2011 e90 5F13 code showed up, won't clear, brakes are good.

ehart13169 · 05-09-2023, 07:08 AM

I have a 2011 328xi that has a few warning lights. I have been getting intermittent brake, abs, and dsc lights for a couple of months with codes 578E, 5F39, and 5F3A. I've been told that's an assembly in the transfer case, so I don't think those are related, but I wanted to make sure I mention them in case they are.

Two days ago the brake light came on along with the needs service light (car on a lift). When I checked the codes with an AUTOPHIX 7910, it showed that I had a 5F13 code, which is for the rear brakes. I took the wheels off today and checked the brakes, and they are in great shape. I've had the car about 1 1/2 years, but those brakes must have been replaced right before I bought the car, because they still look like they've got 75% or more of their life left (front and rear). I disconnected the wear sensor and checked resistance, it shows 0 ohms, so I know that it is working also.

I have INPA on my laptop, and I have BimmerGeeks ProTools. I am very much a noob at operating either of those (I've opened the INPA software twice), so I'm sure that there is more I can do with them that I haven't done. I found the brake pad status on INPA, but could not find anywhere to reset anything or recalibrate, and I did not want to do the wrong thing. INPA shows that the front pads have 6% left and the rear pads have 0% left. I know this is not accurate, but I don't know how to correct it.
When I pulled it up in ProTools, it said the rear brakes need to be replaced, but did not give me an option to reset or recalibrate.

I have a screenshot from INPA, but I have no idea where to go or what to do to get this resolved. I searched the forums, but I didn't find anything for this specific issue. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Volasko · 05-10-2023, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ehart13169

I have a 2011 328xi that has a few warning lights. I have been getting intermittent brake, abs, and dsc lights for a couple of months with codes 578E, 5F39, and 5F3A. I've been told that's an assembly in the transfer case, so I don't think those are related, but I wanted to make sure I mention them in case they are.

Two days ago the brake light came on along with the needs service light (car on a lift). When I checked the codes with an AUTOPHIX 7910, it showed that I had a 5F13 code, which is for the rear brakes. I took the wheels off today and checked the brakes, and they are in great shape. I've had the car about 1 1/2 years, but those brakes must have been replaced right before I bought the car, because they still look like they've got 75% or more of their life left (front and rear). I disconnected the wear sensor and checked resistance, it shows 0 ohms, so I know that it is working also.

I have INPA on my laptop, and I have BimmerGeeks ProTools. I am very much a noob at operating either of those (I've opened the INPA software twice), so I'm sure that there is more I can do with them that I haven't done. I found the brake pad status on INPA, but could not find anywhere to reset anything or recalibrate, and I did not want to do the wrong thing. INPA shows that the front pads have 6% left and the rear pads have 0% left. I know this is not accurate, but I don't know how to correct it.
When I pulled it up in ProTools, it said the rear brakes need to be replaced, but did not give me an option to reset or recalibrate.

I have a screenshot from INPA, but I have no idea where to go or what to do to get this resolved. I searched the forums, but I didn't find anything for this specific issue. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Only time I had an issue clearing that code was because of the brake sensor. I would double check all connectors. Sometimes it can come loose and shear off. I can't stand these sensors, I always just cut them off, strip the wire twist the ends together and heat wrap the ends. Then I just zip tie them to the control arm and leave them be. I've heard that non-oem sensors can cause issues too even if they're in working order. If you have the old worn OEM sensor you can always try this trick and check if the codes clear. Good luck!

ehart13169 · 05-10-2023, 10:27 PM

When you replace the brakes and sensor, are there steps that need to be taken to reset the counters? Based on the screenshot I attached, it looks like the computer thinks that it's been 100,000km since the rear brakes were replaced and 92,000km since the front brakes were replaced. That's about 62,000 miles and 57,000 miles respectively. I haven't put that many miles on since I purchased the car, and there's no way these brake pads have that many miles on. Is it possible that whoever replaced the brakes last did not reset the counters, and the computer is saying the brakes need to be replaced because of the mileage that it thinks is on them?

ehart13169 · 05-12-2023, 03:38 PM

It looks like the light was caused by the counters not being reset when the brake pads were replaced (front and rear). I found instructions to reset the service counters (

), and went through those steps. I had tried them before but couldn't get into the menu, this video pointed out that the door has to be closed for the process to work. The counters showed that by mileage, the rear pads were overdue and the front pads were almost due, even though the sensors were not signaling that they were due. I reset the counters this morning, so far the code and warning lights have not reappeared. Hopefully they will stay off until the pads actually need to be replaced.

