[EXSKIN]

She's done 20330 miles, now rear brakes are showing 4900 miles left and front ones still got 19000 ml.
So even to me that seems to be going through rear pads rather quick, so any advice please.
Normal or somethings a miss.

[Bungle009]

Ive just sold a 330d, and i queried the brake wear several times. At 45k miles (admittedly mostly motorway) the computer said rears had 10k to go, and the fronts 50k. I always expect fronts to wear quicker than rears, weight transfer etc.. normally by a ratio of 2:1, but mine hardly seemed to be touching the fronts at all.

[CraigUK]

Do you drive quite fast? I'm thinking that the rear pads will see alot of use if the DSC is always operating which will happen if you give it licks from junctions etc.

[phil200tdi]

DSC will be the problem

Turn it off.

[EXSKIN]

Ok thanks, can't say I drive her anymore harder than my last 3 BMW's( cause she puts the power down easier) she's done the same 2 trips on the bahn per year as the rest.
perhaps she got there quicker and had to brake harder.
Still think having to replace pads at 25,000 is a bit shite.

[BigBanana]

Hmmm. From this, some folks might say I drive like a pussy...

My 2007 325d needed front pads at 88k miles to pass an mot. The rears were still seviceable!
I sold the car just after, so not sure how many miles the rears finally managed.

My 2011 325d (around 19k miles), is showing something like yours on the information page and I don't believe it for a second.

It's a manual and I almost always use engine braking when slowing down.
(That's supposed to be some sort of defence on the 88k miles)....

If the rears need changing that soon, they must be made of f'ing chocolate!

[Dr Dave]

Yep, DSC intervention will be the cause of high rear pad wear, it is a common trait of motor cars these days.

[Jules6]

Originally Posted by BigBanana

Hmmm. From this, some folks might say I drive like a pussy...

My 2007 325d needed front pads at 88k miles to pass an mot. The rears were still seviceable!
I sold the car just after, so not sure how many miles the rears finally managed.

My 2011 325d (around 19k miles), is showing something like yours on the information page and I don't believe it for a second.

It's a manual and I almost always use engine braking when slowing down.
(That's supposed to be some sort of defence on the 88k miles)....

If the rears need changing that soon, they must be made of f'ing chocolate!

Exactly the same! Changed at 83k for front and rear but still serviceable just.

Mine is also a manual and I do a fair bit of dual carriageway/ motorway driving.

[smacg]

Do you need idrive to check this or can it be done on the normal dash display?

If so, how? I've had a play around and couldn't see anything?

[Bob S]

Same here. Mine is on 35k miles now and the rears are showing 1500 to go. Having said that, it's been saying that for at least the last 3k miles!! Something wonky with the sensor. I'll ignore it until it gets to 1k but meanwhile will try DSC off as well. Mine's a manual too and I'm not hard on it.

[ALF_E90]

My car has just done 60k - the rears were recently done for the first time (discs and pads - cost a lot from BMW dealer). The front pads are original and have plenty left. It does mostly motorway miles but plenty of quick A and B road work too. I do very little town driving, and I switch the DSC to "DTC" or "fully off" for any really keen stuff. I guess some people's rear brake wear is to do with the DSC kicking in all the time.

I am always surprised at my low rates of brake wear on all my cars, I used to race and when I am going for it, I'm not shy of using the brakes very hard. Because I have a high-speed vibration on the fronts (that has been there since I bought the car) I have been through a few cycles of really getting heat into them, as when bedding in track pads, and it didn't seem to do much to the wear. Wheras, frequent DSC intervention seems to wear them really fast, from various posts on here. Odd - You'd think long heavy stops would wear them more.

[BigBanana]

Well you've lost me with the DSC / DTC thing causing brake wear here.

I thought DSC/DTC functions were releasing the brakes when you were too heavy on them, stopping the wheels locking up and so preventing a skid.

That suggests to me, its saving brake pads, not wearing them?

