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[Webby the Bear]

Volvo summat-or-other comes in for rear discs and pads.

First issue was it was properly rusty in there.... especially as it was quite a young car.

My first port of call is to slacken off the disc securing screws, just my way of doing it... it's ok though it doesnt have one/them. So strip it down nd start hammering on the disc. Not budging. This goes on for a while.

I then reassess the disc and notice hidden behind a bunch of old grease and rust... the disc retaining screw 

So pop the disc off after thinking ''what a nob''........and then go and try and turn the caliper in.

After half hour of struggling I'm informed it's an electronic caliper and needs the diag. tool to allow the piston to be turned in.

Wondering if at this point I should have gone home  but did a REALLY easy RWD clutch on a Mercedes van. From getting it on the ramps to getting the box on the floor took twenty mins. Was very pleased. Fekked DMF (I'm told they're often fekked when the box is pulled off for a clutch job...this one had not only loads of left and right play but also forward and back play, like the 12 and 6 for wheel bearings 

Anyway I digress.....

electronic calipers. why, wtf, why and,errrm, why?? Seems really pointless to me. Any thoughts?

[hoody]

Same with my mates audi a8,need to use the tool which only winds them back electronically and only a couple of turns then you press them all the way in,why oh why,then when new pads fitted you have to program in the depth of the new pads.complete faff.

[Nick W]

electronic calipers. why, wtf, why and,errrm, why?? Seems really pointless to me. Any thoughts?

Because they can. There is no other reason for this sort of thing.
Wait until you see one of the VW calipers with the integral motor. Or a 'gearbox' for the handbrake on  a Discovery or Megane. Complicated, unreliable solutions to problems that never existed in the first place.

[Andy B]

....


Because they can. There is no other reason for this sort of thing. .....

is it for hill assist?  only guessing 

[henryd]

....


Because they can. There is no other reason for this sort of thing. .....

is it for hill assist?  only guessing 

Shouldnt think so,my Touareg has hill start assist but it uses main brakes, my handbrake is merc style foot operated mechanical jobbie

[deviator]

It sounds like you've been lucky....
My mate works in a garage and they had a Q7? (I think, some big faux x faux anyway) That required the diag tool to wind the calipers back. Connects computer, winds them back. Starts the strip down process. Goes for lunch. Yes, you may have guessed it. Ignition on, battery goes flat and the handbrake defaults to 'ON', or in this case 'I don't need that piston or that fluid'.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Look at it in one of two ways

1. The march of progress, nothing ventured, nothing gained. If we don't try new ideas mankind will never move forward

2. Change for change's sake, lots of engineers coming up with new ideas in order to give themselves work/a wage, let's take a system that's worked for years, that's proven and reliable, and change it, because we think we can do better.


Take your pick  Either way you'll be working on these systems for the remainder of your working life, I suspect. Or get a job as a mechanic at a classic car garage, which involves less diagnostic tools and more WD40 and a hammer. 

[Kevin Wood]

Look at it in one of two ways

1. The march of progress, nothing ventured, nothing gained. If we don't try new ideas mankind will never move forward

2. Change for change's sake, lots of engineers coming up with new ideas in order to give themselves work/a wage, let's take a system that's worked for years, that's proven and reliable, and change it, because we think we can do better.


Take your pick  Either way you'll be working on these systems for the remainder of your working life, I suspect. Or get a job as a mechanic at a classic car garage, which involves less diagnostic tools and more WD40 and a hammer. 

3) The relentless march of nannying systems on new cars, removing as much of the responsibility for driving the damned thing from the driver as possible. We can't trust the driver to perform a hill start (just like the one he had to do on his driving test) any more, nor can we trust him not to pull the handbrake while cruising on the motorway. We must, therefore engineer in ever more complex and fragile systems to take this responsibility away.

It's only going one way, I'm afraid.

[Andy B]

.... nor can we trust him not to pull the handbrake while cruising on the motorway. We must, therefore engineer in ever more complex and fragile systems to take this responsibility away.

It's only going one way, I'm afraid.

It's a good job my Merc doesn't always take notice of me. I've tried to wash my screen a couple of times using the 'Park' button on the end of the transmission selector stalk on the column 

[Kevin Wood]

.... nor can we trust him not to pull the handbrake while cruising on the motorway. We must, therefore engineer in ever more complex and fragile systems to take this responsibility away.

It's only going one way, I'm afraid.

It's a good job my Merc doesn't always take notice of me. I've tried to wash my screen a couple of times using the 'Park' button on the end of the transmission selector stalk on the column 

Could have ended up licking the screen clean while the rear axle makes its' bid for freedom.

[Toledodude1973]

The cost of running some of these new fangled devices on these cars  in years to come is going to be crazy prices 

[Andy B]

....
Could have ended up licking the screen clean while the rear axle makes its' bid for freedom.

It would have been both axles ........   4matic permanent 4 wheel drive