hello everyone.
i got a notification from my i drive that the car is in need of a brake fluid change.
im assuming the fluid is just low. i have yet to take apart all that plastic crap and get in the reservoir and check it out. could this be the cause? i cant manually reset the service date so it brings me here..
i also have noticed the power steering is in need of some atf. this shouldnt have any effect.. .correct?

thanks for your time!
-Bill

 

I believe it to be a general maintenance thing. The same reminder came up on my i-drive a few months ago around 130,000 kms. I did the brake flush myself but if you're not mechanically inclined and very particular when bleeding the air from the lines you're better off having a BMW mechanic do it. That being said, while I was flushing the lines I did have some air come out of the driver's side front caliper. The last brake fluid flush was done by my BMW service department. I was not impressed to say the least but now my brake peddle feel is more solid than ever.

There is also a procedure for resetting the service interval but I would recommend obeying the notification for the long term sake of your braking components and having the flush completed without just a reset.

 

Don't know if it is true for all models and years, but on my '05 545i it is not mileage based but to be done every two years.

 

For all the years (40) that I have owned BMW's, The BMW policy has always been to change the brake fluid every two years. The reason for it is that brake fluid is ascorbic and collects moisture over time. The risk is that with moisture in the system braking becomes spongy. If the brake system is hot it can become really dangerous. The 545 / 550 series is capable of 150 MPH plus.

It usually costs about $100.00 at the dealer site.

 

interesting.
so let me ask this, once the flush and change is done will the i drive message go away or will i need to manually reset it?

could this have anything to do with the fact i have recently put 19" wheels on the car from the stock 17?

 

No special tools are required. A dealer or competent indy will reset it if they do the job. If you do it, you can manually reset it as well. There's a procedure to reset any of the condition based monitoring alerts that pop up on the i-drive. Most of the alerts are mileage based, some are time/date based. It doesn't have anything to do with the parts you put on.

 

As noted above, brake fluid is two year time-based. It is completely separate from power steering fluid and tires have no bearing on the issue either.

 

In the case of my '07 at least, along with the cabin filter change, it is part of the 90,000 mile service.

 

what fluid did you use?

 

I changed the brake fluid (and clutch fluid) in my 2006 530xi and used ATE SL.6:
http://www.ate.de/generator/www/com/...indow.jsp.html