Can someone explain why it would cause extra wear?

[AdamC]

Originally Posted by BigBanana

Well you've lost me with the DSC / DTC thing causing brake wear here.

I thought DSC/DTC functions were releasing the brakes when you were too heavy on them, stopping the wheels locking up and so preventing a skid.

That suggests to me, its saving brake pads, not wearing them?

Can someone explain why it would cause extra wear?

Your thinking of ABS not traction control.

[BigBanana]

Originally Posted by AdamC

Your thinking of ABS not traction control.

Ah yes. ABS.
You're right.

But someone must be driving like mr shoemaker possessed for the dsc (orange light init?) to be on more times than your foot on the brake pedal?

[Bob S]

Now there's interesting....... Was just in at the dealers getting the "visual inspection" service and my winter wheel swap done and I asked about the rear pad wear showing 1,500 miles (still) on the computer. I'd just clocked over 37,000 miles when it went in.

Surprise surprise when they had the wheels off, I still had 9mm on the rear pads. So they reset all the service indicators again and after I've just done a 50 mile settling in run, they are now showing another 37,000 miles of life on them

As an aside, I gather that a number of customer airline pilots have been in to get their winter tyres on. Apparently, they get to see the long range weather forecasts and seemingly December ain't good. You heard it here first!!

[rich_e92_335d]

just to add to the mix my first set of rears have just been done at 43k.

[coopersim]

On a six cylinder, couldn't this wear be caused by the brake fade compensation and pre dry features that aren't present on four cylinder cars?

[ade146]

Condition based brake service is just a guess. The pad wear sensors only know when they are worn out. There is nothing on my car that measures wear rate.
I am an airline pilot and we dont get any LR forecast. In fact i often just watch the BBC if I am working next day. The weather available to us on departure is usually accurate for the following duty period but is really a techie version of teletext. Having flown jets for some 13yrs maybe you do develop a slight weather sense but if a 13million pound computer in Bracknell cannot predict the weather, its unlikely we would be much better.

[lemonukas]

The brake pad sensor give more : than real. In summer fronts show I need to replace it in 2000miles and I went to trip with a car. I was planing to replace it after comeback, but when I back it's start showing next replacement after 6000 miles, and i checked yesterday it was showing only after 7000 miles. Lots of bollocks this wear sensors.

[M-dieseltouring]

Has it got hill-hold-function?
If the slides have some resistance they will not pull the pads completely away from the disks, and wear could be a problem.

I do not agree in that the DSC is causing the problem.
The DSC only comes into action if one starts to go sideways, and brakes every wheel separately.
If applying only rear brakes one need not to be a rocket scientist to predict what's going to happen next...

The tractioncontrol-part of the system is not connected to the brakes at all. It just decreases enginepower, and you see the yellow sign blink right in front of you.

You have a nice and incredibly good car!

[M-dieseltouring]

I can add some more...

I think (I'm not sure), that earlier models have a holdsystem that don't release the brakes when "action" is applied. (Only after some tens of a second, a time-interval...)
So if one is to early out with the clutch one will choke/strangle the engine. (It will stop, and I do not know the right english word... )

Newer models releases the brakes automatically when one release the clutch and starts to move, but I have experienced some inertia and let the car roll a couple of inches back so I'm sure the brakes are completely released before I go.
They don't hold on flat road, only when road is sloping...

Anyone who knows more about the system?

I'm considering to try to disable it if it can be done from the computer at the BMW-dealers workshop.



And I totally agree with Bigbanana that manually geared cars are much more kind to the brakes due to engine braking, but E90 have, even on the 6-speed auto, good electronics to manage their automatic boxes in cooperation with the engine and they will not tear on the clutches, as when you change to shift it manual and take it down a gear it will give the engine a blip to up the rpm to fit the next gear.
My stepmother has a -06 320dMa, and it works perfect.
Saves brakes big time.

[ade146]

I think everyone is missing the point. The car doesnt know how many miles are left on the pads.