Mk7 Golf R/GTI PP/Audi S3 w/ Electric Parking Brake rear brake pad change WITHOUT using VCDS/VAGCOM 

Glad to helped!

When I reverse polarity on the motor to wind it back, how do I know at which point to stop? In other words do I apply power till the motor wnd back till it stops, or will I strip something if I contnue applying power after the motor has driven to the end?

@@sanjaysivnarain1258 Works great with a small 9v battery also, less risk to strip something to.. stop when you hear it starts to get heavy for the motor.. When done with both sides pull the e-brake a couple times and it will self adjust.

Happy to have helped!

This is the first time I've head about error messages, but I'm glad this was useful to you anyways.

Great suggestion!

As long as it has the electronic parking brake it will be exactly the same.

@@v5garage629 Brilliant, thankyou!

Did this work ok on your gtd?

@@honestreview1043 I decided against risking it and got my local VW Specialist to do the job although I would have loved to have done the job myself. Cost me £250 all in cash including genuine parts plus new back plates which were looking scruffy.

VW shares parts with tons of their vehicles, so I don't see why it wouldn't be the same. At a minimum it will be a very similar process.

I guess it's because they want people to take the car to the VW shop and earn money Would be great if they add that function👍

Did not bleed the brakes. Simply remove the brake fluid reservoir cap to allow fluid to flow from the caliper into the reservoir easier. Bleeding the brakes is not necessary.

pads wear faster than the disc

You're welcome!

Did you attempt this on your gtd?

I am unfamiliar with your specific car, but I’m pretty sure it will be similar to the regular golf. Does it have an electric parking break? If so the method in the video may work.

Once the spline has been turned fully clockwise the piston will compress all the way inside the caliper, this has to be done first like in the video. The "special tool" referred to in the video is just a regular brake piston compression kit that can be bought at a local auto parts store or on Amazon. It could be used or if you don't have one (like me) a C-clamp like in the video can be used instead. Regardless something is needed to compress the piston because it is very hard to do by hand. Hope this helped.

Chris W a

I am not familiar with the parking brake engaging automatically so I can't speak as if I've had to deal with it. However, if I were you I would turn the ignition on, disengage the parking brake and proceed with the instructions in the video (make sure your battery doesn't die!). I can't imagine it would be any different since nothing in this procedure has anything to do with the actual EPB motor so it shouldn't matter that the ignition is on. All you are doing in this procedure is reversing the parking brake pad fill mechanism in the actual brake caliper.

V5 Garage thanks for your reply, appreciate it. I just been and had a look and it’s because I always have the auto hold function activated. So with that turned off I can indeed switch off the ignition with the parking brake disengaged...

@@davefrighty I had the same question as you. I'm still not 100% sure if switching auto-hold off will work for me as my car has DSG transmission. As far as I can tell, if the car is in Park and I switch the engine off, regardless if auto-hold is switched off, it certainly sounds like the electronic brake winds on. Don't quote me on that, as I could be wrong. My question is simply this... is your car the manual transmission or DSG? Maybe it matters, maybe it doesn't, but your answer may help me. Thanks. Sorry, but I should add, the electronic brake on my car can only be engaged/disengaged while the engine is running. Obviously, I really don't want to be attempting this job manually if the only way I can do it with the electronic brake disengaged is by jacking the car up and removing parts while the engine is running. Again, don't quote me on any of this, as I may be mistaken.

Do you have an electronic e-brake? Because if you don't then you can replace the rear pads the traditional way.

"Happily"? The motor is on for longer than normal the first time you apply the parking brake after doing this. After the first time it will be normal.

Yes the vehicle in the video has a manual transmission, and I am unfamiliar with the DSG gearbox and auto-parking brake feature associated with it. If there is a way to disengage the parking brake while the car is off then the procedure in this video should work just fine. It appears others have had the issue you're talking about, maybe just try to disengaging the parking brake when the ignition is on but the engine is off. This whole process shouldn't take more than an hour or so, and your battery shouldn't die with the ignition on in that time frame. Again, I am not familiar with the DSG and please take the proper precautions when jacking up any car without the parking brake on. Hope this helps.

@@v5garage629 No problem. Thanks for taking the time to reply. Safety first as always. I'm determined to get to the bottom of this conundrum, so I'll keep digging around for a solution and I'll post back here if I find one. Love this car, but hate VW for not adding the EPB wind-back function to the menu in the car's own console.

Okay. I've tested the method on a DSG model, and confirm it works. Sequence as follows... 1. DSG in Park, depress footbrake, start engine. 2. Take foot off brake, switch auto-hold off (unlit), disengage EPB (unlit). 3. Turn off engine but DO NOT remove ignition key. And that's it. The EPB will remain off, and this video tutorial can be followed to replace the rear pads. Note: to save the battery while you work, you'll want to switch off the entertainment system and anything that is drawing a current.

Same procedure with either tranny, no difference in brake system

Should be identical

Sure, you could use any sort of pliers also but then you risk contaminating or damaging the spline. It doesn't require much force either so you could just do it by hand.

This instructional video uses only hand tools, no special tools needed.

@@v5garage629 awesome i've gotta try this on a 2015 tdi

Yes, still clockwise.

I don't see why not. The electronic systems parking brakes from all manufacturers function in a similar way, one from Audi will definitely be similar if not identical to the one from VW.

It's been more than one year since I performed this service and I've had no issues.

Worked perfectly for me too..

Sounds like your auto hold is on.

V5 Garage Auto hold automatically is coming on. I usually leave it on until I park, because it makes it easier to have it off. The next time I start my car, it comes on.

@@AversaS2 Do you have a manual or automatic? Someone on here was having the same issue but it turned out the auto hold was on, turning it off by pressing the button on the center console fixed their problem. I don't know how to permanently deactivate the auto hold feature otherwise.

@@v5garage629 Or you have the wrong pad on piston side and visa versa,thats what MY FRIEND DID ,PAD WITH THE TENSION CLIP GOES PISTON SIDE AND PAD WITHOUT GOES ON OUTSIDE OF CALLIPERWHERE TENSION CLIP FOR CALLIPER SITS.Sorry for the capitals,two finger typing takes ages.

It's the same

This method seems to work for just about every VAG electronic parking brake. Doing this with other car brands is similar in principal too.

I tested my hill hold this morning and it works fine, is this an issue you are having?

@@v5garage629 I did mine and now it gives a fault regarding hill hold ,how do I reprogram hill hold ? ??