[Dgjo2022X5MC]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

Did brake sensor trip? If not, may I ask why you thinking inspection or even replacement are needed?

No sensor trip.

The brakes screech every stop. I mean loudly. And when put on winters the pads looked extremely thin.

And the dealership said brakes were close last oil change in July, and said bring it in after another 1k mikes. That was 3k miles ago as I waited a bit extra. 🙄.

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by Dgjo2022X5MC

No sensor trip.

The brakes screech every stop. I mean loudly. And when put on winters the pads looked extremely thin.

And the dealership said brakes were close last oil change in July, and said bring it in after another 1k mikes. That was 3k miles ago as I waited a bit extra. 🙄.

From the last two pictures with good lighting, I think the pad thickness is about equal to the backing plate thickness, right? If so, the pads are not too think, this is a good 1/3 of thickness left, maybe even a bit more. Keep in mind, the edge of the pad is taper, so we need to look at where it has full thickness, not the taper edge. BMW, even factory maintenance, won’t replace brake unless sensor trips. Now there is an uneven wear causing the pad with sensor wear less, that is an exception. But from the pictures, I am not sure I will blame bmw just yet. Squeaking is of different issue than brake wear. Can be a lot of cause tho.

Attached is my recent brake job for one of my bmws, top is new pad. Pad thickness is about 2.5x of the backing plate thickness only. Bottom pad looks about the same as yours.

[Dgjo2022X5MC]

Agree there is still some tapered area to go.

What blows my mind is after all this, I read the paperwork and they recommend pads and rotors, and say I declined the work. Mind boggling.

In any event, I will drive the car for a few weeks and pretty sure it will need brakes.

Couple other pics of pads attached. They are getting pretty close. This is why they must be squeaking all the time. Some resonance at this of and rotor thickness.

[eelnoraa]

Keep us updated how things turn out. If when sensor tripped, and ultimate care still doesn’t replace both pads and rotors, then this is extremely screw business practice

[Dgjo2022X5MC]

Follow up.

Knew this was coming.

So after a lengthy argument this past 11/1 at 45k+ miles with crazy squealing fronts, the dealer said they couldn’t do anything under my Ultimate Care +1. That expired in December.

Just yesterday need new brakes pops up at 48k.

Fu@&$ng a**holes.

Never buy extra Ultimate care BS as you are tied to the whims of BMW saying what you need and when. They even tried to have me pay $200 to look at the squeaking and tell me it’s not time to replace brakes!!!

Take the 2-3k, put it in the market, and get maintenance when you want to.

I’m going to let my dealership know exactly how I feel, maybe in one of their coveted ‘please give me a 10 review’ asks. F them. Thankfully I have a trusted independent BMW shop.

Remember they really aren’t your ‘friends’ even though they act that way.

[davchr]

Originally Posted by Dgjo2022X5MC

Follow up.
Remember they really aren’t your ‘friends’ even though they act that way.

ABSOLUTELY! Everyone will be a lot better off when they head that advice.

[Condorll]

Originally Posted by davchr

ABSOLUTELY! Everyone will be a lot better off when they head that advice.

No different than any other brand dealership.
Who can you really trust these days?

[Dgjo2022X5MC]

Myself! And that’s why I will control all maintenance work going forward. With my independent shop.

I feel Iike an idiot I spend that extra couple thousand dollars 4 years ago, and when it I needed the maintenance done they sought a way to say no. I wasn’t looking for a anything free, as BMW markets the program along the lines of ‘save be prepaying’ maintenance.

Super annoying.

If anyone from BMW reads these, they ought to be ashamed. And as far as the dealership, if you are in the Hartford, CT area, your best bet is to drive the extra 20 miles to BMW of West Springfield. I have yet to find a good CT dealership.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by streborx

This thread raises an interesting question. I always thought the minimum thickness spec was for machining, not wear. That is, a scored/warped rotor can be machined down to the min thickness, and remounted. But further scoring/warping mandates replacement.

The answer of course depends on who you ask. Do you sell and install rotors? Then you'd say "minimum you won't want to be anywhere near it's dangerous". Do you resurface rotors? Then you'd machine them right down to that level. Do you design brake systems? Then you say "some marketing guy made up that number, the real number is when the piston is no longer supported by the bore".

Maybe there's a BMW spec for thermal capacity that they model everything to determine what the minimum thickness is to not get brake fade. Maybe. I doubt it. I suspect that it's more likely determined by marketing and warranty support costs, where it becomes a selling point to convince people to trade up and not do the work.

All that said, rotors shouldn't be worn out in 40k miles. That's a designed in income stream, either via very limited specs or pad compound choice.

[davchr]

Originally Posted by Condorll

No different than any other brand dealership.
Who can you really trust these days?

Trust yourself. You should know that all the dealer add ons/"packs" are huge money makers for the finance guy and dealership. If you don't want to waste money, avoid their packs.

Learn about your car. Most of the maintenance is quite simple. It takes me less time to change the oil and filter than driving to the dealer and back. Same with front or rear brakes, air filter, cabin filter, and etc. YouTube has extensive videos on how to do most maintenance on your specific car. Or pay someone else to do it and accept the fact you will often get screwed.