[rv7charlie]

Anyone have a Rosetta Stone for BMW hieroglyphics? (Love the way it drives, but whoever wrote the owner's manual was a fan of Sadistic Scavenger Hunts.)

Scrolling through the Service menu, I got this 'water in a circle' symbol, which is nowhere to be found in the manual. I checked coolant level, and it's full.

Many thanks...

[lordnikon]

That's brake fluid service.

Coolant light is yellow.

[rv7charlie]

I suspected, but wasn't sure. Fluid *service*, or a low fluid warning? I did check the level (not down to minimum) and topped it up, but the light is still there when I page through the service indicators.

Do you know if it's a time/mileage thing, or some more 'intelligent' type of quality monitoring?

Many thanks for the help!

[lordnikon]

Brake fluid needs to be changed. May be based on time interval.

You don't need to top off brake fluid. If the level in the reservoir goes down the more you drive, it's an indication that your brake pads have worn down, that is normal. Because the caliper piston has moved forward.

[cyow5]

^ Yep, brake fluid level is just a pad wear indicator when there isn't a leak.

[rv7charlie]

Fluid level isn't low, and the front pads & sensor were replaced only a few thousand miles ago. Visual inspection of the back pads (just looking through the spokes of the wheels) says they aren't worn excessively, either. When the front pad indicator wore through, the pads had probably 20-30k miles of life left in them, considering this is a daily driver that never sees the track.

If the fluid indicator turns on when the brake pad sensor 'trips', that might explain it. I do have a pad sensor alert at the moment too. (Sorry; should have mentioned that but didn't think about the two being tied since I didn't have a clue what the fluid indicator represented.)

I'll pull the rear wheels & check the rear pad sensor when a get time.

Many thanks for the help!

[JB20DGM]

That's saying you're overdue for the brake fluid service/flush...since january 2015 apparently (that's what the clock and date indicate at the bottom). It's not directly tied to pad wear, and in general it is suggested to flush your brake fluid every 2 years per BMW. Here's mine, I did a fluid flush and reset the reminder early this year.