For anyone else who may have this issue, even if your pads and sensors are good (and OEM quality), if you exceed the maximum mileage since the service counters were reset (around 100,000 km), you will get a code 5F12 or 5F13 and the service light will illuminate.

05-09-2023, 07:08 AM	#1
ehart13169 New Member 2 Rep 7 Posts Drives: BMW 328xi, 325xi Join Date: Feb 2022 Location: Manheim, PA, USA iTrader: (0)	2011 e90 5F13 code showed up, won't clear, brakes are good. I have a 2011 328xi that has a few warning lights. I have been getting intermittent brake, abs, and dsc lights for a couple of months with codes 578E, 5F39, and 5F3A. I've been told that's an assembly in the transfer case, so I don't think those are related, but I wanted to make sure I mention them in case they are. Two days ago the brake light came on along with the needs service light (car on a lift). When I checked the codes with an AUTOPHIX 7910, it showed that I had a 5F13 code, which is for the rear brakes. I took the wheels off today and checked the brakes, and they are in great shape. I've had the car about 1 1/2 years, but those brakes must have been replaced right before I bought the car, because they still look like they've got 75% or more of their life left (front and rear). I disconnected the wear sensor and checked resistance, it shows 0 ohms, so I know that it is working also. I have INPA on my laptop, and I have BimmerGeeks ProTools. I am very much a noob at operating either of those (I've opened the INPA software twice), so I'm sure that there is more I can do with them that I haven't done. I found the brake pad status on INPA, but could not find anywhere to reset anything or recalibrate, and I did not want to do the wrong thing. INPA shows that the front pads have 6% left and the rear pads have 0% left. I know this is not accurate, but I don't know how to correct it. When I pulled it up in ProTools, it said the rear brakes need to be replaced, but did not give me an option to reset or recalibrate. I have a screenshot from INPA, but I have no idea where to go or what to do to get this resolved. I searched the forums, but I didn't find anything for this specific issue. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. Attached Images
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05-10-2023, 10:27 PM	#3
ehart13169 New Member 2 Rep 7 Posts Drives: BMW 328xi, 325xi Join Date: Feb 2022 Location: Manheim, PA, USA iTrader: (0)	When you replace the brakes and sensor, are there steps that need to be taken to reset the counters? Based on the screenshot I attached, it looks like the computer thinks that it's been 100,000km since the rear brakes were replaced and 92,000km since the front brakes were replaced. That's about 62,000 miles and 57,000 miles respectively. I haven't put that many miles on since I purchased the car, and there's no way these brake pads have that many miles on. Is it possible that whoever replaced the brakes last did not reset the counters, and the computer is saying the brakes need to be replaced because of the mileage that it thinks is on them?
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05-12-2023, 03:38 PM	#4
ehart13169 New Member 2 Rep 7 Posts Drives: BMW 328xi, 325xi Join Date: Feb 2022 Location: Manheim, PA, USA iTrader: (0)	It looks like the light was caused by the counters not being reset when the brake pads were replaced (front and rear). I found instructions to reset the service counters ( ), and went through those steps. I had tried them before but couldn't get into the menu, this video pointed out that the door has to be closed for the process to work. The counters showed that by mileage, the rear pads were overdue and the front pads were almost due, even though the sensors were not signaling that they were due. I reset the counters this morning, so far the code and warning lights have not reappeared. Hopefully they will stay off until the pads actually need to be replaced. For anyone else who may have this issue, even if your pads and sensors are good (and OEM quality), if you exceed the maximum mileage since the service counters were reset (around 100,000 km), you will get a code 5F12 or 5F13 and the service light will illuminate.
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