No rear brake pads or drums?

I changed the front brakes on my 1997 Golf. Then I took off the rear tire to change the rear brakes, and there were no pads or drum. What the hell? All there is is a rotor. What kind of brakes are these?

To what do the handbrake cables run? While most cars could run nicely without rear brakes (most of the time), they need the rear brakes for the handbrake to work. Can we assume you bought the car used? If there is a rotor, there should have been calipers.

yes i'll say to there got to be calipers if you have disc if not something badly screwed that car up. does your rear tires roll to?

I checked both sides and there's no brakes. I jacked the rear end up to test it out. My friend hit the brakes and the rear wheels won't move. The handbrake also stops the rear wheels. What!? Should I just let it be or should I get this checked out?

You wore out your pads till there's nothing left. Had a Dodge truck do the same thing. It did not ruin the calipers, but sure ruined the rotors. VW parts list pads and rotors for your year model. A local brake shop could fix this, the dealership or you. I wouldn't drive it, only to go get it repaired. Franco

Once again as I said at the beginning, there are NO calipers. There's nothing. Just rotors.

Once again as I said at the beginning, there are NO calipers. There's nothing. Just rotors.



How about a pic so we can see what your seeing??


Max

The important thing is to have rear brakes, and a working handbrake. So if you have already jacked up the rear of the car, spun each wheel - and know that they stop turning when the brake pedal is pushed - then there are brakes there somehow somewhere. If they dont stop turning, you need to investiage further.
I know that on some cars, the handbrake system operates inside a little brake drum that is on the inner side of the rotor on the rear axle. On my Lancia Flamnia, as with most postwar Lancias having a front engine & rear wheel drive, the transmission/clutch were under the trunk floor, and the brake drums were mounted on each side of the transmission.
And with any front wheel drive car (except 4 wheel drive cars), if your handbrake or emergency brake is in good condition, you would be able to put on the handbrake -hard-, and then start up the car, put it in gear, and drive forward. There is more weight on the front wheels than on the rear, so the rear wheels would just be dragged along - without turning. And if this is not the case, then the handbrake needs work.
I suspect half of the cars on the highway over 10 years old dont have handbrakes that are working effectively anymore.