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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Suspension | Brakes | Chassis > HELP! failed to reset brake pad warning light



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      05-29-2012, 11:53 AM   #1
Photosapiens
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HELP! failed to reset brake pad warning light

Long story short,

1. My car's out of warranty

2. Recently, I've seen yellow rear brake pad warning light, so I replaced
rear brake pad. (I re-used sensor, because I have heard from this forum
that I can use the sensor again unless brake pad warning light is red)

3. After replacing the rear brake pad, the yellow warning light kept on
everytime I start the car

4. I searched for DIY guide for resetting service / warning light.
Here's the guide that I used.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 1
Insert key into slot

Step 2
Press start/stop button without depressing clutch/brake and wait for
the service reminder to dissapear.

Step 3
Immediately after service reminder goes out, press and hold the odometer
reset. After 3 secs a warning triangle will appear, keep the odo. button
pressed and after another 2-3 secs the Oil can will appear. I f you hold it
too long (10 secs in total) you will overshoot the runway and some
German writing will appear giving the software level/ can bus etc.
of the car. Go back to the beginning and start again.

Step 4
You are now in the service menu, use the toggle switch on indicator stalk
to scroll up/down through the various service items.

Step 5
When you have the item you want to reset showing, press the BC button
on end of indicator stalk. Reset should now appear in the display. Press
in and hold the BC button for 2-3 secs and a clock will start whirling
around and hey presto, its done.

Step 6
You can now either scroll up/down to select another item (as in step 4) or you can press the start/stop button to exit.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Using the guide above, I successfully reset brake fluid warning light
but the rear brake pad warning light. The rear brake pad warning light
became like this (the light below is for front brake pad, but it's the same
for my brear brake pad too)



And I accidently reset my fron brake pad too (before reset, it was indicating
35,000km for front)

And I keep having this light every time I start the car



Is there any way I can reset those warning lights?

My warranty has been expired so I would like to avoid going to stealerships.
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      05-29-2012, 12:10 PM   #2
mike-y
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you can just get some new brake sensors (they are cheap), and then reset the light.

Or if you don't want to bother with new sensors, cut the ends off your old sensors, and twist the wires together. Then reset the light.
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      05-29-2012, 12:20 PM   #3
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I'm pretty sure I read on here somewhere that you have to disconnect and re-connect the front sensor too in order to reset the warning light for the rear. Does this ring a bell with anyone else?

Regardless, if your sensor is actually worn down you can't reset anything without replacing it.
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      05-29-2012, 01:13 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djjasper View Post
I'm pretty sure I read on here somewhere that you have to disconnect and re-connect the front sensor too in order to reset the warning light for the rear. Does this ring a bell with anyone else?

Regardless, if your sensor is actually worn down you can't reset anything without replacing it.
basically yes, the idea is to install new brake sensor while changing the pad, that said, OP should go ahead and change the sensor too, they are not expensive.
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      05-29-2012, 02:17 PM   #5
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Thanks for your input, guys.

Although I accidently reset the front sensor (which was indicating 35,000km) should I buy the front sensor as well?
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      05-29-2012, 02:21 PM   #6
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I had the same problem, it didnt go away until i did a full change of pads and sensors
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      05-29-2012, 02:37 PM   #7
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I believe that the sensors have two stages. One for the yellow warning and the other a red warning. If the yellow warning comes up, you cannot re use the sensor. If neither warnings come up, then the sensor can be re used.

Before you replace the rear brake sensor, I suggest a few days before, use a garden hose spray nozzle and wash the rear wheel liner. You will need to remove this liner to access the sensor connector junction box and also the sensor wire retaining clips. The reason washing the liner helps, is you need to remove about 10 or more screws to remove the liner. Washing the liner will remove road mud so you can see the screws and also reduce the amount of dirt that will fly at your face when you pop the liner out.
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      05-29-2012, 08:28 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad from the OC View Post
I believe that the sensors have two stages. One for the yellow warning and the other a red warning. If the yellow warning comes up, you cannot re use the sensor. If neither warnings come up, then the sensor can be re used.

Before you replace the rear brake sensor, I suggest a few days before, use a garden hose spray nozzle and wash the rear wheel liner. You will need to remove this liner to access the sensor connector junction box and also the sensor wire retaining clips. The reason washing the liner helps, is you need to remove about 10 or more screws to remove the liner. Washing the liner will remove road mud so you can see the screws and also reduce the amount of dirt that will fly at your face when you pop the liner out.
Thank you for your advice.
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      05-29-2012, 11:35 PM   #9
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If you reset the brake pad sensor, the sensor has to be replaced. The system checks for difference in ohms, between the old sensor and the new one.

