2008 BMW X5 Front Brakes

Last week I got a notification from the display panel of my 2008 BMW X5 (3.0L) to replace my front brake pads. I was reading posts on these forums as well as a few other forums and was a bit confused regarding the same.

The dealership has recommended changing the rotors along with the brake pads. A few posts I read recommended doing this too since the "newer" BMWs come with 'softer' rotors and they usually get worn out before the brake pads. A few posts went on to say that rotors should be fine. Is there a specific year that BMW started making 'softer' rotors? If not, then is it still mandatory to replace the rotors along with the brake pads?

Thanks in advance for the advice/opinion.

I have an idea...Start searching for a good indy shop. Ask them if they will do a front brake job if you provide the parts. Once they say yes, order new rotors, pads, and a brake sensor from Tischer. With the money you save by not going to the dealer, and ordering your own parts, you will be able to put new rotors on. It will almost be like you are getting free rotors.

Please excuse my ignorance, but what are Indy shops?

They are repair shops that service a given manufacturer of car, but are not authorized service centers, so they are not an option when doing maintenance/repairs while a car is under warranty. Very often, these "indy"(short for independant) repair shops employ technicians that once worked at BMW dealerships.

1. Shops that are located in Indianapolis....



sorry, coudnt rsist- Independents.. just an auto mechanic that is independent of BMW. ie not a dealer. They usually are cheaper (but not always) than a dealer. You can usually find recommendations on line- yelp, or here, or other forums...


2. Stop getting all twisted up with 'softer' rotors... the fact is that rotors AND pads wear. The key issue is that BMW, with their silly brainless "CBS" display, ONLY tracks pad wear. In the old days you would check ads and rotors periodically, and replace as necessary. Now BMW lets you go 20k before it tells you the pad is worn. If you were to just replace the pads, the rotors might well wear far bekow their minimum before the pads wear out again. Thus, they have you replace pads and rotors as one.

If you can commit to cchecking pads and rotors yourself, every 10k miles or so, then just replace pads or rotors when they get low- there are minimum inspection thicknesses on both.

But if you'll just go by the dash, the ONLY way I'd skip rotors would be IF the rotors- after one set of pads- is AT or LESS than 50% used. (This means they can 'withstand' anohter full set of pads before being below spec

3. Last time I looked, I think you can buy pads, rotors and a pad sensor at getbmwparts.com for about $400. Take me an hour to pop on in my garage. Pray tell what is the dealer charging you??

GL

A

Lol - thought I would get a comment about Indy Car racing... :P

Dealer is charging ~800-850 for both rotors and pads. I checked with an indy shop here and he said it'll cost me $790. If the difference is so less, I'd just go with the dealership. I'll probably get a 10% discount coupon or something anyways.

Originally Posted by nikitheboss

Lol - thought I would get a comment about Indy Car racing... :P

Dealer is charging ~800-850 for both rotors and pads. I checked with an indy shop here and he said it'll cost me $790. If the difference is so less, I'd just go with the dealership. I'll probably get a 10% discount coupon or something anyways.

I'd be happy to get you a quote on the brake parts for X5 if you're interested in ordering online. We offer genuine BMW parts and accessories at a discount(typically 20% or more off of BMW MSRP) @ www.getBMWparts.com .

PM me the last 7 digits of your vehicle's VIN# and I'll get the information over to you ASAP.