[Vector]

I just had my rear brake pads replaced by the dealer under warranty. There was still 11k miles left on the pads according to the wear sensor. Afterwards, when I check the mileage indicator via Idrive, it still states I have 11k miles left. This is even with the brake pads being new. When I called the service guy about resetting the brake pad wear indicator, he told me that it could not be done, and that it would stay at 11k for a while or until the brake pads were worn to about 11k miles left.

Is it true that the wear sensor for the brake pads cannot be reset up to a given point, or were my pads just not replaced?

[idrift4wd]

give your pads a visual look. All maintenance service interval reminds can be reset unless the wire itself needs to be replaced or you have low pad life.

check this thread out to see how.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=384430

[mccoy]

Sounds to me like they replaced the pads but not the wear indicator. If you reset it now, it will just show four dashes (----) on the display and throw up an error every time you get in the car.. Very annoying! Did they charge you for a new wear indicator? this should be replaced when they do the pads, especially at a main dealer!

The way it works is that it is attached to the pad and sits against the disk and wears down as the pad wears down, giving a reading of estimated mileage left until the pads are fully worn..

[Vector]

Originally Posted by mccoy

Sounds to me like they replaced the pads but not the wear indicator. If you reset it now, it will just show four dashes (----) on the display and throw up an error every time you get in the car.. Very annoying! Did they charge you for a new wear indicator? this should be replaced when they do the pads, especially at a main dealer!

The way it works is that it is attached to the pad and sits against the disk and wears down as the pad wears down, giving a reading of estimated mileage left until the pads are fully worn..

Thanks to both of you for responding. Supposedly, a brake sensor was included in the replacement parts (I assume this is the wear indicator).

I can look at the brake pad, but for some reason, the pad feels like it was replaced (previous one squeaked a little)

[mccoy]

If the sensor was replaced, there is no reason it can't be reset. Follow the link that idrift4wd posted and reset the brake pad indicator. If it comes up with the 4 dashes (----) then the sensor wasn't replaced and you should take it back to the dealers.

[fun2drive]

"The way it works is that it is attached to the pad and sits against the disk and wears down as the pad wears down, giving a reading of estimated mileage left until the pads are fully worn.."

Huh?
Your car must be different from mine and all other BMW brake systems I have worked on. The wear sensor sits on the pad itself and will not activate until the pad is worn to the point of rotor to sensor contact at which point it closes the circuit and activates the pad indicator. Once the sensor is replaced the system should be reset within two driving cycles. Typically it resets when you power the car up.
The brake pad reading on Idrive is purely an estimate of your pad wear based on the data collected by the car it does not measure wear on the pads it is an estimate...

[r3dbimmer89]

Originally Posted by Vector

I just had my rear brake pads replaced by the dealer under warranty. There was still 11k miles left on the pads according to the wear sensor. Afterwards, when I check the mileage indicator via Idrive, it still states I have 11k miles left. This is even with the brake pads being new. When I called the service guy about resetting the brake pad wear indicator, he told me that it could not be done, and that it would stay at 11k for a while or until the brake pads were worn to about 11k miles left.

Is it true that the wear sensor for the brake pads cannot be reset up to a given point, or were my pads just not replaced?

He doesn't know what he's talking about. You just need to reset the brake pad indicator. My dealer always forgets to reset the computer. If you don't reset the indicator, you are not telling the car that has new pads so the car estimates pad life based on information combined from the old pads. Once you reset it, you'll see that the indicator correctly recalculates reasonable estimations.

[Vector]

Thanks you guys! I followed the link from idrift4WD and McCoy and was able to reset the rear brake sensor. Thank you! It now says 25k miles instead of 11k.

[VMRWheels]

Reset the indicator as everyone stated. If you get the dash marks, take it back to the dealership and ask them to change the sensor.

[mmlcrisis]

On the older BMW's that I have worked on, as the brake pad wears down the rotor contacts the wear sensor. As the rotor contacts the wear sensor it removes material from the wear sensor and eventually breaks the wire that is molded into the wear sensor. When the wire breaks the circuit is opened and the brake pad warning light illuminates. I have outened the annoying warning light by cutting the wires to the brake sensor and splicing them together, thus closing the circuit. Maybe the pad monitoring method has changed on newer BMW's. I resused the same sensors when I put different pads on my 2009.

[Reznick]

Originally Posted by fun2drive

"The way it works is that it is attached to the pad and sits against the disk and wears down as the pad wears down, giving a reading of estimated mileage left until the pads are fully worn.."

Huh?
Your car must be different from mine and all other BMW brake systems I have worked on. The wear sensor sits on the pad itself and will not activate until the pad is worn to the point of rotor to sensor contact at which point it closes the circuit and activates the pad indicator. Once the sensor is replaced the system should be reset within two driving cycles. Typically it resets when you power the car up.
The brake pad reading on Idrive is purely an estimate of your pad wear based on the data collected by the car it does not measure wear on the pads it is an estimate...

+1 the sensors are cheap enough that I replace them any time I do the brakes. The percentage is an estimate, just like the life of you oil is an estimate