2001 540i 6sp w/sport package. I bought the car in 2003 as a CPO with 22K from the dealer that sold it new and serviced it as well. I have the print out of all services performed and there is no indication of brake pads or rotor replacements or work. Furthermore, no brake work has been performed on it since I have owned it and it has 71K miles. Granted, I'm easy on the brakes, but I'm amazed that they have lasted this long. Should I be???? Thanks,
The brake fluid (& clutch master/slave) ideally should be flushed every two years, which would be 5 times since new, including this year, or 4 times since you bought it. I think that's overdue if it's never been done. It may be possible for pads/rotors to go that long I suppose if never driven hard, or all highway mileage. Probably would be good idea to spec the rotors, check the pads, and make sure the pad-wear sensors are functional to doublecheck. If you hear some serious squeaks & squeals coming from the brakes, you _could_ always just ignore it - after all the pad material is gone, they'll get quiet again when you get down to just the backing plates (oh sure, the car may not seem to be stopping quite as well...) and you won't get complete brake failure until the backing plates wear down to the point where the pistons pop out of the calipers - but... I wouldn't recommend that!
The clutch/brake system fluid has been changed about every two years, so should be no problem there. The pads appears to have 15% to 20% left so it won't be long till they're gone. Thanks for the reply.
It is possible, I have a 1995 M3 that has been in the family since new. I replaced the front at 70k and replaced the rear at 76k. The rear pads still had life on them, but the rotors were below spec width.
whenegar, I think you should be fine for a brake pad change, and to see if the rotors are still within spec. Personally, because I have OCD, I would replace all four rotors and pads, but what YOU should do is to check the rotors to see if they can take another set of pads, and change whatever pads need to be changed. I'm sure you could go for a little while longer on the pads you have now, to get the most mileage out of them as you can, but don't let them approach "minimum" spec! I wouldn't be surprised if the rotors needed replacement as well. Do you drive a lot of stop & go, or city driving? Or do you brake a lot on the highway? This will determine how long your pads and rotors will last, obviously. It is very possible to require pads and/or rotors much sooner than 70-something thousand miles if you drive a lot of stop & go for example. You said no other work was performed since you owned the car - since you're past 60k miles, I would look into doing a cooling system refresh. That is, a replacement of all plastic cooling parts, and that includes the water pump. Check the hoses - they might need replacement to, and is cheap insurance to get those replaced as well. Has an Inspection II been done on your car yet?
I've worked on a GM truck that had 90,000 miles on the same set of pads. They weren't even worn halfway through.
Excellent information. I've had the full 60K service and just recently had to replace radiator, valley pan, and water pump, etc. Thanks to all that replied.
I put about 140k on a set of brakes on my E30 before I parted it. I don't know how long they were on there before that, and they still are not worn out. I drive very fast, but am very easy on brakes.
