BMW Maintenance Plan Question

[Kr0m3assass1n]

Hello, I've got the factory maintenance plan that expires December on my M6GC. Per the plan, brake replacements are covered but of course my dealership is telling me there's too much life left on the brakes to be able to replace them.

The sensors on the vehicle are telling me brakes are due for replacement. According to my S.A., they can't even replace them if they wanted to since they have to ship the worn brakes to a facility where they are measured and the dealership gets charged back if they don't meet the wear requirements. Is this just a load of B/S or is there truth to this?

Is there no maximum mileage on the vehicle that mandates a brake replacement even with low wear? I've got 26k miles on my M6 with the original brakes.

I've also been fighting them on the exact same issue on my X5 which now has 72,000 miles on the rotors and they still won't replace them under the maintenance plan I purchased for that car.

Makes me question BMW's policies for wear/ age for replacement of covered items.

[LJohnson32]

Originally Posted by Kr0m3assass1n

The sensors on the vehicle are telling me brakes are due for replacement. According to my S.A., they can't even replace them if they wanted to since they have to ship the worn brakes to a facility where they are measured and the dealership gets charged back if they don't meet the wear requirements. Is this just a load of B/S or is there truth to this?

I can only speak to this specific issue but having worked at a Porsche dealership for a number of years, this is not BS. Anything that is being claimed under warranty does in fact get sent out to be examined for approval (or denial) of the warranty claim. Otherwise, dealerships would just be doing as much 'warranty' work as they possibly could get away with if they knew that it wasn't going to be double checked by the manufacturer. Way easier to sell warranty work to customers when they know their out of pocket is $0, and they know they will be reimbursed by the manufacturer

Think of it as whenever you file for a warranty replacement for a given consumer item you buy at the store (blender, coffee maker, etc.) the manufacturer wants to validate your claim and have you send it to them to be double checked because it's costing them $$$ to replace it under their warranty

Now, if your sensors in the car are going off telling you that brakes are needed, then that's an entirely separate conversation to be had with BMW Service... if the car is telling you that brakes are needed I would think that your service department needs to bring more evidence to the table as to why this wouldn't be covered (i.e. warranty limitations for wear of the pads in order to be eligible for replacement under the warranty versus your current wear)

[DRKNTM6]

Did they put how many millimeters are left on the pads on your inspection paperwork? Mine usually does

[Kr0m3assass1n]

Originally Posted by DRKNTM6

Did they put how many millimeters are left on the pads on your inspection paperwork? Mine usually does

They said mine are at 6mm and usually they recommend changing at 4mm. But seriously, they're going to let mine get to exactly 4mm before they will even consider it? It would save me so much money if they covered it under planned (and included) maintenance but they just won't make an exception.

My X5 has 72,000 miles and I'm still on the original rotors which are clearly not worn enough for them.

[Rsnk60 M6]

Mines was replaced at 17k , and I was just in for the recall for rear brake light

[JC04]

Originally Posted by Kr0m3assass1n

Hello, I've got the factory maintenance plan that expires December on my M6GC. Per the plan, brake replacements are covered but of course my dealership is telling me there's too much life left on the brakes to be able to replace them.

The sensors on the vehicle are telling me brakes are due for replacement. According to my S.A., they can't even replace them if they wanted to since they have to ship the worn brakes to a facility where they are measured and the dealership gets charged back if they don't meet the wear requirements. Is this just a load of B/S or is there truth to this?

Is there no maximum mileage on the vehicle that mandates a brake replacement even with low wear? I've got 26k miles on my M6 with the original brakes.

I've also been fighting them on the exact same issue on my X5 which now has 72,000 miles on the rotors and they still worn replace them under the maintenance plan I purchased for that car.

Makes me question BMW's policies for wear/ age for replacement of covered items.

The brakes don't go by mileage but by measurement of thickness for both rotors and pads. Rotors need tools to measure but the pads you can visually check it. You just need a little knowledge how to do it.

The sensors for the brakes on this car are worthless. it's supposed to be 2 stage but not accurate at all. My car has been telling me the front brakes need to be replaced at 1400 miles for the last 15k miles and the pads still have 50% of life left.

The dealer isn't lying to you. They have every incentive to replace it as much as you do. After all, if they can make money why wouldn't they?

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by Kr0m3assass1n

They said mine are at 6mm and usually they recommend changing at 4mm. But seriously, they're going to let mine get to exactly 4mm before they will even consider it? It would save me so much money if they covered it under planned (and included) maintenance but they just won't make an exception.

My X5 has 72,000 miles and I'm still on the original rotors which are clearly not worn enough for them.

Based on experience, they're likely to change them and have this covered. If this particular dealership is giving you a hard time, I would just take this to a different dealership.

I'm aware that they have a policy where if certain service indicators are within a certain range, they will still maintain it within the maintenance plan program.

Based on what you're writing here, your pads and rotors are worn enough to change. I also question whether you really have original rotors on the X5, if this car was serviced under maintenance plan, Rotors typically get changed at the same time pads are changed. At 72, The rotors and pads have been changed at least three to four times in car's life. There's a good chance for X5 service indicator was not reset.

[Kr0m3assass1n]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

Based on experience, they're likely to change them and have this covered. If this particular dealership is giving you a hard time, I would just take this to a different dealership.

