The bmw brake Saga

Dave85

Dave85

Dave85

Soldato
Joined
18 Jan 2004
Posts
9,431
Location
Sunny Scotland
My e39 is causing me a lot of grief and it looks set to continue. after my water pump and overheating issue I now have a hole in the radiator again. only 2 months old. I need another oil change. and now the best part.

The brake pad warning light came on. - diag is front disks and pads. Had these replaced.

Light still on, taken back in diagnosis rear sensor. - replaced, was not even connected but tucked up behind something.

Here is the interesting part. the garage say that if it wasnt connected that light should have came on and not went off. how on earth its been off for 2 years no one knows lol.

So now thats been replaced other rear sensor checked new disks and pads put on the lights is still on. they say there going to have to check all the sensors and fluids to do with the braking system to try and trace this fault :(

Now I am thinking seriously about getting rid of it now, have been at this point before but didn't go through with it. So im thinking get this fault fixed the radiator fixed and the oil changed and get rid of it.

Any ideas as to what the sensor issue can be, you never know someone may have heard of this. And a more serious point what do people think of Audi A6 diesel around 2002. Fancy a diesel largish saloon around 8k, Want to use cash instead of finance lol. Most important I dont want a BMW :eek:

And before anyone says it yes I know its just my bad luck and I know a newer bmw is going to be good choice but I just fancy a change. Cheers
 
Niggling problems and old cars will always go hand in hand. You won't be escaping issues by buying an inferior Audi A6 for £8k - you've just as much chance of having issues with as you do with £8k of BMW.

Big expensive cars can be expensive to fix.
 
The brake sensors are just a closed loop that breaks when the end of the sensor cable gets burned away by the disk surface and breaks the connection. So it will also show as broken if there is a break in the loom somewhere further up from the pad. If the rears were unused and tucked away they should have had shorting bars caps on them if the light was out.

I've got a light on myself in my mondeo becuase one of the front cables wasn't cable tied properly and got yanked a bit from wheel turning and hence must have internally snapped the wires further up.
 
its not the money thats the issue, its the randomness of the problems :p

been having a look at Volvos im loving the look of S60 and the newish S40
 
You've got a what, 9 year old car, and it's had a brake pad sensor problem, needs an oil change, and needs a new radiator. That's hardly out of the ordinary really, is it?

I had to change tyres on my Mondeo, im never buying another Ford again ;)

Any car from the same class as your E39 will feel a dissapointment - in the 1996-2003 range there is simply nothing as good, certainly nothing with a Volvo badge. Unless you wish to buy continually wishing you'd got another 5, you need to get a totally different type of car - somethig you wont find yourself comparing your 5 to on a regular basis.
 
lol I know its 9 years old. I just thought it was strange how 1 sensor went, they done another it went. they done another it went and now its some other sensor. bmw sensors are wierd :p

The alarm sensors also all confused each other and but the funniest one was when I locked the car it switched on all the lights and opend the windows :D

I know another 5, eg a nice 530i like yours would be the most obvious thing to go for but I have had it a few year and fancy something diffrent. Done the hot hatch thing done the saloon thing so what now a 4x4 or somethin jap maybe ;)
 
DAvE18 said:
I know another 5, eg a nice 530i like yours would be the most obvious thing to go for but I have had it a few year and fancy something diffrent.
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So get something different. Don't buy something similar becuase an Audi A6 or a Volvo will only dissapoint you. Buy something completely different.

And you had a 115bhp Golf, you've not done the hot hatch thing, how about trying the hot hatch thing again but properly? Get a nice Leon Cupra for £8k.
 
My e38 7 series has told me to "CHECK BRAKE LIGHTS" since the day I bought it.

Two new rear light clusters (to evict the fish living in the water in the old ones!) and the problems still there!

Old cars = annoying gremlins, alas.
 
R124/LA420 said:
My e38 7 series has told me to "CHECK BRAKE LIGHTS" since the day I bought it.

Two new rear light clusters (to evict the fish living in the water in the old ones!) and the problems still there!

Old cars = annoying gremlins, alas.
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its not the rear window centre one is it ? maybe a loose connection to it ?
 
cdcopyman said:
its not the rear window centre one is it ? maybe a loose connection to it ?
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Dunno mate, all the rear lights work fine (including the centre one) all the bulbs are correct & working yet still, it "cries wolf" about the brake lights as soon as you touch the pedal after starting the car. :confused:
 
DAvE18 said:
lol I know its 9 years old. I just thought it was strange how 1 sensor went, they done another it went. they done another it went and now its some other sensor. bmw sensors are wierd :p
QUOTE]

Only sensor problem I've ever had with a BMW was the License plate light sensor. Went of randomly on my 1994 E34. Have driven 7's and 5's now since 1994 and always found them to be totally reliable.

In 13 years of BMW driving, I've had 1 holed radiator, 1 water pump, 2 thermostats, and a viscous fan coupling + the Lic Plate Sensor on me E34. Not bad in my opinion and for the first 8 years of that I was doing 35k per year.

In your first post you said you wanted a large deisel saloon, and honestly there is nothing to beat a E39 530D for an oil burner. Audi are nice, but they dont compare to the BMW. And Volvos feel a lot 'cheaper' than BMW's at least to me.

If your tired of the BMW, then go for something completely different, so you cant make a direct comparison between the two. A 4x4 for example will drive like a bus compared to the bmw, but on the other hand, thats what you would be expecting, and you can console yourself that offroad a good 4x4 is a real animal, and a great toy :P.
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