Physical Brakes getting a little Grabby

[macotak01]

Finessing the transition between regen (recup) brakes and the physical brake near the end of a smooth stop is normally an enjoyable task for me, but lately my physical brakes are getting pretty grabby which is making stops with grace a lot more difficult. Other EVs I've had allowed full regen cut-out so that brake pad and disk wear could be managed by the driver, often required after rain or other environmental impacts. Can't do that with the Macan. I live in the desert and only drive 5K miles a year or so, very little driving in the rain. No visible disc issues. Any thoughts on how to deal with this, or is it a trip to the shop? Manual says the recup is ocasionally cycled off and back on to manage pad wear, but my brakes need some attention now. Got the software update a month ago.

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[ColdCase]

My 4S seems to be inconsistant, but slightly smoother after the update.

It won't use regen during the first mile or so after start up

If you think it has something to do with the pads, any heavy braking will burn contaminants off the pads and wipe the rotor. You don't have enogh regen to provide a hard stop from speed.

 

[macotak01]

Ah... yes, makes sense. A bit of fun, too.

 

[SergeyIndy]

This has to do with brakes hardly used and in the dry air just getting sticky. You only have a couple of stops to make when regen is off after nonuse, so that is the time to really lean into the brakes. This almost needs to be a regular thing when you know the regen is off to give the pads and rotors some work.

 

[Fun TC Driving]

SergeyIndy is right on. To respond along the same lines but with more details, you probably have particle/dirt build up of an uneven nature on your rotors. There is a racer’s brake-in technique called burnishing the brakes. Not that you need to do it exactly here but a more moderated interim process is what I would do long before heading to a dealer.

Find an isolated road, accelerate to 60 MPH, then firmly brake down to 25 MPH, firm enough that the stopping engages the actual brakes (not just the regen system), then do that nine more times; next go to 60 MPH and brake Hard however without locking up your ABS system, each decelerating to 10 MPH (never coming to a stop). Nine more times. Then without ever having come to a full stop at any time, drive around until you have cooled your rotors.

This might work by removing uneven brake pad deposits on your rotor. If it does, you have saved yourself a dealership trip. However, some get queasy by doing this process so please do not do it having eaten in the hour before. Good luck.

 

[craz8]

If you have significant SOC - 90%+ - then the regen capacity is reduced, and you get into the physical braking more quickly. I think I calculated the full regen braking power comes out to about 0.4g of electrical recovery.

The power meter shows how much regen capacity you have available to help you see when you're using it all - it's quite dim though, but lights up green when used. The HUD display is much easier to see if you have it.

 

[macotak01]

Appreciate the info. It did occur to me that a full charge would shut off the regen, so that's a good starting point. Got just the place to do this.
Thanks!

 

[TomekGnomek]

I've noticed what helps is while driving on highway put the car to neutral and hard brake (mind the safety). It uses physical brakes and hard brake from high speed quickly removes all the dirt and rust.

Taycan has this option "clean brakes" but this is a poor man's way to do this

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