my CPO X5 needs new brake pads only 5mo/4000 miles after purchase
 

Hey everyone, I picked up a new to me 2012 X5 this past summer. The car had 38000 miles on it and was a CPO. I'm at about 42000 miles (the vast majority of the miles I've put on it have been highway) and just got a low brake pad thickness warning light the other day.

My understanding is that a CPO'd car would have things like pads, tires, etc. replaced if they were that low. Should I expect the dealer I bought it from to pay for the new pads, or did I just get unlucky with the brake pad wear?

Thanks for any help!

It may have been good enough to pass the CPO inspection at the time but its worth a try to go see them and say what the heck! But dont pay dealer prices to get them replaced if they dont do it for free. There are other pad options that are better as far as dust and same stopping grip. Do a search on brake pads on here, you will see.

CPO inspections are subjective and therefore, your brakes may have been overlooked when they should have been replaced.

CPO Inspections may indeed be subjective. But for things like brake linings (min 5 mm of friction material) and tire tread depth (min 3 mm from top of wear bar) BMW NA is very strict about what they will allow. Unless your dealers certification tech didn't check the linings properly, or misrepresented that (they and the Service Manager are required to sign the CPO form) it's possible they just wore out.

I'd politely ask the Service Manager at your dealer to check the paperwork and see if they think there may be a problem. They may be willing to give you a concession on the pads as a goodwill gesture, especially if your a regular customer.

If you do have to pay out of pocket, nothing wrong with shopping around for better aftermarket pads and rotors. I just had my fronts done at 55k miles by my dealer and it was not cheap. Good luck.

CPO Inspections may indeed be subjective. But for things like brake linings (min 5 mm of friction material) and tire tread depth (min 3 mm from top of wear bar) BMW NA is very strict about what they will allow. Unless your dealers certification tech didn't check the linings properly, or misrepresented that (they and the Service Manager are required to sign the CPO form) it's possible they just wore out.

I'd politely ask the Service Manager at your dealer to check the paperwork and see if they think there may be a problem. They may be willing to give you a concession on the pads as a goodwill gesture, especially if your a regular customer.

If you do have to pay out of pocket, nothing wrong with shopping around for better aftermarket pads and rotors. I just had my fronts done at 55k miles by my dealer and it was not cheap. Good luck.

OP- same comments here as BF.... ;)

If the brakes were at 50% at 38k miles, and he is now at 42k miles- and the sensor has tripped, THAT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE.

You would be saying in 4k miles he has used 30-40% of the pad life!

CPO inspections on pads and tires are NOT subjective- OP got screwed by a cheating or lazy dealer.

OP, what did the CPO checklist show on it????

It's possible that it's just the sensor that tripped for whatever reason. Happened to me on my F30 328i. Have them check it and reset the counter if that's the problem.

If someone replaced the pads and the sensor, but didnt reset the maintenance counter, the warning will come when the maintenance is due. I did this to myself last time :-(((

I'm taking it into the dealership on Wednesday. That was the earliest appointment they had with an available loaner. I'll see then if it's just a sensor (hopefully) or if it does need new pads.

Now that I think about it, and stupidly in hindsight, I never received an inspection report with the purchase. I bought it in Dallas and live in North Carolina.

I'll be contacting the dealer I bought it from and see what they say about it.

Dealer? Why?

You will piss away $700+ with them. They will get you to sign the work order committing to $100-200 to "check it out".. SA will murmur all the right words...nod sagely as you opine about sensors and resets, and how they should have done it during the CPO...blah blah blah

Then they will bend you over for $700, tell you that 'these high performance pads do wear fast', and otherwise circle the wagons around themselves and the selling dealer... he will absolutely not give you ANY info that will let you go back to the selling dealer...likely not even make any sympathetic noises at this point, no need- youve signed the work order.... "do you want us to do it?"

and if you decline he will only charge you "for the one hour diagnostic", or $160.

And you will not have priced a brake job anywhere else...and you'll be stuck... so you will have to agree.

"just a sensor"? Which sensor?

Just pads? Not BMWs; not at a dealer, not owner pays: Pads and rotors.




bawareca- back to the OPs post- this is not a 'brake service warning'...its a 'low brake pad thickness' warning...I thought that ONLY is tripped by the actual pad sensor wearing, no? In other words the final contact has been physically tripped meaning the pads have worn... Im not sure though...