What I did when I replaced mine was buy one front sensor, and installed it. Then I made my own reset tool out of the old one, and keep it in my toolbox. Just cut the wire short and loop the 2 wires together, and to use it, plug it into the front or rear sensor socket and reset the warning lights in the car. Unplug then then reinstall your old one. Now you don't have to replace them ever if they are not worn down.

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Last edited by Titanium3Series; 05-30-2012 at 02:54 PM..
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      08-01-2013, 02:35 PM   #10
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I have suffered the same issue as the OP apart from the fact that I replaced the sensors with new ones.

I have tried every suggested reset to no avail.

I have tried the chopped sensor suggestion to no avail.

My concern is that if I get new sensors will it actually solve anything?

So frustrating that I have not 'cut any corners' yet I have the constant (!) most annoying.
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      08-01-2013, 03:07 PM   #11
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Use my brake sensor delete DIY. It worked for me and I'm very happy.
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      08-01-2013, 03:13 PM   #12
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http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=743996

new sensors should fix your problem
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      08-01-2013, 03:20 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by weejp View Post
I have suffered the same issue as the OP apart from the fact that I replaced the sensors with new ones.

I have tried every suggested reset to no avail.

I have tried the chopped sensor suggestion to no avail.

My concern is that if I get new sensors will it actually solve anything?

So frustrating that I have not 'cut any corners' yet I have the constant (!) most annoying.
make sure you twisted the wires together after chopping them to create a low resistance loop.

The car checks the specs of the "new" sensor to the old one before it resets itself, so the car knows if you are using an old sensor. Once you chop a sensor up and loop the wires together, it should not have any issue with resetting.

After it is reset you can plug your old sensor back in with no issues just as long as it did not eat into the plastic part.
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      08-01-2013, 03:25 PM   #14
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Its looking like my only option.

But as stated I have already used new sensors so you can understand my doubt that it will be a success.

I can only suggest the non OEM sensors were not worth the 'savings' on OEM parts - still it doesn't make sense to me - bloody idiotic BMW's after my 1 series I said "never again" I wish I had stuck to my guns...........
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      09-25-2013, 07:48 PM   #15
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damn these 3 yellow lights, im loosing it reseting dont work
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      09-25-2013, 08:40 PM   #16
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You need new brake sensors and possibly a software update. Same thing happened to me- thankfully I'm still under my BMW warranty
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      01-21-2014, 02:47 PM   #17
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Did a brake job with new sensors and I tried resetting the service lights however only the front ones reset? Any suggestions?
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      01-21-2014, 03:48 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adriang View Post
Did a brake job with new sensors and I tried resetting the service lights however only the front ones reset? Any suggestions?
When I did mind a few months back it took several tries for the reset to work so the easiest thing you can do is just try the reset a few more times & see if it takes it.
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      07-20-2014, 11:14 PM   #19
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I had the exact same problem @Photosapiens had.

The rear sensor is such a pain to switch out so I just bought one new sensor to replace the rear one, and spliced the wires just like @Titanium3Series showed here. I zip tied the hanging wire inside the wheel well so I don't have to deal with it anymore.

The brake light on the gauge disappeared and my blank digital brake counter, which was just like the counter shown in the OP, was able to reset again without a problem.

I figured that since I visually check my pads often anyway, I would do fine without the rear brake sensor. I didn't have to do anything to the front brake sensors.
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Last edited by surewin; 07-20-2014 at 11:57 PM..
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      11-04-2014, 09:08 PM   #20
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Just a little to add on. But first would like to thank you all for the great help. Anyway my friend has a 2006 E60 550I and we did new break pads and sensors a couple of months ago, then this pass Friday the 31st of October he got the change pads in the front and rear pads on the I drive. So he took it the dealership and they could not reset it and want to charge him for any diagnostics.

At this moment I told him to bring it over, I try to reset it the way that you guys suggested to no avail. So I sent him to get new sensors. I replace them and try again and nothing same result no reset. So I decided to start the car for a couple of minutes and try again reseting it. And guess what that was the step that I was missing, as soon as I turn it off and do the reset procedure, it worked!! Success. So the simple part that I was not doing was turning the car on after I change the sensors. It needed to read the ohms on the new sensors. I am sure that most of you knew about it. But just in case, we need to do that step too. Thanks again for all the help.

Jesse.
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      07-24-2015, 09:00 AM   #21
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That is not difficult matter.your problem will be solve.you can see https://www.youtube.com/user/vehix411 for solved your problem
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      12-12-2015, 04:21 PM   #22
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Thanks! Worked perfectly after changing sensors
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