Brake clunk

[RUM4MO]

Hum, just the right way to lose customers, maybe they should remember customers can also be sales people as people do tend to ask each other about things like cars.

[Adam_013]

My old 9n3 never did this, but new 2018 does too... I'd assume it because the shoes are nice and free in the drums, they're just re - adjusting... Unlike the older ones with the terrible 'auto adjusters'

My 2016 Polo Match 1.2 TSI started doing this clunking noise a few months ago, took it in for a service and the senior technician I spoke to said it was normal for this model.
Surely this can't be right, must be disc pads not correct dimensions and over time they move about too much in the carrier. If I didn't know any better I would think that VW are trying to do as little warranty work as possible to make up financially for "diesel gate". I have problems with various noises from the engine as well and was told - normal for this model!
All very disappointing.

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[Andy Beats]

My old 9n3 never did this, but new 2018 does too... I'd assume it because the shoes are nice and free in the drums, they're just re - adjusting... Unlike the older ones with the terrible 'auto adjusters'

I get the distinct impression the loud 'clunk' I get when braking in reverse is from the front, not the back.
It doesn't bother me one little bit, don't intend to get it looked at, just saying.

[SRGTD]

My old 9n3 never did this, but new 2018 does too... I'd assume it because the shoes are nice and free in the drums, they're just re - adjusting... Unlike the older ones with the terrible 'auto adjusters'

I get the distinct impression the loud 'clunk' I get when braking in reverse is from the front, not the back.
It doesn't bother me one little bit, don't intend to get it looked at, just saying.

It was on my previous generation Polo GTI; slight movement of the pads in the calipers when reversing and then braking. Stopped after a few months ownership of the car and has never happened since.

[Simmo]

I'm new to the forum, this is my first post after doing some reviews of other owners issues so hi everyone.

Just a quick note to say that I've had my 95 bhp SE from new, only done around 200 miles and noticed the same "clunk" whilst applying the brakes after reversing, literally a few days ago.

I thought it was coming from the rear drums but today I had the windows down and it sounded like it was cooing from the front discs.

Seems as though it's not an issue so I think I'll drive the car for a bit longer to see if it eventually goes away with a bit more use. If not, I might take it into the dealers for assessment.

Has anybody had theirs resolved of its own accord or did the dealer fix it?

[MilgeS]

I'm new to the forum, this is my first post after doing some reviews of other owners issues so hi everyone.

Just a quick note to say that I've had my 95 bhp SE from new, only done around 200 miles and noticed the same "clunk" whilst applying the brakes after reversing, literally a few days ago.

I thought it was coming from the rear drums but today I had the windows down and it sounded like it was cooing from the front discs.

Seems as though it's not an issue so I think I'll drive the car for a bit longer to see if it eventually goes away with a bit more use. If not, I might take it into the dealers for assessment.

Has anybody had theirs resolved of its own accord or did the dealer fix it?

Welcome Simmo

I had my pads changed recently after I took it in for a similar query, the dealer said there was a TPO for ill fitting pads on our Polo's so they had modified them, the "clunk" did seem to go away but it has returned again so I think we will have to live with this "feature" sadly

[Adam_013]

I've had the same issue for the past 16k miles and everything still seems to be working fine. Just yet another 'quirk' of the new polos...

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[veteran]

Hmm, an interesting discussion. For around a year now I've been trying to pinpoint two really annoying noises on my 2017 Polo 1.2, one of which is a brake noise most definitely coming from something associated with the front brakes, maybe directly the brakes themselves. It's got to the point where I'm going to remove one of the front wheels and get someone to sit in the driver's seat and actuate the brake pedal continually while I listen and watch at very close quarters to the caliper/pads.

In my case, the noise doesn't just happen in reverse or as a one-off occasionally, it's there every time I brake while out-and-about on the roads. The noise in my case is more of a metal-to-metal 'clank' and is quite loud; pedestrians turn their heads when they hear it. Quite often, the noise won't occur for the first mile or two, but then comes on with a vengeance. I've had the brakes apart, investigating the noise myself, but have found nothing obviously amiss.

