Hella 355010601 Rear Brake Pad Set, VW & Audi

The Hella 355010601 is a low-metallic rear disc brake pad set built for one of the most common VW and Audi rear-brake families on the road. If you're running an A3, A4, A6, TT, Jetta, GTI, Golf, Passat, Eos, CC, Rabbit, or R32 from the mid-2000s onward, there's a strong chance this is the rear pad your car left the factory with. It uses OE-formulated friction material, so the feel at the pedal stays familiar and the fit in the caliper is straight replacement, no modification needed.

This is a rear-axle set, not a front one. That matters, because the fronts and rears on these platforms use different pad shapes, and it's an easy mistake to grab the wrong box. The pad footprint here is 105.5 mm wide, 55.9 mm tall, and 17.2 mm thick, and it carries the WVA 23914 reference. Fitment spans roughly 2005 to 2021 across that range, though not every model-year of every trim uses this exact pad. Before you order, the safest move is to match your existing pad or cross-check the OE number. Hella lists this set against Audi 8E0698451J and VW 1K0698451B, so if either of those is stamped on your old pad or shows up in your parts catalog for the rear axle, you're in the right place.

The compound is low-metallic, which is a sensible middle ground for a daily-driven car. You get strong, predictable bite when the brakes are cold on a morning commute, and the material handles the heat of a long downhill or a spirited back road without fading out on you. It's not a dedicated track pad and it isn't trying to be. For street driving, towing light loads, and the occasional canyon run, it does exactly what a good OE-style pad should.

One honest note on low-metallic pads in general. They give you great bite and heat resistance, and the trade-off is a little more brake dust on the wheels and occasionally a touch more noise than a ceramic pad. On these rear brakes it's rarely a problem, and a set of quality anti-rattle shims plus a thin film of brake grease on the pad backing and contact points goes a long way toward keeping things quiet. That's normal maintenance-tech stuff, not a knock on the pad.

Here's what's in the box. You get the rear pad set plus the brake caliper screws you need to reassemble the caliper, so you're not stuck hunting for hardware halfway through the job. What's not included is the brake wear sensor. This set is prepared for a wear indicator, meaning the slot is there, but the sensor itself is a separate part. If your old sensor is in good shape you can reuse it, otherwise pick one up before you start so you don't button everything up and realize you're missing it.

A quick word on the install. The rear calipers on these VW and Audi cars use a threaded piston tied to the parking brake, so you can't just press the piston straight back in like a front caliper. You'll need a wind-back tool to screw the piston in while applying light pressure. Take your time, keep the caliper hung so you're not straining the flex hose, and torque the guide pins and bracket bolts to spec. Once the new pads are in, bed them properly. A series of moderate stops from around 35 mph down to 5, without coming to a full stop, then a cool-down, transfers an even layer of friction material onto the rotor and sets you up for quiet, consistent braking.

Bottom line, if you want a clean OE-style rear brake refresh for your VW or Audi and you'd rather not guess on fitment, the Hella 355010601 is a solid, no-drama choice. Confirm the rear-axle application against your OE number, grab a wear sensor if yours is worn, and you've got everything you need to get the back brakes sorted in an afternoon.