Member Since: 16 Oct 2009
Location: Exmouth, Devon
Posts: 7
Brake disks and MOT
Hi, my first post although a member for a while. Does anyone know if the thickness of the front brake disk is part of the MOT. My Disco 4 went in for an MOT. I also have an extended warrantee. The dealership rang to say that my disks were below the minimum of 27mm and did I want to have new disks and pads fitted. Thinking that it was a requirement of the MOT I said yes and expected the warrantee to pay for it. When I returned to pick up the car I had to pay for the disks and pads and I was told that the car would not have failed the MOT if I had not had the disks/pads renewed and that them ringing me was only because of the safety check and that the 27mm was only a recommendation from LR, not a requirement. I want to make sure that the dealership and the warrantee company are not trying to pull a fast one. Feeling like the warrantee is a bit of a waste seeing as the details say that disks are covered for the MOT.Deno
20th Aug 2015 9:52 pm
Allan_T
Member Since: 10 Sep 2012
Location: Northampton
Posts: 1034
Copied from the Workshop Manual:
Measure the brake disc thickness at four points around the brake disc.
Renew the brake disc if the thickness is less than the service limit, or if the maximum thickness variation is exceeded. Brake disc thickness, NEW = 30 mm, Service limit = 27 mm.
The brake disc will have the minimum thickness stamped on the outer edge.
Brake pads and discs are classed as wear items as by their very nature are subject to wear and tear.GAP IID Pro Multi Vehicle Defender L316 2007-2015 - Discovery 3 - Discovery 4 - Discovery Sport L550 - Freelander 2 - Range Rover Evoque L538 - Range Rover L322 - Range Rover L405 - Range Rover Sport L320 - Range Rover Sport L494 Electrical Fault Diagnostics
20th Aug 2015 10:19 pm
MGCarr
Member Since: 15 Jul 2014
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 703
Sorry to be pessimistic on this one but I think that you're between a rock and a hard place. The dealer is right to recommend changing the discs based on LRs service specifications but the warranty company is also almost certainly right that they would not have failed the MOT. The MOT test for discs is a visual examination without removing the wheels and a function test on the rolling road and I think those discs would have passed that. I know it does not feel like good practice but in my experience the only way to get wear related items out of a warranty company at MOT time is to put it in for the test without any preparation and see what it fails on, then make your claim.
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21st Aug 2015 12:08 am
Deno
Member Since: 16 Oct 2009
Location: Exmouth, Devon
Posts: 7
Thank you both. This site never ceases to amaze me. My car was indeed in for a service and MOT and I also had a call from the warrantee company about some other repairs. That particular guy said the disks would have been covered if the car had failed the MOT. I suppose I was naively thinking that LR would fail the car on the grounds that they knew the disks were below recommended tolerances. Once I had agreed to the repairs prior to the actual MOT this did not become an issue. Thanks once again.Deno
21st Aug 2015 7:43 am
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
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Posts: 17932
I'm pleased that the dealer actually measured the rotors. I've seen one or two that were rather thin.
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Member Since: 22 Sep 2010
Location: Notts.
Posts: 8114
They where measured as part of the Heath/safety check not as part of the MOT just as the depth of tyre tread would have been measured, expecting worn disks to be changed on a five year old vehicle under warranty is a bit much, why not have a new set of tyres fitted as well?It can when others can't,
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21st Aug 2015 8:27 am
DDDad
Member Since: 10 Jan 2015
Location: Angus
Posts: 1201
I'm sure Disco-Mikey has posted somewhere that the 27mm minimum is due to the calliper pistons being over extended when the pads and discs are worn out. Good job the problem was spotted and fixed. Went for a job as a human cannonball. Not the right calibre.
22nd Aug 2015 6:43 pm
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Member Since: 12 Oct 2009
Location: All over the UK!
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The age old problem of taking your car for a service AND MOT at the same time.....
If they are just MOTing it then they can't take ANYTHING apart......if you take it for both, they will take things apart and then make you feel that you have to have it done for the MOT.
In this instance I believe you were correct to have the brakes done as others have said.....it all depends on whether or not you are happy to get your tools out and do maintenance yourself.....if I take my D3 to LR tomorrow and they tell me it needs new discs and pads, I will know in an instant I am being ripped off as I know what state my brakes are in......if you don't know yourself then you are left in a position of having to trust their word......
One is time consuming and cheap, the other is less time consuming and potentially more expensive.....sometime a you pay for lack of hassle in this life.
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23rd Aug 2015 12:16 am
Pedros
Member Since: 25 Jun 2011
Location: Cumbria
Posts: 454
It does seem to be normal practice for LR dealers to give you a call when your car is in for service, saying what percentage of your pads is left or how worn your discs are and asking if you want them changed. Not in itself a bad thing.
It's a bit of a quandary to have to answer them on the spot and probably you need to take a minute to assess what you want. If they are, for example 70% worn, do you say go ahead and change them? On the one hand, you are possibly changing them earlier than you strictly need. On the other, you are maybe saving on another trip to the garage.
23rd Aug 2015 4:14 am
DDDad
Member Since: 10 Jan 2015
Location: Angus
Posts: 1201
It's the flip-side of long service intervals, ain't it? If the dealer only sees the car once a year they are obliged to estimate whether the discs and pads will last another 12 months. Now I'm doing my own maintenance I try to squeeze the last bit of use out of everything. Went for a job as a human cannonball. Not the right calibre.
It does seem to be normal practice for LR dealers to give you a call when your car is in for service, saying what percentage of your pads is left or how worn your discs are and asking if you want them changed. Not in itself a bad thing.
It's a bit of a quandary to have to answer them on the spot and probably you need to take a minute to assess what you want. If they are, for example 70% worn, do you say go ahead and change them? On the one hand, you are possibly changing them earlier than you strictly need. On the other, you are maybe saving on another trip to the garage.
Three or four years ago, a certain large chain of LR franchised dealers called in the September whilst the FL2 I had was in for service, said that the front pads were very low and needed changing, did I want them to do it, I knew they were low, but not that low, I had already bought a set to fit, end of November came, they phoned up offering a free winter check, it's free so went with it and they had it in, when the wife went to collect it, they said that everything was fine, but it would be due for a service in about ten months, 12k and we should expect to have to have the front pads changed at the next service.
I don't use them anymore.
23rd Aug 2015 11:58 am
Deno
Member Since: 16 Oct 2009
Location: Exmouth, Devon
Posts: 7
Thanks everyone for your comments. It's good to get another opinion. Drive safe everyone.Deno
15th Sep 2015 9:32 am
ZacSmith
Member Since: 26 Aug 2010
Location: Dover
Posts: 709
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Good job the problem was spotted and fixed. 
