Brakes Again ????????????

[kajunga]

1998 528

1. 0 miles - bought car new
2. 30000 miles - front pad and rotor from dealer
3. 43000 miles - front and back pad and rotor from dealer ( again?? )
4. 66000 miles - front pad only - private garage
5. 78000 miles - front rotor only - private garage
6. 83000 miles ( current ) - brakes squeak and steering wheel shakes under braking AGAIN

What gives??? My wife/soccar mom drives this car, not Schumacher. Now I'm thinking of going back to the dealer......god help me.

Is this brake wear normal?

Thanks in advance

[KC Ron Carter]

brakes like people shoes last different for different people.

The first brake rotors lasted 30k and the second lasted 50k.

I would not be unhappy with that.

Later,

[323imankiks]

kc has a point it depends on the driver your wife perhaps drives a little aggressively and jams the brakes or rides them. but i think pads should last at least 30k as for rotors i think they should last a little longer than that. but after a short peried new pads not normal something else is going on are your calipers sticking? are there any brake fluid leaks. Hard telling what it is. your rear pads should last longer which they have around 43k thats about right the rears are not as worn because fronts take about 6o percent of the braking force rears the rest. brake sqeaks can be a number of things maybe glazed pads, pad backings need some brake pad "grease" normal sometimes just depends on the material of pads

[Kola_Rasheed]

I think you should check your brake disks (those round things holding the pads)

Cheers.
Kola.

[kajunga]

Thanks

As it turns out, they say I need lower control arms.
Hmmmmm, same feeling as last year and when they changed my rotors the shaking stopped. NOw its control arms.

Next thread.........

[4-Door Flunky]

Hi, Kajunga!
I posted this link in another thread, but I think it applies to your case as well. Although it sounds like you might have solved the problem by replacing the control arms.
Here's the link:
http://www.garageboy.com/bmw/brakefaq.html

It contains everything you every wanted to know or suspected about brakes.
Flunky

[Presley348]

Originally Posted by kajunga

1998 528

1. 0 miles - bought car new
2. 30000 miles - front pad and rotor from dealer
3. 43000 miles - front and back pad and rotor from dealer ( again?? )
4. 66000 miles - front pad only - private garage
5. 78000 miles - front rotor only - private garage
6. 83000 miles ( current ) - brakes squeak and steering wheel shakes under braking AGAIN

What gives??? My wife/soccar mom drives this car, not Schumacher. Now I'm thinking of going back to the dealer......god help me.

Is this brake wear normal?

Thanks in advance

=================================================

I am a new 2004 BMW 530i owner, and I am now finding out all kinds of things that my BMW salesmen did not tell me.

Until personal experience and other owners in this great BMW forum, I never knew before the excessive brake dust in an issue that ALL BMW's have.

Now about your brakes, it sounds like you have had a battle trying to keep pads and rotors on your Bimmer.

Now you mentioned your wife drives the car. Yes, it could be your wife riding the brakes too much, or your two different driving braking styles, (but I do not think so), or it could be a BMW brake "recall" type problem in general.

Regardless to try to solve this brake problem, and to get your next BMW brake done as inexpensively as possible without reducing the BMW brake stopping power quality, you might want to try going to a local tire shop, (Kaufman Tire, Goodyear, Sears, etc.), that you can pay a one time price for all brake pads to be installed on your BMW and guaranteed for life, as long as you own the car.

As in my other cars, when my 530i needs brake pads, that is exactly what I am going to try to do. (I refuse to pay BMW and Chris Bangle anymore money unless I just have to, Jk LOL).

I hope this sheds a different light on your brake problem. I wish you and your wife the best with your Bimmer brake issue.

Sincerely,

Presley348

[csieminski]

kajunga, are you having the rotors machined when you get new pads? I'm under the impression the rotors can be machined 1-3 times for every time they must be replaced. I drive quite fast (often slowing from high speeds), and while I've needed front pads every 15K-25K miles, the rotors did not have to be replaced that often. I drove a 1986 528e for 40,000 miles and never needed to replace the rotors. I replaced f/r rotors on my 1990 Acura Legend only after 50,000 miles of driving (plus the rotors were not brand-new when I bought the car), and while I had to replace front rotors on my just-purchased 1990 535i, I don't anticipate needing to do so again in the two years I plan to own the car.

Exactly what is it that causes the rotors to need replacement each time?

[jeffreyb4me]

brake rotors often can be machined during pad replacement but never recommended by manufactures....because the thinner the rotor the faster the heat build-up and chance of warpage and fad. german rotors have always been 'soft' for performance reasons and the commonality of warping after machining leads many ,including myself, to replacement advise to customers in most cases. p.s., we have 53k on the original brakes on our '98 Z-3 2.8.

[csieminski]

Oh, I see. I think (obviously it depends on labor costs) machining two rotors cost something like $96 and a pair of pads was $45-50. So machining two rotors is about $150. Getting new pads and rotors on the 535i just cost $635 parts/labor (rotors $100/ea.).

You're probably familiar with the shimmy that develops with the front brakes of '80's BMW's, and my '86 528e definitely had that! Still, I always got the rotors machined, and the shimmy would go away for a few months at least. Now I can see why a lot of people would replace rotors each time--depends on if you can spare the money, I guess.

[Jmgoody2]

Hello,

First of all, if you are in stop and go, and ALSO are like so many other people, braking at the last minute, this is typical and normal. BMW uses certain Rotors-Mainly Balo is their choice, and metallic brakes pads, usually Jurid or Pagid. You cannot just replace pads without new rotors. The vibration your feeling is because the rotors themselves got hot and then cold, etc, they are warped now. BMW focuses on the performance of the brakes more than anything, not how long they will last! If you ask me, I would definately want to pay the extra few hundred dollars for brakes that someday could save the lives of everyone in my 5 series. My fronts went out at 35K miles, heavy stop and go traffic, and the rears lasted until 70K miles, and my car is only a 2001. If your going to do the brake job yourself, there are so many places on the web to order the OEM parts. Please make a note of BALO and Jurid. Depending on the model of your Bimmer, there is also a brake sensor cord, it usually only runs about $10 for each one.,