I've got some other minor stuff they need to fix that should be covered under the warranty, so I was going to take it in at some point anyways.

^Have you read the CPO warranty on BMW website and what is NOT covered? Its astounding - this is the biggest misconception is that the CPO warranty extends the factory warranty - and this is the farthest from the truth.

Besides catastrophic incidents or engine/transmission failures, maintenance items, normal upkeep and component failure is not covered. And don't forget your $50 deductible.

@Ard, I knew that there was a CPO guideline regarding brake pads and rotors, however, I just assumed that most techs are like you say, "lazy", therefore, subjective. Therefore, you are correct.

@Ricky Bobby, it still surprises me that most individuals who purchase a CPO vehicle consider "wear and tear" items, like the ones that you describe (maintenance and normal upkeep) as covered. This may be an intentional miscommunication by the sales person to get the sale. I've read many online reviews of dealerships, where the review has complained that their brakes need replacement and the dealer wants to charge outside of warranty.

My E70 X5 has brake pad wear sensors, but there is also a "calculated" brake warning that can trip before the break pad sensor and this needs to be cleared/reset with software and it will also increment the brake replacement count on the vehicle by a valve of 1. I recall you can actually read in the module at what mileage the error was cleared/brakes were replaced.

So before you "assume" the pads are worn out, you need to fully understand that triggered the Brake Warning light.

I was just getting ready to leave on a 1500 mile trip and my Brake Warning came on, turned out after trying to tie a spare, good brake pad wear sensor up in the suspension and plug it in, the light still did not go out until I reset the light with software.

Turned out the wear sensor had not even touched the rotor once I got around to replacing the brakes.

This is the key piece of paper that I would request if you don't have it already. I had the same issue on our 2008 4.8i CPO and the dealer made good. Checklist reflected 50% and light came on shortly after purchase.

They like to send CPOs out with bad batteries as well. Luckily when I went to test drive our 4.8i it did not start or take a charge and a tech was summonsed to change out the battery pre purchase.

Was not aware of a CPO checklist when purchased CEOs F30 last year. Can anyone share a copy?


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Dealers do not typically provide a copy of the PPI check list to the customer, I have seen them before and been showed the, but never provided a copy.

My latest 2013 E93 CPO only has 17k miles on it. But the dealer had replaced all 4 tires, performed an alignment, replaced wiper blades, oil changed even though the prior oil change had been performed not long before and I even ended up with a new battery, because the car had sat at the dealer for 3 months due to an airbag recall that they could not get parts for. Apparently the dealers cannot sell the cars with open recalls.

My understanding is the car is supposed to be 80% to meet CPO requirements. Almost always new tires and depending on the brake pad thickness, often new brakes.

Chances are if the brakes were replaced on the vehicle, the brake wear estimation/service interval warning was not reset in the software.

I think Carly for BMW supports this feature and may be able to read the brake pad replacement counter as well. I have a number of professional level scan tools along with Carly for BMW and I do not recall what tool I ended up using to clear my Brake light.

But at the end of the day we are talking about a 2012 CPO with 42k miles so at the end of the day it should be covered under the 48 Month/50k mile Bumper to Bumper Warranty depending on the delivery date OR the CPO Warranty. So the OP should not be about of pocket anything either way.

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It is called the Vehicle Inspection Checklist and I always requested a copy as part of the sale when I bought a CPO. With BMW's lack of durability/quality and any given dealer's lack of ethics and knowledge, you have to protect yourself when buying these things. Example attached above.

Good luck and be persistent. BMW ownership is one of the most difficult and traumatic events in life, but you will survive.

And even one better practice is to not only get the report, but to follow the tech around as he does the inspection. I did that with the M5. Again, way more work than anyone should put in to buy a car but that's where it is at with these things.

I dont think OP is claiming he should have this item covered as part of the CPO **after** his purchase.

He is complaining that how can a car, that purportedly just went through the CPO process, need these items so soon.

Yeah, you hit it on the head

I recently had a brake pad sensor failure with PLENTY of life left in the rear pads.

Once the sensor is replaced, you can reset the warning through the gauge cluster. You can also reset the calculated mileage warning through the cluster. No software needed.

If you try to reset the warning without replacing the sensor, it comes back immediately, but it will still let you try to reset it.