Brake service interval?

[spray]

Hey guys!

I bought my 135 a few months ago with 73,000 KM. at 80,000 an annoying service light came on telling me i need to service my rear brakes.

I went to the dealer and found out they did the rear brakes at 68,000 KM.
I suggested that since they installed, sensor/pads/rotors the tech must have forgot to reset the interval. They told me there is no interval set, and wouldn't if there was they wouldn't reset it for me. They said I had to pay them to have the rear wheels inspected.

The woman also said I "probably drive the car too hard and it needs new rear brakes already"

Are they wrong? Sounds like they messed up and want me to pay for it.

Also as an aside, I keep seeing different numbers all over the place for maintenance.

Oil changes were done regularly, and both front/rear brakes have been done as well as brake and power steering fluids. The car is at 81,000 KM.

Am I glaringly missing doing anything? I was thinking of doing sparks. I've seen people on the forums say they should be done at 60k while the dealer today said waiting till 100k is the norm.

Cheers!

[PA135i]

Service is based on the service indicator warning. This is a free service as long as there is an indicator showing in the dash. This goes for brakes.... oil change.. inspection... etc. It is free if you are still under the warranty time.

I had my brakes done a year ago at 45K miles... front brake indicator was lit on the dash. 1 week later the rear brake indicator came on. Had 2 visits in 2 weeks to get all brakes replaced.

There are no "numbers" for service items. It is based on how the car is driven. If you drive a lot of city driving.. you will see service come sooner.

The only number I use for service is 7,500 miles for a non-scheduled oil change that I pay for. I don't agree with the once a year interval. I own the car and plan on keeping it to at least 100,000.

Hope this helps.

[Mishikwest]

Not to hijack this thread, but my car has 20k, and the brakes have been flushed 3 times. Every time it's been into the dealer for anything, they flush the brakes. Any idea why?

[fe1rx]

Originally Posted by spray

Hey guys!

I bought my 135 a few months ago with 73,000 KM. at 80,000 an annoying service light came on telling me i need to service my rear brakes.

I went to the dealer and found out they did the rear brakes at 68,000 KM.
I suggested that since they installed, sensor/pads/rotors the tech must have forgot to reset the interval. They told me there is no interval set, and wouldn't if there was they wouldn't reset it for me. They said I had to pay them to have the rear wheels inspected.

The woman also said I "probably drive the car too hard and it needs new rear brakes already"

Are they wrong? Sounds like they messed up and want me to pay for it.

Also as an aside, I keep seeing different numbers all over the place for maintenance.

Oil changes were done regularly, and both front/rear brakes have been done as well as brake and power steering fluids. The car is at 81,000 KM.

Am I glaringly missing doing anything? I was thinking of doing sparks. I've seen people on the forums say they should be done at 60k while the dealer today said waiting till 100k is the norm.

Cheers!

In round numbers, the rear brakes are good for 50,000 km. If you have used them up in 12,000 km, the woman is right.

But more to the point, when the annoying light comes on, why not actually look at your brakes? Is there friction material left? Do they actually need changing? You can see this simply by looking at them. Of course there is no set interval for brake pad changes, they get changed when they are worn out.

60,000 km is the norm for replacing spark plugs on the 135i.

As for brake fluid flush, every 2 years is the norm in North America. Distance travelled is irrelevant.

Read the "Service Requirements" section of your Owner's Manual (page 62 in my 2008 manual) to find out how to check the time/distance remaining to the various major service items. If you haven't figured out how to do this, or to visually check your brake pads for condition, you are totally ignorant of your car's condition.

[spray]

The brake pads are fine and I don't have the manual.

It gave me a count down to the light, which went RIGHT on at 80,000.

I was wondering because I was pretty sure there wasn't an interval set for brakes.

Originally Posted by fe1rx

In round numbers, the rear brakes are good for 50,000 km. If you have used them up in 12,000 km, the woman is right.

But more to the point, when the annoying light comes on, why not actually look at your brakes? Is there friction material left? Do they actually need changing? You can see this simply by looking at them. Of course there is no set interval for brake pad changes, they get changed when they are worn out.

60,000 km is the norm for replacing spark plugs on the 135i.

As for brake fluid flush, every 2 years is the norm in North America. Distance travelled is irrelevant.

