[Jamory]

So about a month and a half ago I took my car into the dealer for its last service before the warranty expired. They changed the oil, replaced the wipers, and took off the wheels to "grease up" the contact between the lip of the rim and the tire my tires because I told my service advisor that the runflats were making this odd squeaky sound with every turn of the wheel. Then, quite literally three days after my warranty expired my brake light came on, indicating that my front brake pads needed replacement. I tried to get it covered by the warranty as the timing was so close, but you know how dealers are....

That being said, fast forward to today I finally had some time to replace the pads myself. After taking off the wheel, however, this is what I saw! The clip that should hold the sensor wire to the brake line was not attached, which resulted in the cord fraying and the two little black wires within snapping in half and setting off the warning light. My brake pads themselves look great.

What do you guys think? Is it worth a fight with the dealer to get this fixed for a measly 8 dollar part that I already have?

[catcher22]

Can you get a pic of that after you put it back together? Then maybe you'll have a chance with the dealership.

I'm willing to bet their first response is you took it apart and it could be your fault. At least you know they can't void your warranty lol

Believe me, they'll use any reason to get out of warranty work. They wouldn't fix the lumbar support buttons on my car during warranty because they said "I kicked it" lol. Then proceeded to quote me $500 to fix it

Edit: to answer your question, I'd forgo the warranty fight and just fix it myself.

[Sparkee]

I say just fix it. They are cheap enough and on the front it is a very easy job.

If you are going to start taking care of the pads yourself, I advocate that you replace the sensor and then just tie it off somewhere out of the way. At least that's what I do. They are just an obnoxiousness and another small cost to deal with. Especially with the back one because putting in a new sensor means [partially] taking out the fender liner, at least in my sedan.

Because I have a square tire setup on my car, I rotate the tires on every oil change, so I get a good look at the pads (and rotors) when I do that. But even without that with most wheels you usually can see how much wear there is without taking them off.

The only hassle with not running the sensors is the CBS system. It computes the wear based on driving and can set off the light even without the sensor wearing through. I still haven't figured out the magic formula, but I think it needs to be reset BEFORE it lights the light. Because once it does that, it has been my experience you have to disconnect and reconnect the sensor to be able to reset the CBS.

BTW - the sensors have two resistive paths through them. I filed one down one time to see how they are constructed. When no paths are broken, nothing is sensed. When the first one wears through, you should get an amber warning. When the second wears through (the sensor goes open), you get a red warning. I'd bet your light went straight to red.

[TheBigYahi]

It'll cost you more in gas to drive to the dealer to have them tell you no than to just replace it, especially since you already have the part.

[Jamory]

Thanks y'all. I agree it's not worth the hassle. Will I be able to replace the sensor without taking the pads off?

[///Mposter]

Originally Posted by Jamory

Thanks y'all. I agree it's not worth the hassle. Will I be able to replace the sensor without taking the pads off?

I would say yes ( without removal) because as far as I remember I put it on last at the pads . Don't lose the spring clip as you pull it off. You don't want it falling in the caliper or whatever.

[sk55]

or you could strip the wires and connect them together that will disable the warning..

i always check my pad periodically.