Ford Focus MK1 Brake Problems and Kwik Fit

oysterpearl

Hi,

I have a Ford Focus MK1 and recently went on a 250m trip, stopping off several times. Towards the very end of the trip, I went down a VERY steep hill and had the brake almost constantly on. I then first noticed a strange smell coming from the wheel, a bit like burning, but something I hadn't smelt before. I stopped the car and the smell was very strong from the driver side front wheel. I let the car cool down for a while and then continued to where we were staying (as we were 20 mins away at this point). When we got to the hotel, the smell had almost vanished from the driver wheel, but I could instead smell it just as strong from the passenger front wheel.

The next morning I took the car into Kwik Fit and explained what happened. They first said it may be the brake oil that was overheated. They stuck in a meter which confirmed what he said apparently and then they did their free brake check. I came back at the agreed time and he asked me who had fitted my brakes. I said it was done before I had the car (I've had it about 2-3 years) and he claimed that the brake pads had been fitted in the wrong way. As a result, I would need new pads and also new discs.

The car has had two MOTs, a full service (only 2 months ago) and another free brake check (by a different branch of Kwik Fit) and no one had ever said this. He said he couldn't answer why no one had noticed and said it was up to me.

Not trusting the diagnosis, I said no and they put the car back together. He said they would leave the brake pads in the same way as they had found them, but he came over again saying that actually they had put them back in correctly and it would feel a bit different. Sure enough, for a while they were making a funny sound, but this soon wore off and it's been fine ever since, with no notable difference in braking.

Is it even possible to fit brake pads the wrong way round or do you think they were trying to pull a fast one?

The only other symptom the brakes have ever had, is that the tend to squeal loudly when first used, but I understand this is a common fault?

I wanted to ask on here for some impartial advice before I take it to another garage.

Thanks for any help.

albionrovers

Did you look the Kwikfit fitter in the eye? They generally roll their eyes when telling you a fib. If they were better liars than they are, they wouldn't be working for Kwikfit?

Foxy-Stoat_3

You cannot put brake pads in the wrong way round! One side clips into the caliper with springing things that are stuck on the back of the pad, the other pad has no clips. They wont fit upside down either!!!

The brakes got very hot they smell bad when they do, possibly the fluid has boiled, if its dark colour then it may well have.

How are the brakes now? If you slow down from 70mph to 0 without any undue noises or loss in performance then I wouldn't worry.

If your worried about it then go to a local MOT garage and ask them for a brake test on the MOT rollers, if they would do that for you.

Most normal car brakes cant cope with hard constant use...even my old E46 M3's standard brakes complained after some spirited driving one night!

Weird_Nev

There is literally no way to fit the brake pads "wrong". It's impossible. Well, nearly. They would not work fro mthe outset if it was "wrong".

After 2+ years, a fluid flush is certainly advisable. Do that and see how you get on. But please, take it to your local independant to keep a good garage alive. Do not trust Kwik fit to work on your car.

oysterpearl

Thanks for your replies.

It makes me feel very angry with Kwik Fit. The man in there also made remarks about driving carefully, not braking too late etc when he found out we wasn't going to give him any money.

What would the noise have been once we drove away? It was a rumbling sound every time I pressed the brake. Would reassembling the brakes cause the noise as they had them all apart? It crossed my mind that he replaced our pads with different ones (old ones).

I've not noticed any difference in braking at all.

Foxy-Stoat_3

They may of put the left side pads in the right side, so the two sides need to "bed" in again to the shape and depth of the discs.

Again if your worried then I would get them checked.

Just for your information, a pair of front brake discs and pads for a normal Focus cost no more than £50 delivered, if you have some spanners then you could change them yourself. The fluid would be best changed by a local garage as it would need draining completely and refilling including bleeding.

salubrious

My advice is to steer well clear of Kwik fit and their free brake checks. It very rarely results in anything but bad news, which most of the time is based on what kwik fit can sell you.

Any reputable independent will have a look at your brakes without it costing the earth or maybe free of charge and most importantly you'll get the correct advice too.

harleq1962

you can get a set of pads on ebay for under £20 delivered, you need an allen key and something to push back the cylinder , its about an hours job at the most, and as eveyone has said you cant put the brakes in the wrong way around as there is a spring clip on the pad that fits in the cylinder.

cardinalbiggles

As a side note, everyone should remember about engine breaking when going down steep hills.

Rain_Shadow

cardinalbiggles wrote: »

As a side note, everyone should remember about engine breaking when going down steep hills.

Agreed.

Although engine braking is better.;)

In the right gear you can go down really steep hills without braking.

Prothet_of_Doom

The problem started when you kept the brakes on constantly and did not allow them to cool down. Better to apply the brakes very hard, and then release to allow the air flow to cool them and stab them again hard, and release them to allow them to cool (This was told to me by a Development Engineer in his early 60's who had been working at Lucas Girling for 43 years. He'd done Lots of alpine testing on long decents and reckoned 90% of people make the mistake of keeping the brakes on all the way down, and then wonder why they boil.)

Also brake fluid needs changing every 2 years or it takes on too much water, and boils.

When the designer selects the pad material there will be a graph showing friction vs temperature. With normal cars the friction reduces at the top end of the temp range. They will also smell if they get to this fade point. But are often too good at low temp. Race car brakes barely work at Ambient.

It is possible to fit pads incorrectly, on some cars, where the brake pad wear warning cable is attached to one side of the car only. but I doubt that applies to you. Also some pads have more of a lead in at one side than the other, but to reduce manufacturing variety most don't. Even if fitted wrong at worst you would get a bit more squeal.

Get it all too hot and cheap discs will warp, but you'll see that as vibration. I would replace discs every 2nd or 3 pad change, as they do wear out quicker now that asbestos pads have been banned.

I guess there was some BS flowing. Anyone that uses the words "Brake Oil" needs a slap. Yes technically it's a hydraulic oil, but nobody ever called it OIL.