BMW Rear Brake Pad Replacement Guide
Do you hear a grinding noise from the rear of your BMW, or does the brake light/brake pad warning light illuminate your dashboard?
Learn how to fix it by following the procedures below.
Symptoms
- Grinding noise from the rear
- Brake light on
- Brake pad message
- “Brake pads are worn to the minimum depth. Have the pads replaced by the nearest BMW center.”
What you will need
- BMW Rear Brake Pads
- BMW Rear Disk Rotor
- BMW Pad Wear Sensor
- Anti-Seize Brake Lube
- Screwdriver
- Brake Pad Extractor
- Floor Jack
- Wire Brush
- Ratchet and Socket
- Pliers
Procedure
Jack up the vehicle. Loosen the lug nuts. Jack up the vehicle and support it with jack stands. If you need help with this step, follow this guide on how to remove a car wheel. 
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Remove the retaining clip. The first step is to remove the retaining clip from the brake caliper. Use a flathead screwdriver to pry out the retaining clip.
Remove plastic caps. Use a flathead screwdriver to pry out the black caps. This will allow you to get access to the guide pins.
Loosen caliper guide pins. Unscrew two caliper hose guide pins. They don’t need to come out completely, just enough so they are no longer screwed into the caliper bracket.
Remove the brake caliper. Secure the caliper to the strut. Make sure it is not hanging by the brake hose.
Remove the caliper bracket. Remove two 19mm bolts and mount the caliper bracket to the rear hub. You may need a breaker bar to get these two bolts loose.
Remove the set screw. Remove the 5mm Allen bolt that holds the rotor to the rear wheel hub. Spray penetrating oil on the bolt if it refuses to come off. Be careful with this bolt because it can easily strip.
Remove rotor. The next step is to remove the rotor. The rotor will be rusted on older BMWs, making it difficult to come off. Spray penetrating oil on the rotor. Remember to have the car secured so that it does not roll. Next, release the parking brakes. This is very important. If you don’t release the parking brakes, you will damage the parking brake shoes. Use a rubber mallet to get the rotor off.
Press the brake piston. Use a brake caliper spreader to push the brake piston into the caliper. This will create enough space to install the new BMW brake pads.
Install rotor. Use a wire brush to clean any rust on the wheel hub. Next, install the new BMW rotor and the set screw.
Install caliper bracket. Install the rear caliper and torque the bracket bolts to 80 ft-lb.
Place brake pads on the caliper. Install the brake pads on the caliper. Apply brake anti-seize lube to the back of the pads.
Install brake caliper. Next, install the caliper with the new brake pads. Torque the caliper bolts to 25 lb-ft.
Install the brake wear sensor. The new BMW brake wear sensor will slide into the channel on the inner brake pad. Connect the sensor to the black box under the wheel well.
Inspect brakes. Install the wheel and lower the vehicle. Start the car and pump the brake pedal until it gets hard. Next, check the brake fluid level and add brake fluid if the level is low.
Reset the BMW Brake Wear Sensor.
Use the buttons on the dashboard to reset the brake warning light on your BMW. This can be completed using the ODO Reset button on the instrument cluster. If you cannot reset the brake light, follow this guide for more help: BMW Brake Reset Unsuccessful.
We hope you find the BMW Rear Brake Pad Replacement Guide helpful. Check these troubleshooting and repair guides for more help on your BMW.
Nice write up.
Great DIY. One thing I would like to add is that it is a good idea to pull out the caliper bolts (they slide out one unscrewed) and apply some grease on the sliding section. This helps so that the caliper doesn’t size up. Most people (and mechanics) don’t do this.