Fiat are quite happy sitting near the bottom of the JD Power survey, doesnt it..
Click to expand...

Typical Abarth stuff sadly :)

I was joking when I was insulting your Fiat's and Jag btw :) There are a few things with the 500 which just aren't all that well designed, but if you're willing to get your tool kit out and do the little things or buy better replacements then there's no reason a 500 (Abarth or not) shouldn't be very reliable :)
 
a73uk said:
Tell a lie, the (Japanese) alternator went earlier this year on my XJR @ 116,000 miles, didnt break down though...
Click to expand...

My dad had the water pump go on his Peugeot 504 after 30 years and 200k miles. French piece of crap! :p
 
a73uk said:
Thats shocking, I hope he took it back..

The 306 in your name... it doesnt signify you`ve got a pug, does it...

I`ve had a fair number of French cars, & regretted all of them! ;)
Click to expand...
This is a 306 Maxi :)

99144d1295909452-auto-peugeot-306-maxi-montecarlo-1998-306maxi.jpg


I've never owned a 306, I did have a 406 but that was a PoS, mainly because it had been treated like crap by previous owners :(
 
306maxi said:
This is a 306 Maxi :)

99144d1295909452-auto-peugeot-306-maxi-montecarlo-1998-306maxi.jpg


I've never owned a 306, I did have a 406 but that was a PoS, mainly because it had been treated like crap by previous owners :(
Click to expand...

I was gonna say, if your used to 306`s, the Abarth shortcomings must be a breath of fresh air! :p

I`ve had a phase 3 306 1.6, a 505 GTi, a 104 (plus both its siblings from Citroen & Talbot) as well as various other Renaults & Citroens, all have been POS! Everytime I sell one I swear I`lll never have another (he said while selling a 94 R5 Campus!) :bang:

Do you know if the rear callipers need a winding tool? Looks like I`ll be doing it in the next few days...
 
a73uk said:
I was gonna say, if your used to 306`s, the Abarth shortcomings must be a breath of fresh air! :p

I`ve had a phase 3 306 1.6, a 505 GTi, a 104 (plus both its siblings from Citroen & Talbot) as well as various other Renaults & Citroens, all have been POS! Everytime I sell one I swear I`lll never have another (he said while selling a 94 R5 Campus!) :bang:

Do you know if the rear callipers need a winding tool? Looks like I`ll be doing it in the next few days...
Click to expand...

Not sure about the winding tool, Jnoiles would be the person to ask, he's changed his rear pads a few times :)

I had a 77 Peugeot 504 which was a fantastic car.

ztiu00.jpg


I would have one again no question about it. Fantastic car :) At some stage I do want to own a 205/306/106 GTi or Rallye however.
 
306maxi said:
Not sure about the winding tool, Jnoiles would be the person to ask, he's changed his rear pads a few times :)

I had a 77 Peugeot 504 which was a fantastic car.

I would have one again no question about it. Fantastic car :) At some stage I do want to own a 205/306/106 GTi or Rallye however.
Click to expand...

Oh, I had a 205 as well.. The 504`s were rugged, borne out by the 10000`s still running in Africa, the 505 less so, but still not bad. Not my idea of nice to drive though, & the engines were rattly old things!

One of my ex-Peugeot colleagues has a 504 that he`s had for many years, about a 1976, in white & absolutely spotless, you`d love it!

Heres some pics for your amusement :D
 

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a73uk said:
Oh, I had a 205 as well.. The 504`s were rugged, borne out by the 10000`s still running in Africa, the 505 less so, but still not bad. Not my idea of nice to drive though, & the engines were rattly old things!

One of my ex-Peugeot colleagues has a 504 that he`s had for many years, about a 1976, in white & absolutely spotless, you`d love it!

Heres some pics for your amusement :D
Click to expand...

Where are the pics? :p

The 504 is the antithesis of the 500 in some ways. A 500 probably wouldn't last 6 months in Africa and an Abarth even less. But then again a 500 is a far better car around town, I owned a 504 back in Australia and that was a far better environment for it :)
 
306maxi said:
Seems a caliper rewind tool is required btw :)
Click to expand...

If you don't have the tool I managed OK without. I used a pair of long nose pliers, opened them up (like a pair of dividers) so that each tip fitted into a recessed section of the piston and then turned them to screw the piston back in.

p.s. If you have never topped up your brake fluid then screwing the pistons back in shouldn't cause the master cylinder to overflow but best to check as you do each one. If necessary use a pipette or similar to suck some fluid from the reservoir.
 
306maxi said:
Where are the pics? :p

The 504 is the antithesis of the 500 in some ways. A 500 probably wouldn't last 6 months in Africa and an Abarth even less. But then again a 500 is a far better car around town, I owned a 504 back in Australia and that was a far better environment for it :)
Click to expand...

Sorry, I forgot to attach them, theyre on now!`

Australia is a better environment for everything! (other than dashboard plastics!).



grimwau said:
If you don't have the tool I managed OK without. I used a pair of long nose pliers, opened them up (like a pair of dividers) so that each tip fitted into a recessed section of the piston and then turned them to screw the piston back in.

p.s. If you have never topped up your brake fluid then screwing the pistons back in shouldn't cause the master cylinder to overflow but best to check as you do each one. If necessary use a pipette or similar to suck some fluid from the reservoir.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, I`ve done quite a few other cars & done it in a similar way, I might as well invest in a proper wind up tool, especially if I`m gonna have to do his every 6 months!
 
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