View Single Post
      04-01-2019, 11:08 AM   #30
Bonawitz07
New Member
9
Rep
18
Posts

Drives: 2015 528i xDrive
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: MN

iTrader: (0)

Replaced pads, rotors, and sensors at all four corners this weekend using the sets available from FCP Euro (Zimmerman coated rotors, Akebona ceramic pads. BOWA sensors). Braking is now smooth as butter. Thought I'd add a few things for those that come across this thread.
First, this was on a 2015 528 xdrive without the high speed brake system. Left the car unlocked with the parking brake off. Jacked up both front wheels using front jack point (square metal plate on bottom). The front caliper bracket bolt size was 18MM and the caliper slides took a 7MM Hex bit. Take note of how the sensor wire runs before removal. When replacing everything, I found it easiest to put the sensor node on the internal pad, run the wire through the opening in the caliper, and then install the caliper body. Waiting until everything was put back on didn't leave a lot of room to install the sensor node. Some have found it difficult to replace the clips at the end. I found it easiest to push in the two middle pieces, hold them down and then pull the top and bottom pieces to their spots with a pliers.
Regarding the rears, both sides contained the electronic parking brake bodies. Going in, for some reason I thought only one side had it. I first removed the caliper body which was held on by 13MM bolts. I used an adjustable wrench to hold the slides tight and to keep them from spinning. The lube on the caliper slides looked good but I re-lubed them anyway with Syl glyde along with the back of the pads and contact points. Once the body was removed, removal of the parking brake body was straightforward with two torx bolts (T27 or T30 I believe) holding it in place. A T45 was required for rotating the parking brake clockwise. After that, good to push the caliper piston back. The caliper bracket bolts required an E18 external torx socket, which is something I didn't have but came in a normal set sold at HD. Rear passenger side has the sensor wire, replacement is as straightforward as the front.
When everything was put back together, I climbed in and pushed the start button once and pumped the brakes. I started the engine and luckily did not get any Parking Brake Malfunction warning. Activated and deactivated the parking brake a few times without issue. Went out for a test drive, bedded the pads, and stopped to reset the brake pad service mileage. Note: for me, this could not be done with the engine running. To get into the menus, I pushed and held the trip reset button but while the engine was running, I gained access to other menus. To reset the various service intervals, the engine should be off but the electronics on. I turned my car all the way off, then pressed the start button once, held the trip reset button and was given the Front Brake Pad service interval reset screen. Held the trip reset button to reset and held it again which started the process of resetting the mileage. Did the same for the rears. Reset worked the first time for both front and back. Hope this helps someone!

Last edited by Bonawitz07; 04-02-2019 at 09:44 AM..
Appreciate 1