There is a tutorial for replacing the front brake pads on this forum thanks to Mr5, and although changing the rears are very similar I thought I would document my change as a few people have been asking for the rears.

Please note: I am not a professional mechanic and have posted this...

Yes you can. You do need to disengage it if you are removing the disks though, but you can do that after the car is jacked up. If you are doing just the pads then the hand brake can stay engaged.

How do I make sure I don't leak brake fluid? Do I literally clamp the line? Will it poor out instantly or do you have to swap out within a minute or two? never done this before. Meineke wants to charge me $80 for labor. $60 for Akebono pads and $41 for censor. (just for the rear pads)

QUESTION: How do the rear censors work? Do you need s new censor everytime you get new pads in the rear? Does the "censor issue" seem right for that price? I feel confident in doing the pads myself except for I don't want the brake fluid to leak.

Thanks in advance.

Have you ever changed pads before??? You shouldn't be touching the brake lines, thus there is nowhere for fluid to "leak" from. Are you asking about changing the brake LINES as well?

Try and read through/ search the threads next time, i know the censor question has been answered before. In short, did your brake change warning light go off? If so, you need a new sensor, if not, you dont, long as you dont brake it when removing. It simply clips onto the pads and can be removed easily.

My only concern is if you think there is leaking fluid during a brake pad change, are you sure you are ready to perform the work? Not trying to be a dick, but make sure you are 100% comfortable and ready, because if not, $80 is a VERY small price to pay on a bimmer for not dealing with the hassel. If this is your first brake change I would say to expect it to take anywhere from 1-4 hours depending on how easy things come off with tools at home, and how fast or easy of a pace you choose to work at.

Maybe you should try to do this with a person that have done it before as this is obviously your first time. No brake fluid is spilled in this operation as you dont disconnect the brake hose. Starting with the e90 3 series you MUST change the sensors every time you change the pads because the new sensors are "intelligent" in the sense that they give life of pad information. The previous post is confused on this because all the way until the e46 the brake sensors were just an on/off kind of thing and if you changed the pads before the end of their life you could probably reuse the sensor. That's no longer the case. Sensors are around $27.- at the BMW dealer, somewhat cheaper at Tischers.

Thank you i when and got my car inspected and the guy told me my rear brakes were shot i changed pads on my other cars but i love to give it a shot on my 325XI can't wait for my day off to give it a shat, do you think changing my rotors to slotted rotors is a go idea when i change the pads ???

Thanks for the replies. Just because one has a question doesn't mean they aren't ready, or aren't confident ya know.

Thanks for the superb DIY write-up. I replaced my rear pads this weekend with zero issues. I used Axxis/PBR Metal Masters from Turner Motor Sport (& the OEM brake sensor) and so far they have been just fine. EDIT: I just thought of this, but are there torque specs for the caliper bolts? And is it normal for the brake sensor to jiggle a bit? It did click when I inserted it but it still felt a bit loose.

Awesome DIY. It was really helpful that you included pictures to show where the rear brake pad sensor connection was.

Okay, I know this is old, but I figured my technique might help someone reading this DIY. What I do for the rear rotors stuck to the hub (making sure the parking brake is off!) is spray some penetrating oil on the interface between the hub and rotor. Then I use a piece of wood doweling from coat closet (1 1/2 in diameter wood doweling about 15 inches long) and hit the rear face of the rotor using a 2 lb. sledge hammer. Rotate the rotor a bit and hit it all the way around. It will pop of in a jiffy. Using a sledge hammer allows you to get a lot of energy into the strike without a lot of swing speed.

Thanks for the Write up OP! I had surpassed 3k miles on the OEM brake pads and i was litteraly down to a strand of hair!! dealer was charging me 1200 for sensor front and rear pads + labor. Glad I decided to do this on my own & thanks to the OP, this thread saved me over $900!!! just a little tip. when unscrewing the bolts on the caliper after its loosed about half way, i just use the hex bit without the wrench to slide the scew out enough to where they dont completely come off, but are not visible. Then i take the caliper off, so much easier!

I didnt read everyones replies, but did anyone mention turning the rotors?? I keep reading that its important to turn them. What is the worse that can happen?

Thanks for this

Post was great. Just changed my brakes for the first time on my 335i. All 4 rotors and brake pads. Thread helped out allot. Thanks man

Went to ask the same thing at the shop. Was told old rotors for BMW could not be turned. Brake rotors r to soft to be turned. Or so i was told.

Did you end up buying new rotors? I Went ahead and just installed the brake pads. Everything is still good, but I will buy some new rotors soon.

just did this tonight. one item of feedback, i think step 10 (reattach sensor) should be moved to between 8 and 9. I found it really hard to insert the sensor after the calipers were remounted. After futzing for a while, i gave in and took the calipers back off. After that, I could put the sensor in but it wouldn't stay in firmly.

Finally I compared the new sensor with the old one and discovered that the lip behind the metal clip that holds it in had chipped off, probably during the futzing when the calipers were mounted. It was a third party sensor and the plastic seemed pretty solid, but not as hard as the BMW sensor. I didn't use any tools on it, no banging on it, just finger tip stuff since at the awkward angle it was when mounted, I couldn't get much force on it anyway.

Since I didn't have another sensor handy and stores were closed, I ended up pulling the wheel well shroud *again* and unplugged the new broken sensor and reassembled everything without a sensor and will have to do it all again when I get another sensor.

So that's why I think the DIY should tell users to put the sensor back in before remounting the calipers, so you can more easily see what you are doing and have it at a better angle.

Anyhow, apart from that, the brakes seem to work but I have more travel on the brake pedal now and it seems mushier in the first half of the travel, but then stops hard in the second half. Should I be concerned and what can i do about the mushiness?

Love this.. gonna save it

Great DIY

If you don't replace your discs then yes, but if you do then no, you can't.

Great DIY write-up! Definitely referenced this write-up multiple times when I was changing my brakes!

I've sold my bimmer now

but great to return and see this thread has helped out a few people

Thanks!