Read the "Service Requirements" section of your Owner's Manual (page 62 in my 2008 manual) to find out how to check the time/distance remaining to the various major service items. If you haven't figured out how to do this, or to visually check your brake pads for condition, you are totally ignorant of your car's condition.

[Dackelone]

First, have a tech look at the rear brake pad material - it could be worn out already. Our cars have an e-diff... which brakes the spinning rear wheel. Some guys goes thru rear pads FIRST before the fronts. Its not unheard of. But not the norm.

IF the rear pads are fine, your dealer will need to reset the rear brake sensor in the BC display. It is easy to do. You might even be able to do it yourself via my DIY bellow. But I suspect you need a new brake pad wear sensors and a "hard" reset requiring a visit to a bmw dealership.

Originally Posted by Mishikwest

Not to hijack this thread, but my car has 20k, and the brakes have been flushed 3 times. Every time it's been into the dealer for anything, they flush the brakes. Any idea why?

Brake fluid should be replaced every two years for NA cars. Over here in Germany it is every year.


DIY resetting service "due" lights…
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=415111


.

[fe1rx]

Originally Posted by spray

I don't have the manual.

There is a pdf version of the owner's manual in the sticky section of the Maintenance forum. See page 60 in that manual for checking your service intervals. Only the next item shows up on startup, but you can check them all at any time.

Page 119 describes the Condition Based Service approach that predicts/calculates service intervals based on usage. It is not a simple matter of the light coming on when the wear indicator hits the rotor. With OE pads the brake life predictions are remarkably good, even for a car that sees the track.

[MoneyFor]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

But I suspect you need a new brake pad wear sensors and a "hard" reset requiring a visit to a bmw dealership.

Hi, without hijacking this tread what is a hard reset ? I've changed the brakepads but cant reset the warning light. When I tried it goes from yellow to red...could this be a broken brake wear sensor ? Can i remove the sensor and leave it off or is this some kind of "resistor" or something like that.
I have a small error reading device thrue the OBD but this doesnt read any error so I can not reset anything with it.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by MoneyFor

Hi, without hijacking this tread what is a hard reset ? I've changed the brakepads but cant reset the warning light. When I tried it goes from yellow to red...could this be a broken brake wear sensor ? Can i remove the sensor and leave it off or is this some kind of "resistor" or something like that.
I have a small error reading device thrue the OBD but this doesnt read any error so I can not reset anything with it.

You do not need to buy a new sensor. You can cut the wires and solder them together or use a crimp connector. Then try resetting the brake pad light(*using* my DIY above).

I would rather buy a new pad sensor though.

A "hard reset" is when the have not replaced the sensors after a brake job(and you continue to drive around with the pad warning light on)... and the only way they can be reset is to have a dealer reset the light. Of course you need a new pad sensor before they try to reset the light. Some say you can also disconnect the battery and then retry to reset the light - after your crimp the wires together or replace the pad sensor.

Good Luck,
Dackel

[PA135i]

"It is not a simple matter of the light coming on when the wear indicator hits the rotor."

I disagree. The dealership will NOT replace the brake pads until the indicator comes on in the dash. If there is a malfunction with the sensor, that is another matter.

[spray]

Sounds like an asinine process.

Someone screwed up when they did my brakes.

Originally Posted by Dackelone

You do not need to buy a new sensor. You can cut the wires and solder them together or use a crimp connector. Then try resetting the brake pad light(*using* my DIY above).

I would rather buy a new pad sensor though.

A "hard reset" is when the have not replaced the sensors after a brake job(and you continue to drive around with the pad warning light on)... and the only way they can be reset is to have a dealer reset the light. Of course you need a new pad sensor before they try to reset the light. Some say you can also disconnect the battery and then retry to reset the light - after your crimp the wires together or replace the pad sensor.

Good Luck,
Dackel

[MoneyFor]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

You do not need to buy a new sensor. You can cut the wires and solder them together or use a crimp connector. Then try resetting the brake pad light(*using* my DIY above).

I would rather buy a new pad sensor though.

A "hard reset" is when the have not replaced the sensors after a brake job(and you continue to drive around with the pad warning light on)... and the only way they can be reset is to have a dealer reset the light. Of course you need a new pad sensor before they try to reset the light. Some say you can also disconnect the battery and then retry to reset the light - after your crimp the wires together or replace the pad sensor.

Good Luck,
Dackel

Thanks for the tip about the soldering, gonna try this, this afternoon...off to work now.