brake pads warning
Discussion
Hi All ,
I use a "Baker Street" diesel for teaching driving in, as a result the brakes are given a major work out when doing emergency stops (this car is staggering.....can go from 30 to 0 in about one and a half car lengths when I have someone who is "good" in the driving seat on dry roads!)
Anyway....when you start the engine the picture of the car comes up and under that how miles to the "brake service" after just 3 lessons this mileage dropped 2000 miles, Now the question is.......How far past the suggested "inspection/change of brake pads" can you go? I think i read somewhere that BMW/MINI set the sensors a wee bit conservative hence having to change them before they are really required?
If you decide to wait for a service before going in just to have the brakes looked at or changed what will the warning light come up on the dash? (the hand book does not help) My last car was a Corsa sxi+ which used to go through a set of front pads and disc's about every 30 k, and I have had this Mini since Oct 2013 and done 14k in it having bought it with 7k on the clock.
I should imagine that few cars, even those who brake hard have the ABS kick in as much as my car does owing to the nature of it's working life, so anyone give a clue as to how long the brake pads/discs will last?
cheers
I use a "Baker Street" diesel for teaching driving in, as a result the brakes are given a major work out when doing emergency stops (this car is staggering.....can go from 30 to 0 in about one and a half car lengths when I have someone who is "good" in the driving seat on dry roads!)
Anyway....when you start the engine the picture of the car comes up and under that how miles to the "brake service" after just 3 lessons this mileage dropped 2000 miles, Now the question is.......How far past the suggested "inspection/change of brake pads" can you go? I think i read somewhere that BMW/MINI set the sensors a wee bit conservative hence having to change them before they are really required?
If you decide to wait for a service before going in just to have the brakes looked at or changed what will the warning light come up on the dash? (the hand book does not help) My last car was a Corsa sxi+ which used to go through a set of front pads and disc's about every 30 k, and I have had this Mini since Oct 2013 and done 14k in it having bought it with 7k on the clock.
I should imagine that few cars, even those who brake hard have the ABS kick in as much as my car does owing to the nature of it's working life, so anyone give a clue as to how long the brake pads/discs will last?
cheers
Edited by watchnut on Monday 28th April 15:58
I am sure that you have a while yet but it depends on usage and you are probably near the upper end so will not get "9,000" on yours. You can usually see the pads through the wheels (you may require a torch) so I would just keep an eye on them. Worst case is you will need to pop the wheel off and have a closer look but it is a five minute job.
Remember to keep an eye on the rears as well. I am unsure whether the warning light/indicator covers both or there is a separate one for the rears.
Finally as an instructor I would err on the side of caution. I am not sure what your insurance is like.
Pip
Remember to keep an eye on the rears as well. I am unsure whether the warning light/indicator covers both or there is a separate one for the rears.
Finally as an instructor I would err on the side of caution. I am not sure what your insurance is like.
Pip
Hi Pip,
I am just asking, as if "any" RED light comes on I have to "sort" it ASAP as if any car presented for test is showing a red warning light the driving examiners will not let it go out on test. I'm just asking in case it comes up as "Yellow/Amber" so is only a "warning" giving you time to get sorted before it gets too low
cheers anyway
I am just asking, as if "any" RED light comes on I have to "sort" it ASAP as if any car presented for test is showing a red warning light the driving examiners will not let it go out on test. I'm just asking in case it comes up as "Yellow/Amber" so is only a "warning" giving you time to get sorted before it gets too low
cheers anyway
I've had this recently on our R55. Similar to Mike's, it counted down the miles in no relation to the actual miles driven and I checked the pads through the wheels. All looked ok and I though there would be another 5000 miles left.
About a week later the red light lit up in the rev counter. Miles countdown had been on 300 for a month! Turns out the pad wear sensor is on the inside pad and that had worn a lot more than the outer one.
I ended up swapping the discs too. £140 for mintex pads, discs and a sensor. Took me about 2 hours and I quite enjoyed doing it.
ETA: mileage is about 45k if that helps. I assume the pads on ours must have been done before. Discs were originals.
About a week later the red light lit up in the rev counter. Miles countdown had been on 300 for a month! Turns out the pad wear sensor is on the inside pad and that had worn a lot more than the outer one.
I ended up swapping the discs too. £140 for mintex pads, discs and a sensor. Took me about 2 hours and I quite enjoyed doing it.
ETA: mileage is about 45k if that helps. I assume the pads on ours must have been done before. Discs were originals.
Edited by Slashmb on Saturday 3rd May 11:16
Thanks for that, unless you really are heavy on your brakes, then that will give me a guide as to what I "may" get out of the brakes, it's done 22k now, i bought it with 7.5k on the clock in Oct 13, and the poor thing does work hard.
As a point of interest I had our Volvo V70 MOT'd today, and asked the guy doing it if a "brake sensor" light was showing would it fail, and he said no, but it would if it was the brake warning light/hand brake warning light. (sometimes this could be down to low brake fluid as he said that on topping up on cars that don't get serviced very well/often that can cure the light) He further added that it would not fail if the engine management light was on. I was chuffed though, as 15 years old, sailed through, with an advisory that both the front indicator bulbs were "faiding"......they have been getting that comment now for about 5 years....never been replaced. The system is daft, as it will continue to pass even they are not as "orange" as they should be, and would only fail if the bulb was clear.
As a point of interest I had our Volvo V70 MOT'd today, and asked the guy doing it if a "brake sensor" light was showing would it fail, and he said no, but it would if it was the brake warning light/hand brake warning light. (sometimes this could be down to low brake fluid as he said that on topping up on cars that don't get serviced very well/often that can cure the light) He further added that it would not fail if the engine management light was on. I was chuffed though, as 15 years old, sailed through, with an advisory that both the front indicator bulbs were "faiding"......they have been getting that comment now for about 5 years....never been replaced. The system is daft, as it will continue to pass even they are not as "orange" as they should be, and would only fail if the bulb was clear.
I bought an R56 Cooper at 11k in 2009. It 'needed' new pads at 20k. I replaced them myself using genuine parts, these lasted until 50k. This time I opted for Brembo pads and discs, no idea if they'll wear any better or worse but it saved about £50 on parts.
Both times there was still plenty of life left in the pads, I'd guess a good few thousand miles. Once the wear sensor has been triggered you get a warning message and a beep on startup and the handbrake warning light remains constantly illuminated on the dash.
If you wanted to run the pads right down to the limit and not receive a warning message you could potentially chop the end off the front wear sensor (it'll need to be replaced anyway), splice the two wires together and follow the brake pad reset procedure.
Both times there was still plenty of life left in the pads, I'd guess a good few thousand miles. Once the wear sensor has been triggered you get a warning message and a beep on startup and the handbrake warning light remains constantly illuminated on the dash.
If you wanted to run the pads right down to the limit and not receive a warning message you could potentially chop the end off the front wear sensor (it'll need to be replaced anyway), splice the two wires together and follow the brake pad reset procedure.
Thanks for that reply, just the ticket.......for driving tests....any "warning" light, especially the handbrake light would mean a termination of the test, so as soon as it comes up i will have to get it done. Owing to the nature of my work this would have to be done by a garage so I have "receipts" and proof of work done by someone who knows what they are doing.....that would not be me!
but many cheers for that reply, it was as i suspected
but many cheers for that reply, it was as i suspected
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