[clinton.white]

I am still getting properly acquainted with my 2012 328i which has 7K on the clock.

From reading the vehicle status page on the idrive, it says that the rear brake pads require changing in 10K miles, which will make it about 17K in total miles !!

This does not seem much to me but does it maybe indicate that the previous owner drove it quite hard or am I showing my lack of knowledge?

Thanks

[Pauleebe]

Brake pad longevity is more or less perfectly correlated to how the car is driven. It could be anywhere from 5K - 30K miles. Maybe other members can comment on their own experiences with average life of brake pads.

[JasonX4MComp]

Who cares. its free to get new pads!

[rconti]

Originally Posted by dwalls90

Brake pad longevity is more or less perfectly correlated to how the car is driven. It could be anywhere from 5K - 30K miles. Maybe other members can comment on their own experiences with average life of brake pads.

If the stability control system uses the brakes, that could tear thru rear brakes.

The BMWs I've had go 60-70k on a set of street pads. YMMV, obviously.

[clinton.white]

Thanks for the replies guys - seems that the car was driven hard then by the previous owner (it was actually a BMW UK car, driven by one of their managers I think).

In the U.K. the standard service inclusive package does not include free brake pads - you have to purchase the service inclusive plus for that which is about 2.5 times the price!

[Pauleebe]

Originally Posted by Jason335iMsport

Who cares. its free to get new pads!

That only applies in the USA

[jwilly]

Originally Posted by clinton.white

I am still getting properly acquainted with my 2012 328i which has 7K on the clock.

From reading the vehicle status page on the idrive, it says that the rear brake pads require changing in 10K miles, which will make it about 17K in total miles !!

This does not seem much to me but does it maybe indicate that the previous owner drove it quite hard or am I showing my lack of knowledge?

Thanks

How worn do the pads look???

Joel

[Koer]

Originally Posted by clinton.white

I am still getting properly acquainted with my 2012 328i which has 7K on the clock.

From reading the vehicle status page on the idrive, it says that the rear brake pads require changing in 10K miles, which will make it about 17K in total miles !!

This does not seem much to me but does it maybe indicate that the previous owner drove it quite hard or am I showing my lack of knowledge?

Thanks

Remember rear pads are applied first every time under very light breaking, if anything they drove the car to commute a lot or under low speeds.

Front breaks come in as more breaking power is needed and as the vehicle shifts its weight forward coming to a stop. If anything, front brakes indicate how nasty the previous owner was with your car.

As for me, at 20,000 kms i will be changing all my break pads since our roads here are brutal climbs and descents with bumps on them... Screw me right?

[JasonX4MComp]

Originally Posted by dwalls90

That only applies in the USA

didnt pay attention to where he was from

[clinton.white]

Originally Posted by jwilly

How worn do the pads look???

Joel

Just taken a look at the pads and the rears look ok actually with about 6 mm left but the front are very low with about 3 mm left and yet the iDrive says 28K miles left in the fronts!!

[jwilly]

Originally Posted by clinton.white

Just taken a look at the pads and the rears look ok actually with about 6 mm left but the front are very low with about 3 mm left and yet the iDrive says 28K miles left in the fronts!!

Exactly! Never relied on a computer to tell me something I can see for myself. I replace my pads when they are the same thickness as the backing plates. (Note: I do not insert the pad wear sensor into the pad.)
Good luck.
Joel