Thoughts that have passed through my mind have been:

1. Could this be due to VW using VW-badged disc pads of unspecified source, rather than, say, Pagids or ATEs, etc?
2. I don't think I had this issue when the car was brand new, so is this a gapping problem of some sort, between the pad and disc?
3. Could the lack of small pressed-copper clips, fitted between the 'hooked' tops and bottoms of the pads' metal backings and the caliper body and caliper carrier, but which used to be the norm on VWs, be causing this noise? The clips would serve as a soft-metal buffer between both those locating hooks and the carrier and also the platform area of the caliper body. Without any clips there, the pads could produce a noise when they get dragged forward and down (striking the platform area) under normal forward braking, and upward when reversing (striking the carrier). In that regard, I don't think that the tri-star springs built into the pad backings on my front brakes would necessarily be up to the job in preventing this essentially vertical-axis movement of the pads under braking conditions. I've searched on the Web to see if I could find a third-party retailer of such clips that would fit the VW caliper and carrier, but I fear they may now have been completely phased out.
4. If this is truly a brake pad/caliper issue, then the problem has emerged with gradual running-in, and therefore wear, of the pads. This suggests that, in time, the problem will worsen.
5. The onset of the noise seems to be heat-related. It might be that, because the pads and discs are relatively new (and therefore the fit between them tight), they tend to heat up quite quickly, once the car's in motion. The pad-to-disc contact therefore then tightens and then, with only slight braking pressure applied, the pads get dragged forward and their hooked backings strike the caliper body. One would think, therefore, that with longerterm wear the dragging forward would lessen and the issue go away, but this doesn't seem to fit with my assertion in 4.

[johnparker]

Hi
Mine did this very loudly when new also turning heads in car parks.
Now after a year and 12000 miles its almost gone away by itself.

[veteran]

johnparker,

Only when reversing, or in forward motion also?

[Simmo]

I'm new to the forum, this is my first post after doing some reviews of other owners issues so hi everyone.

Just a quick note to say that I've had my 95 bhp SE from new, only done around 200 miles and noticed the same "clunk" whilst applying the brakes after reversing, literally a few days ago.

I thought it was coming from the rear drums but today I had the windows down and it sounded like it was cooing from the front discs.

Seems as though it's not an issue so I think I'll drive the car for a bit longer to see if it eventually goes away with a bit more use. If not, I might take it into the dealers for assessment.

Has anybody had theirs resolved of its own accord or did the dealer fix it?

Welcome Simmo

I had my pads changed recently after I took it in for a similar query, the dealer said there was a TPO for ill fitting pads on our Polo's so they had modified them, the "clunk" did seem to go away but it has returned again so I think we will have to live with this "feature" sadly

Thanks for the welcome MilgeS, sorry to be a numpty, but what is a TPO?

[MilgeS]

I'm new to the forum, this is my first post after doing some reviews of other owners issues so hi everyone.

Just a quick note to say that I've had my 95 bhp SE from new, only done around 200 miles and noticed the same "clunk" whilst applying the brakes after reversing, literally a few days ago.

I thought it was coming from the rear drums but today I had the windows down and it sounded like it was cooing from the front discs.

Seems as though it's not an issue so I think I'll drive the car for a bit longer to see if it eventually goes away with a bit more use. If not, I might take it into the dealers for assessment.

Has anybody had theirs resolved of its own accord or did the dealer fix it?

Welcome Simmo

I had my pads changed recently after I took it in for a similar query, the dealer said there was a TPO for ill fitting pads on our Polo's so they had modified them, the "clunk" did seem to go away but it has returned again so I think we will have to live with this "feature" sadly

Thanks for the welcome MilgeS, sorry to be a numpty, but what is a TPO?

I'm not entirely sure if I'm honest, that was the term they used (I think I heard correctly), I think it's just a term for them saying "We found an issue and we aim to resolve it by doing this", not urgent enough for a recall but an issue they have come across? Sorry I can't be more help but someone else may know

[johnparker]

Hi Veteran (sorry I dont know how to include previous message text)
My clunk only happened when reversing as soon as I touched the brake pedal.
Definitely sounded like it came from the front.
As said before it went away on its own after a year/12000 miles