Brake pads Carbotech or OEM Volkswagen

I love the Carbotech 1521 pads on my E60 M5. Excellent bite and modulation, never gotten fade when bombing around mountain roads, and significantly less dust than the stock Textar pads. Not zero dust, but I'd say 80% - 90% less.

I have run them for years on my ‘05 Malibu v6 and they have been great on track.

When I was really into AX the best combo I found (and what I still run for the last 6 years) is Carbotech 1521 front Carbotech AX6 back

Carbotech xp10 + steel rotors. Sooooooo damn good. They’re track only pads and will squeal very loud if they’re cold, I recommend getting them prebedded if you can’t bed them on a track.

A set of euro ceramic pads is about $50, it's just not worth the drama for something so inexpensive right/wrong on VWs part. The DIY is v. simple but even if you pay a shop, it's an hour of labor to get on with your life.

Yup, I was very persistent and the dealership covered the cost for new brake pads, and the labor. The rotors were in good shape. Bottom line, i paid nothing. Of course, others experiences may vary. The fact still remains, this was a Volkswagen issue, not a dealership issue, but those two entities are viewed as one, especially when i spent $90,000 with them in a year. I was authorized to spend $282,000 on company vehicles, but once the brakes started acting up, making noise, and the dealer acting like dummies, refusing to take action, I purchased 4 vehicles through a different brand for our sales team company vehicles. Too bad too, I had it all worked out as to how much I would pay for 4 Atlas's, the specs, etc. Because the dealer refused to acknowledge the issue and put it back on me, I didn't want to give them any more of my money. They ended up making it right for me, but not until I took my future business elsewhere.

I recommend Carbotech brake pads. Expensive af but last twice as long and are better than just about any other pads out there.

Brakes don't squeal, but, at least when they're cold, they seem to grind/shudder/skip (not a warped rotor type of shudder) at low speeds.

Just got back from the dealer who did an inspection and acknowledged the problem and that it was widespread. However, \"all they can do it tell you whether they're safe or not\". Of course, they're safe but they are also embarassing and, to my wife, anxiety producing thinking that the brakes are about to fail. It's an indictment on the factory that they would allow so many reported issues to go unaddressed, and that they would use ****ty brake pads.

Got mine in November of 2021 and have had the same squealing and grinding issue. Sometimes it's a high-pitched whistle. Going to look at the ceramic brake pads that someone suggested, but its a shame that VW does not address.