Simple Brake Question

[ozam]

My wife has an 07 E70 4.8 with 45,000 miles. I am about to put on her third set of rear tires and second set of fronts (the tires are runflats and she is not an aggressive driver). I have yet to replace either the front or rear brakes. The sensors say I have 7,000 miles left on the front and 14,000 miles left on the rears. Is it normal to get this kind of longevity out of the pads/rotors? Obviously, it would be great to get these items replaced while still under the maintenance warranty!

[ard]

Have the alignment checked- especially toe in. You want to be on the "Zero side if the BMW specs" (ie closest to 0.0)

That kind of longevity is common with 'wife driven cars'.... just forget about the dealer when they do wear out, you can cut their price by 50% with no reduction in performance/quality

A

[motordavid]

Not straight comparo, but I got 48k + out my E53 fronts, (we come down a very steep 4 mile mtn road), and 70k+ out of my rear pads...

So, you are doing fine, and reasonable, esp. for an ATL area commute.

Otoh, your tire life, or lack of, may be right up there with some of the lowest
mileage I recall reading. Yowzer!
GL, mD

[ozam]

I thought tread life of 20-25k wasn't too bad. My friends with M5's / 550's are replacing their rears much more often. I guess my brake life is ok then.

The things that really suck on the vehicle are the gas mileage (which I knew going in), the horrific I-drive/nav system, and the rear camera at night.

[Penguin]

Brake life really varies a lot by driving conditions and driving style. If you have a smooth, non-aggressive driver who anticipates braking requirements and does mostly level highway driving, you have the best case. If you have a jerky, aggressive driver who never anticipates braking requirements and drives exclusively in city traffic in a place like San Francisco, you have the worst case.

As a result, it is almost impossible to provide an accurate "average" brake life.

I have not had a BMW long enough to need a brake job, but typically in the past I have always gotten 50K-75K before my first brake job, while some with identical vehicles drvien by others have needed new brakes after 15K, e.g., a Ford Focus.