Brake Pads needed but no dash warning? G30 520i

malcesine · 12-04-2023, 01:08 PM

Had my G30 520i in for tyre change, asked for brake pad check at same time (I know, I know!)
Was advised to change all 4 Pads as they said they were very, very low but I didn't actually see them myself.

I'm going to start with an assumption of trust with garage but what I'm curious about is why the car isn't telling me Pads are low, as the G30 520i has sensors.

I've done 35500 miles and for the roughly last 20k miles I've had the car, I am extremely gentle on brakes.
Any advice?

adhrp · 12-04-2023, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malcesine

Had my G30 520i in for tyre change, asked for brake pad check at same time (I know, I know!)
Was advised to change all 4 Pads as they said they were very, very low but I didn't actually see them myself.

I'm going to start with an assumption of trust with garage but what I'm curious about is why the car isn't telling me Pads are low, as the G30 520i has sensors.

I've done 35500 miles and for the roughly last 20k miles I've had the car, I am extremely gentle on brakes.
Any advice?

Visualize them yourself. I think lightly used brake pads can easily go to 50K+ miles, so 35.5K seems premature to me.

tsbrown · 12-04-2023, 09:30 PM

Check both front and rear pads for yourself and measure the pad thickness. It’s possible to do without removing the wheels. Get a brake pad thickness gauge from Harbor Freight ($13) or online, which makes it easier. Or just measure with mm ruler.

Surprisingly my rear pads needed first replacement at 32k miles and the fronts were fine, still are at 41k miles. Also measure rotor thickness and assess if there’s enough scoring from pads to replace. My rear rotors were less than half worn based on starting thickness and minimum thickness, had minimal outer edge lip, and no scoring on braking surface so I didn’t replace them…just the pads. Dealer and indy shop will always replace pads and rotors together, but it’s not always necessary if you use exact same pad compound (I used OEM pad). A year later on my rear pads with original rotors and zero negative effects.

malcesine · 12-07-2023, 12:40 PM

Thanks for feedback, will check them myself.
Any thoughts as to whether I should wait for the sensor warning light to alert before changing?

Opie55 · 12-08-2023, 01:22 PM

Whether you wait for the sensor warning kind of depends on how you use the car. You can get a fair number of miles out of the pads after the sensor triggers, probably 1,000 or more but at least a few hundred, but I'd hate to have the sensor trigger 500 miles into a long road trip. So it just depends on how aware of the status you are. But it's not an emergency when it triggers and you have plenty of time to decide when and where to get new pads.

12-04-2023, 01:08 PM	#1
malcesine New Member 7 Rep 14 Posts Drives: BMW 520i Join Date: Nov 2023 Location: Scotland iTrader: (0)	Brake Pads needed but no dash warning? G30 520i Had my G30 520i in for tyre change, asked for brake pad check at same time (I know, I know!) Was advised to change all 4 Pads as they said they were very, very low but I didn't actually see them myself. I'm going to start with an assumption of trust with garage but what I'm curious about is why the car isn't telling me Pads are low, as the G30 520i has sensors. I've done 35500 miles and for the roughly last 20k miles I've had the car, I am extremely gentle on brakes. Any advice?
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12-04-2023, 09:30 PM	#3
tsbrown Captain 1038 Rep 732 Posts Drives: 2019 540i M Sport Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: KY/MA iTrader: (0)	Check both front and rear pads for yourself and measure the pad thickness. It’s possible to do without removing the wheels. Get a brake pad thickness gauge from Harbor Freight ($13) or online, which makes it easier. Or just measure with mm ruler. Surprisingly my rear pads needed first replacement at 32k miles and the fronts were fine, still are at 41k miles. Also measure rotor thickness and assess if there’s enough scoring from pads to replace. My rear rotors were less than half worn based on starting thickness and minimum thickness, had minimal outer edge lip, and no scoring on braking surface so I didn’t replace them…just the pads. Dealer and indy shop will always replace pads and rotors together, but it’s not always necessary if you use exact same pad compound (I used OEM pad). A year later on my rear pads with original rotors and zero negative effects. __________________ Bluegrass Bimmers Current: 2019 G30 540i M Sport \| 2022 & 2018 G01 X3 xDrive30i Past: 2017 F30 340i M Sport/6MT \| 2013 E70 X5 3.5 \| 2011 E90 ///M3 6MT \| 2005 E46 330i ZHP 6MT \| 2001 E53 X5 3.0 \| 2000 E39 528i Sport/5MT \| 1998 E39 528iA \| 1997 E38 740i \| 1993 E36 318is
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12-07-2023, 12:40 PM	#4
malcesine New Member 7 Rep 14 Posts Drives: BMW 520i Join Date: Nov 2023 Location: Scotland iTrader: (0)	Thanks for feedback, will check them myself. Any thoughts as to whether I should wait for the sensor warning light to alert before changing? Last edited by malcesine; 12-07-2023 at 04:23 PM..
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12-08-2023, 01:22 PM	#5
Opie55 Colonel 1195 Rep 2,907 Posts Drives: '15 650i Convertible Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: US iTrader: (0)	Whether you wait for the sensor warning kind of depends on how you use the car. You can get a fair number of miles out of the pads after the sensor triggers, probably 1,000 or more but at least a few hundred, but I'd hate to have the sensor trigger 500 miles into a long road trip. So it just depends on how aware of the status you are. But it's not an emergency when it triggers and you have plenty of time to decide when and where to get new pads.
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