I was driving down the road tonight and the audible alarm chimed and the brake light on the tach came on. The computer screen also displayed the car on a lift. Is my car trying to tell me the brakes need replaced? The rotors look nice and smooth and the there is no grinding noises coming from the brakes. The rear display the most wear however. Is there a way other than the dealer to reset the computer? How does the car know the brakes haven't been replaced? What are the best rear rotors for the JCW Clubman?

 

There is a Brake Wear Sensor on the front and rear of this car so when the sensor is worn down it tells the computer that the brakes need replacing.

Personally i drove over 8000 miles farther without problem on the "worn pads" in the rear of my car.

The computer can be reset with out going to the dealer but before the reset can be done the wear sensor must be replaced. If you reset without replacing the sensor then the light will come back on as the sensor is bad.

If you have less than 36k on the car then the dealer should replace the brakes for free. Over that I would go to a local shop and have them check it out for you.

 

You can look at the calipers and visually inspect the pad thickness. Look down from the top at an angle through the wheel spokes. You may have to reposition the wheel spokes by moving the car a little to get the best line of sight.

The pad thickness should be at least thicker than the metal backing plate.

 

I think there's a mileage based function for the brakes on the 2nd gen cars, whether they're worn out or not if you're within the 36K maintenance period they replace them when the light comes on!

I think the sensor is a redundant function on these cars. IOW, if you ignore the computer based service recommendation, the sensor will break when they get worn enough and trigger the light permanently till it's replaced.

 

Thanks for the info everybody. I'll look into replacing them soon.

 

Dumb question but you aren't under 36k miles or 3 years are you?

 

I've got 61K on my car so no warranty.

 

any instructions available for how to reset the brake light without going to dealer?

thanks

 

http://www.totehmoon.com/uploads/r56...procedures.pdf