[simples]

My I drive has flagged up that the rear brake pads needs chaging soon. i'm getting the handbrake sign on, on the dash, but the i drive warning icon is still green, thought it would of changed to yellow? showing as 2500miles left and i've had it visually checked, 2-3mm left on the pads. shall i change now or wait until the yellow sign pops up.

also does the i drive flag up when the disc brake needs changing. during this inspection it was written down as 3mm remaining. have been told they can only be certain when they have the car, wheels off, pads off and inspected more accuratly with machine\visual??? what u think, needs doing as well @ 3mm??

[ihpj]

iDrive only gives you an estimate of when things need changing based on a variety of variables (like fuel consumption and oil quality) - same goes for pad life.

I would always err on the side of caution and never take risks with safety items [like brakes and tyres] - so 2MM left is most definitely change time (IMHO).

And to answer your other question, iDrive only tells you pad life not disc.

[simples]

Originally Posted by ihpj

I would always err on the side of caution and never take risks with safety items [like brakes and tyres] - so 2MM left is most definitely change time (IMHO).

true, i've already got afew quotes so will book it in.

[ihpj]

If you feel able to do so, then the rear pads are easy to DIY on the car. The only fiddly bit is the brake pad sensor though - you have to remove the entire inner wheel arch and fiddle with the connectors. Not too bad of a job though and you can buy Textar pad kit for circa £40 from ECP.

[swanseahammer]

I just had an inspection service (35k miles) - they told me the rear pads are down to 4mm and will need replacing "soon". The OBC is telling me 10k miles left. Somebody / something's telling me porkies!

[AlwynMike]

Originally Posted by swanseahammer

I just had an inspection service (35k miles) - they told me the rear pads are down to 4mm and will need replacing "soon". The OBC is telling me 10k miles left. Somebody / something's telling me porkies!

Another instance where Mark One Eyeballs are better than electrickery.
iDrive only estimates the pad wear (and usually it's fairly good - particularly if you maintain a particular driving style e.g. always plodding or always flat out). The sensor is the fail-safe. That is when the pad is getting very low. Your iDrive may drop alarmingly from several thousand miles to go to a zero (and then a minus figure count-down) as the sensor hits the disc. Definitely time to change when it does that!

ALWAYS replace the sensor, even if it doesn't look touched - it can save a lot of hassle resetting the wear indicator. Some folk say always replace with a genuine part, but I've had no problems with a pattern part (from ECP).

You can only tell the disc wear when the wheel is off, and it's a lot easier when the pads are out, so you can get a caliper in and measure it properly.

My front's wore out at 42k, and looked perfect, but after measurement, they were just below the limit, so they got changed (for a set of EBC slotted discs - I won't be doing that again, but that's another story)

Mike

[ihpj]

Originally Posted by AlwynMike

ALWAYS replace the sensor, even if it doesn't look touched...

You must replace the pad sensor as the sensor itself wears down over time and this is how the iDrive is able to estimate how much pad life is left. If you use an old (worn) sensor with new pads you wont be able to reset the indicator.

[simples]

i got my rear pads & sensor changed by an indy, he showed me my old one's, the milage has reset to 30k, however he did say that the warning message on the dash were still and on and i had to drive the car over 50mph and it will go out as his seen this before. well i've done that and its still there so i got the reset procedure from here and tried to do the reset for rear pads, but as its already 30k you cant do a reset.

i did however notice that the message on i drive is now saying Brake Pads worn, have them service by bmw etc with the red warning l light of a car on a ramp same as before. but i am now sure that the previous message said rear brake pads, now its just saying brake pads worn?? whats that referring too? front, back??? any ideas anyone. the fronts are fine with 7000 miles left or 6-7mm dept left..

[T335i]

I had a warning as well, went to BMW got new front pads and sensor. install was easy, but unable to reset the brakewear indicator to 30000. Now BMW says I also need to change the rear pads and sensor..
But how big is te chance really that BOTH the front and rear have worn the same?? seems like a big coincidense to me!
(120.000 kms / 75.000 mls)

[m1bjr]

Originally Posted by simples

i got my rear pads & sensor changed by an indy, he showed me my old one's, the milage has reset to 30k, however he did say that the warning message on the dash were still and on and i had to drive the car over 50mph and it will go out as his seen this before. well i've done that and its still there so i got the reset procedure from here and tried to do the reset for rear pads, but as its already 30k you cant do a reset.

i did however notice that the message on i drive is now saying Brake Pads worn, have them service by bmw etc with the red warning l light of a car on a ramp same as before. but i am now sure that the previous message said rear brake pads, now its just saying brake pads worn?? whats that referring too? front, back??? any ideas anyone. the fronts are fine with 7000 miles left or 6-7mm dept left..

Your Indy is not much good.

you change the sensor and the pads together at that wear level.
then reset the computer which anyone can do.
take it back!

[simples]

Originally Posted by m1bjr

Your Indy is not much good.

you change the sensor and the pads together at that wear level.
then reset the computer which anyone can do.
take it back!

i did take it back, and he found out the problem straight away, somehow the sensor cable had caught on something and was snapped in two! which explains why me trying to reset it was'nt working the few times i tried. the indy had done the reset in the first place anyway.so he has said he'll get a new one in and have it replaced. overall i'm happy with the service. god knows what BMW would have charged or done ( prob need to keep the car in for about 2days to investigate no doubt!!).

[acerboo]

Originally Posted by simples

My I drive has flagged up that the rear brake pads needs chaging soon. i'm getting the handbrake sign on, on the dash, but the i drive warning icon is still green, thought it would of changed to yellow? showing as 2500miles left and i've had it visually checked, 2-3mm left on the pads. shall i change now or wait until the yellow sign pops up.

also does the i drive flag up when the disc brake needs changing. during this inspection it was written down as 3mm remaining. have been told they can only be certain when they have the car, wheels off, pads off and inspected more accuratly with machine\visual??? what u think, needs doing as well @ 3mm??

did you mean "chaging" or "changing" as it sounds like they are already "chaged"!

[m1bjr]

Originally Posted by simples

i did take it back, and he found out the problem straight away, somehow the sensor cable had caught on something and was snapped in two! which explains why me trying to reset it was'nt working the few times i tried. the indy had done the reset in the first place anyway.so he has said he'll get a new one in and have it replaced. overall i'm happy with the service. god knows what BMW would have charged or done ( prob need to keep the car in for about 2days to investigate no doubt!!).

To be fair, the BMW franchised mechanics would probably have installed it correctly.

Its VERY simple, and they obviously couldn't manage it.
There is nothing for it to catch on if clipped on correctly.

Glad its all sorted for you now.