I checked the brakes and it turns out the front brake sensor snapped off and was just dangling. It was getting dark so I did not remove the pads to measure their thickness.
A friend of mine had helped me installed the entire brake set about 18 months back so based on my neophyte experience it does not appear to me the pads are worn out. I attached two pictures (dont judge the paint job! lol) hoping that someone can prove me wrong. The pads are Pagid part # 34116761252
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03/2003 E53 X5 4.4i SUV M62
03/2006 E90 325i Sedan N52