I'm aware that they have a policy where if certain service indicators are within a certain range, they will still maintain it within the maintenance plan program.

Based on what you're writing here, your pads and rotors are worn enough to change. I also question whether you really have original rotors on the X5, if this car was serviced under maintenance plan, Rotors typically get changed at the same time pads are changed. At 72, The rotors and pads have been changed at least three to four times in car's life. There's a good chance for X5 service indicator was not reset.

I may take your advice and try another dealership.

I have had my X5 since 32k miles and have put on the next 40k myself. They did change my pads at around 52k miles, but they did not change my rotors at that time. I thought it was odd but my SA wouldn't agree to do them. He said they measured the thickness and there was too much life left, despite the age.

The current pads have some life left on them (15k per the sensors) but the dealer checked the brake systems a few weeks ago and said they still won't be able to replace my rotors under the maintenance plan.

[Kr0m3assass1n]

Originally Posted by JC04

The brakes don't go by mileage but by measurement of thickness for both rotors and pads. Rotors need tools to measure but the pads you can visually check it. You just need a little knowledge how to do it.

The sensors for the brakes on this car are worthless. it's supposed to be 2 stage but not accurate at all. My car has been telling me the front brakes need to be replaced at 1400 miles for the last 15k miles and the pads still have 50% of life left.

The dealer isn't lying to you. They have every incentive to replace it as much as you do. After all, if they can make money why wouldn't they?

I have had this identical experience with my 5 series for at least a year. The brake sensors kept indicating 4,000 or so miles left on them but every time I got an oil change the dealer would recalibrate or reset the sensors and as a result, the amount would never go down and pop up a reminder to replace brakes. I think the whole system is flawed.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by Kr0m3assass1n

I have had this identical experience with my 5 series for at least a year. The brake sensors kept indicating 4,000 or so miles left on them but every time I got an oil change the dealer would recalibrate or reset the sensors and as a result, the amount would never go down and pop up a reminder to replace brakes. I think the whole system is flawed.

It's not flawed. It's reasonably accurate based on my experience. what should not have happened is that when you change your oil, the brake service indicator should not have been changed.

You should double check your work order for that oil change that you just mentioned. I suspect the brakes were actually changed. The dealers are pretty good about resetting the indicator when it should be reset and when the service was performed. They will not reset it just for any other reason.

[Kr0m3assass1n]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

It's not flawed. It's reasonably accurate based on my experience. what should not have happened is that when you change your oil, the brake service indicator should not have been changed.

You should double check your work order for that oil change that you just mentioned. I suspect the brakes were actually changed. The dealers are pretty good about resetting the indicator when it should be reset and when the service was performed. They will not reset it just for any other reason.

Nope; original rotors.

I've hated the built up rust on them from the day I bought the car. 40,000 miles of use later and it's the same fucking rotors!

(This is the X5. My 5er was still showing 4K miles on the pads but she's now sold).

[JC04]

Let me clarify the brake sensor system on this car. It has two stages.

The first stage is the computer estimates when you should replace the brake pads based on the computer algorithm ( I don't know how it does it). It tells you to get a brake service within a certain mile. That one is not good at all and often way off.

The second stage is when the pads get worn down to about 2 mm and it will trip the brake sensors. This one will give you an emergency alert on your screen to replace your pads immediately and 0 mile left. This one is accurate.


I guess if I were the engineer for the brake sensor and wanted two stages, then I would design the sensor at 4 mm thick or something along that line. The first stage will be tripped at 4 mm and the second stage would trip at 2 mm. That way it will be accurate but I'm sure it will cost much more and people wont' pay for it . I'm rambling now.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by JC04

Let me clarify the brake sensor system on this car. It has two stages.

The first stage is the computer estimates when you should replace the brake pads based on the computer algorithm ( I don't know how it does it). It tells you to get a brake service within a certain mile. That one is not good at all and often way off.

The second stage is when the pads get worn down to about 2 mm and it will trip the brake sensors. This one will give you an emergency alert on your screen to replace your pads immediately and 0 mile left. This one is accurate.


I guess if I were the engineer for the brake sensor and wanted two stages, then I would design the sensor at 4 mm thick or something along that line. The first stage will be tripped at 4 mm and the second stage would trip at 2 mm. That way it will be accurate but I'm sure it will cost much more and people wont' pay for it . I'm rambling now.

Thanks for the clarification. This is correct chain of events.

This is why I said earlier that the sensors and warnings are reasonably accurate based on my experience. When these sensors go off, my pad and rotor thickness my cars tend to be in within a few millimeter range of minimum. This has been my experience going back to my E90 M3, E70 and F06 cars.

I also measure the thickness myself with a precision caliper tool. As my sensors start to trip, I tend to measure weekly to monitor the wear rates.

[Godborn]

At this point, If they want the mm at 4 before they can give you new brakes, then just kill the brakes.

Do some aggressive braking, brake hard, don't let them cool, ride on them down hills, but most importantly be safe while doing it.

You have 1 months to eat 2mm

[Kr0m3assass1n]

Originally Posted by Godborn

At this point, If they want the mm at 4 before they can give you new brakes, then just kill the brakes.

Do some aggressive braking, brake hard, don't let them cool, ride on them down hills, but most importantly be safe while doing it.

You have 1 months to eat 2mm

They're going to squeal for mercy with all that brake dust... you know....like... her...!!