[OnlyGerman]

Looking to purchase this 535i and it has the red "BRAKE" light on the ODO. According to Carfax, the front brake pads and sensors were just replaced at non BMW shop. The manual is vague on what this actually means...Would not resetting the sensors trigger this light?
Thank you!!

[ezaircon4jc]

What does your iDrive say for distance remaining until the next brake service? I'm not sure if not resetting the system will trigger that light. Check the iDrive.

[OnlyGerman]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

What does your iDrive say for distance remaining until the next brake service? I'm not sure if not resetting the system will trigger that light. Check the iDrive.

I will have to ask the sales guy to go out and check for me. I am thinking needs to be reset, bad sensor or low brake fluid.

[WinstonE92xi]

It could also be the rear brake sensor being tripped if the front was recently serviced.

[OnlyGerman]

Car is out of the state which makes everything difficult. The sales guy is nice but I do not expect him to try to reset the light by the odometer button method. I would assume they would not be able to sell the car if this was a serious brake issue where the brakes did not even work.

[WinstonE92xi]

Or it could be simply the parking brake was on when they took the pic for you.

[OnlyGerman]

Originally Posted by WinstonE92xi

Or it could be simply the parking brake was on when they took the pic for you.

That is what I thought at first but the parking brake in the F10 is a different light in the cluster.

[OnlyGerman]

So I had the salesman attempt to reset it by pressing the odometer button. The front brakes showed service due and were RED. Just as I thought...He went to reset but it said "Reset Unsuccessful"... Seems like a sensor issue at this point. Not a big deal

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by XLife14

So I had the salesman attempt to reset it by pressing the odometer button. The front brakes showed service due and were RED. Just as I thought...He went to reset but it said "Reset Unsuccessful"... Seems like a sensor issue at this point. Not a big deal

Or at this point they need the BMW scan tool...

[OnlyGerman]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Or at this point they need the BMW scan tool...

Tell me about it...stupid used car dealers.

[Surly73]

There's confusion on the re-use of lights and indicators of different colours to mean different things.

The CBS (condition based service) system will track when brake INSPECTIONS are due. On my F10, these show in the CIC only. The system forecasts, using a crappy algorithm, when you should get the brakes checked for thickness the next time.

When you are due for CBS based service, the SERVICE indicator will light up yellow, and brakes will be indicated when you drill in. When you are overdue for CBS based service, the SERVICE indicator will light up RED and brakes will be indicated.

If there is a fault, then you can see RED indications of the article in question (e.g. the BRAKE, or the symbol for BRAKE FLUID).

On lower cluster cars (like my previous non-iDrive E90) there was just the red/yellow/orange cluster to make things more confusing -- If you were overdue for brake fluid, the SERVICE (car on hoist) would go RED but the brake fluid symbol would stay yellow. If you were LOW on brake fluid, then the brake fluid symbol itself would go red meaning there was a potential problem and not just overdue maintenance.

On my F10 when I tripped a brake sensor, the CBS system immediately goes to something like 3000km remaining for that axle's pads are due. Then the brake symbol lit ORANGE/YELLOW on the cluster, and red when the parking brake was set. You could get more detail in CIC by going to the Check Control screen and drilling in.

A tripped sensor or low brake fluid would both be unable to be reset in the CBS system because they are not CBS maintenance alerts.

I wouldn't want to be figuring this out with a sales guy at a distance and not in the car. The check control screen should reveal more clarity on what's going on.

[OnlyGerman]

Originally Posted by Surly73

There's confusion on the re-use of lights and indicators of different colours to mean different things.

The CBS (condition based service) system will track when brake INSPECTIONS are due. On my F10, these show in the CIC only. The system forecasts, using a crappy algorithm, when you should get the brakes checked for thickness the next time.

When you are due for CBS based service, the SERVICE indicator will light up yellow, and brakes will be indicated when you drill in. When you are overdue for CBS based service, the SERVICE indicator will light up RED and brakes will be indicated.

If there is a fault, then you can see RED indications of the article in question (e.g. the BRAKE, or the symbol for BRAKE FLUID).

On lower cluster cars (like my previous non-iDrive E90) there was just the red/yellow/orange cluster to make things more confusing -- If you were overdue for brake fluid, the SERVICE (car on hoist) would go RED but the brake fluid symbol would stay yellow. If you were LOW on brake fluid, then the brake fluid symbol itself would go red meaning there was a potential problem and not just overdue maintenance.

On my F10 when I tripped a brake sensor, the CBS system immediately goes to something like 3000km remaining for that axle's pads are due. Then the brake symbol lit ORANGE/YELLOW on the cluster, and red when the parking brake was set. You could get more detail in CIC by going to the Check Control screen and drilling in.

A tripped sensor or low brake fluid would both be unable to be reset in the CBS system because they are not CBS maintenance alerts.

I wouldn't want to be figuring this out with a sales guy at a distance and not in the car. The check control screen should reveal more clarity on what's going on.

In the control messages it said something like "Brake System, change brake pads, drive moderately"

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by XLife14

In the control messages it said something like "Brake System, change brake pads, drive moderately"

I think, but don't guarantee, that a message in CC like this means the sensor is tripped. I assume the car has been driven at least briefly to give the sensor a chance to reset.

I assume this is in the CIC/I-Drive, something like "Vehicle Information" -> "Vehicle Status" -> "Check Control" (the triangle with ! - NOT "SERVICE REQUIRED")

If it's in Service Required it might be CBS. If it's in Check Control, it's most likely sensor. Also checking "Service Required" might help verify which axle has tripped. As someone pointed out, maybe both sensors were tripped and only the front brakes were serviced.