BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme

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Thu 9 Feb 2023 17:34
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - Greggsy

Hello, just wondering if you can clarify on the following.

My X5 (2016) had had 3100 miles until front brake pads replacement indicated on the dashboard for quite some time. Brought it for a regular servicing at BMW where front brake pads were confirmed to be at 7 mm.

Immediately after I collected my car the same day, the reading changed to 1200 miles till replacement (ie minus almost 2K). And the mileage has been decreasing with the miles driven ever since (it stayed at 3100 for a long time).

if this mileage is just an estimation, timer, with no connection to a sensor, why did it stay at 3100 miles? if it does check actual wear, why being at 7mm, it's almost time for replacing? why did it jump from 3100 to 1200 suddenly after service station visit.

thanks

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Thu 9 Feb 2023 18:17
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - elekie&a/c doctor
The wear sensors on these are progressive. So as the pads wear, the cbs should calculate how many miles remaining on friction material. Can’t give a specific answer, perhaps someone has changed the settings or tried to reset them .
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Thu 9 Feb 2023 21:19
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - Greggsy

can't see any logic in that as in one day the mileage decreased by 2K and the visual check gave 7mm for the pads (same day)... BMW service couldn't explain either saying that the mileage is just an indication w/o any connection to the state of the pads. I haven't tried to change the settings nor reset them as I've got no idea how to do that. And the car has always been serviced by BMW.

I wonder where can I read how it works

Edited by Greggsy on 09/02/2023 at 21:20

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Thu 9 Feb 2023 22:38
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - sammy1

If the brake pads are the original ones then 7mm left is only about half their wear. The advice is to change them when they get to 3mm or you could wait until the wear indicator says to. My estimate if the pads are original is that you have approx another 24k miles in them at your current usage. BMW could have reset the distance for you

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Fri 10 Feb 2023 09:38
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - galileo

If the brake pads are the original ones then 7mm left is only about half their wear. The advice is to change them when they get to 3mm or you could wait until the wear indicator says to. My estimate if the pads are original is that you have approx another 24k miles in them at your current usage. BMW could have reset the distance for you

So an X5 uses half the pads in 3100 miles?? Or did the OP mean 31000 miles, which seems more reasonable. (unless he does a lot of track-days)

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Fri 10 Feb 2023 10:11
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - Greggsy

No, the reading was 3100 miles till the brake pads replacement and stayed like that for a long time. then, when I visited BMW service, the reading changed to 1200 miles (ie minus 2K in one day). they also inspected the pads and confirmed that they were at 7 mm. No, i don't do track days. I'd say my driving is more on the relaxing side.

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Fri 10 Feb 2023 09:46
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - Greggsy

The brake pads are original ones and BMW inspected them and confirmed that they're 7mm. However, on the same day they inspected them the mileage till replacement changed from 3100 (where it stayed for a long time prior) to 1200. what is it that they actually reset and why? Can I somehow see the log of the reset and who did it? I didn't do it myself neither it was serviced by anyone else except BMW. Also, you say 'wear indicator'. is it different from the mileage till replacement indicator/clock? As I now have negative reading, but I'm 100% sure I haven't worn 7mm since visiting the service as it's only been a couple thousand miles of normal driving.

Sorry, I'm still confused.

The mileage till brake pads replacement, is it an estimation (I understood from BMW that it is just an estimation)? Will there be wear indicator when the pads actually needs replacing?

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Fri 10 Feb 2023 09:52
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - paul 1963

I don't know the ins and outs of the BMW system but it sounds like a fault somewhere to me?

I do know however that it's fitted with brake wear indicator leads so you will get a warning when the pads get low, the leads will need replacing along with the pads.

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Fri 10 Feb 2023 11:54
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - sammy1

If as you say the pads have 7mm left and the I drive info is giving you negative miles then the sensor on the brakes must be faulty. BMW should have sorted this at service either by resetting the i drive or fixing the sensor. You are not alone with this problem. I drive on BMWs means I worry!

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Fri 10 Feb 2023 12:35
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - madf

Surely changing pads early is in BMW's interest financially and that is how the system works?

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Fri 10 Feb 2023 13:18
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - Greggsy

Surely they wouldn't secretly fiddle with the car's data for the sales opportunity, would they?? Their price list is outrageous enough just for the fact that they're official dealer/service provider.

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Fri 10 Feb 2023 13:14
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - Greggsy

You're suggesting that the mileage indication (till pads servicing) is actually connected to the wear sensor? my understanding after talking to BMW is that it's just an estimation (and they're not sure how it actually estimates the mileage, which is surprising as they're BMW. might as well have asked someone at Tesco...). Is there going to be another alert when pads are worn, triggered by the sensor?

Yes they didn't flag any issue with the sensor nor did they suggest a reset. obviously, they saw the mileage indication and they saw that the pads were at 7mm. Why did the mileage suddenly jumped minus 2k on the day of the service?

I'm still clueless. Is it OK for me to drive when pads servicing alert is negative provided that the pads are fine for some more miles?

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Fri 10 Feb 2023 13:22
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - paul 1963

You're suggesting that the mileage indication (till pads servicing) is actually connected to the wear sensor? my understanding after talking to BMW is that it's just an estimation (and they're not sure how it actually estimates the mileage, which is surprising as they're BMW. might as well have asked someone at Tesco...). Is there going to be another alert when pads are worn, triggered by the sensor?

Yes they didn't flag any issue with the sensor nor did they suggest a reset. obviously, they saw the mileage indication and they saw that the pads were at 7mm. Why did the mileage suddenly jumped minus 2k on the day of the service?

I'm still clueless. Is it OK for me to drive when pads servicing alert is negative provided that the pads are fine for some more miles?

Sir, read my post made at 09:52 this morning, as your dealer appears to be clueless about how your car works is slightly worrying but not surprising, suggest you ask the question on a BMW forum.

You will indeed get a alarm on the dash once the wear indicator makes contact with the disc ( that's how they work btw) but you will have enough pad material left inorder to organise there replacement.

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Fri 10 Feb 2023 14:07
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - elekie&a/c doctor
Perhaps this gives a better explanation of how the system operates. www.e90post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=19371634&pos...6
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Fri 10 Feb 2023 14:18
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - Greggsy

thanks, makes sense. Still doesn't explain the sudden drop on the day of the service though...

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Fri 10 Feb 2023 14:14
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - Greggsy

Great, thanks for clarifying. So the alarm will actually be specific, mentioning that the pads needs replacing, right? I googled and the messages point/mention the pads, unlike what I have now. My car just says: 'braking system, blah, blah, drive carefully straight to the BMW dealer and don't forget to take a lot of cash with you as you gonna need it'.

still trying to understand the logic of the clock. It stayed on 3100 miles for some time, then jumped down 2k on the day of the service and have been gradually decreasing ever since, going into negative. Could BMW have done something? How to tell?

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Fri 10 Feb 2023 14:39
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - elekie&a/c doctor
Can’t really understand what’s happened here . If a measurement gauge was used to verify pad material remaining, then perhaps the sensor was disturbed. No need to remove the pads to check this .
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Fri 10 Feb 2023 16:57
BMW X5 (2016) - Mileage indicator for brake pads (front) replaceme - Andrew-T

As a strong believer in simple direct systems wherever possible, I would say that you know [a] how much meat is left on the pads and [b] the approximate rate at which your style of driving wears them. Ignore any untrustworthy electronic gizmos and rely on actual inspection. Just hope that if that system calculates that you have a negative distance left, it doesn't put the car into limp mode ... :-(

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