SELLC

Recently did front and rear pads on a 2009 Porsche Cayenne and I had a few questions.

What I am wondering is if the Brake pad warning light is supposed to come on every time you turn on the vehicle? The warning indicator turns off immediatly once the vehicle is started and does not come on while driving but there is a yellow exclamation point lit up within the tach.

I read in the owners manual that upon turning the vehicle on it should display the brake pad symbol on the IP which it does, and it also shuts off too. (Page #165)

When the brake pads are low and the sensors ground out on the rotors will that trip the brake pad warning light while driving? Right now the light only comes on when you first start up the vehicle, then goes off and stays off. But that yellow exclamation point makes me wonder.

I should also add that these front pads on the Cayenne are the biggest I have ever seen on a passenger vehicle! MASSIVE! They look like they should go on a mac truck! LOL

Any help or info you can share about the Brake Pad warning light would be great!

Thanks in advance!

seankrider

When my "Brake Workshop" indicator comes on from the sensors wearing, they show the large icon/words in the main gauge when I start the car, then it move down to the little icon near the bottom of the gauge. Of course, I usually have 5 or 6 things cycling through the little warning icons, like blinker light, washer fluid, low gas, etc., so it gets lost.

But I think once you trip the sensor (i.e. wear through the pads to it), it should be perpetually on until you change the sensors.

Divot

I think if you trip the idiot light, you need to reset with a PIWIS.

I'm speaking from my experience tripping idiot lights, not from expertise in these matters.

SELLC

I should also mention the low brake pad light is really more of an image, with the words "Brake Pads" under a symbol that looks like this (0)

This vehicle has a little LCD display, so it's not like the traditional "light" per se.

My Mercedes has similar style pad sensors but I find the mounting of said sensors is far superior to that of Porsche. I also get more than 35-37,000 miles out of a set of pads too, but hey...

yeldogt

Did you put new sensors on when you did the brakes?

Some report being able to reuse the sensors if you get them before they hit the rotor -- but I always find the insulation hard and for the small cost I just replace them.


With my 06 the warning will come up every time you hit the brakes and the sensors hit -- you can still use the display but the "!" will remain.

Sounds like you have a short in the wires or a damaged sensor that it setting off the warning

JAGMAN1

Normal behavior if the warning has been tripped is this:
On startup, a large display warning will appear with the words "brake pads workshop" with the brake symbol on the display.

After a short time that warning will time out and only the little brake pad symbol will be illuminated. If you were to go into the "warnings/indications" part of the main menu of the mfd you will see the full warning as I described above.

The only way to clear that warning is to replace the sensor at the brake caliper.

SELLC

I did not replace the sensors as I could not source any in time. The customer needed the vehicle ASAP.

The little brake pad warning symobol only appears when you first turn on the vehicle then it never re-appears, however that yellow exclamation point in the tach area remains lit.

Strange how these work, as I am most positive that they are not grounding out which is probably why the indicator does not come on while driving or braking. The manual says the brake pad warning should appear every time you first start the vehicle (Page 165) as an indication that the system is working.

While I am not impressed with the life of brake pads on these Porsche, I am very impressed with the braking in terms of stoping power. I think you could throw the passenger thru the windshield if you hit the brakes hard enough! LOL!

I am guessing there is a break in the wire for the sensors, which alerts the system that there could be a problem in the system (ie the yellow exclamation point) however since there is new pads on there it's no longer grounding out which is possibly why the light no longer comes on while driving and or braking. Would this be correct?

Buying the sensors is much less expensive online than at the local parts store/dealership. In my case both required them to be ordered so I figured why not let the customer save some money.

I should also mention that brake pads for these cars can really cost a lot! Some brands were in excess of $300! The customer elected to go with the cheaper pads ($50 front, and $30 rear) which seem to perform well enough. I was told the vehicle is a lease, so you cant really fault the guy.

All told this brake job cost the customer $250.00 parts and labor (not including sensors), which is FAR better than the $1200 he was quoted at the dealership. If anyone needs brakes done in the Metro Detroit area feel free to send me a PM. I am a certified and licenced mechanic, of course I specialize in Mercedes, but it never fails that my drive is always full of German vehicles, regardless of the make.

All the best,
SELLC

kirk4

I wish I would have read this post before replacing the pads. Just got finished replacing all the pads and the pad sensor light is still on. I thought I screwed something up, I did. Didn't replace the sensors. On order now. Thanks.

mudman2

The sensors are a one hit, when they trip they are forever tripped they have to be replaced

tgavem

I took mine off the pads and taped them to the solid part of the brake lines before they had a chance to trip. No worries. I visually check my pads every couple of months and replace early. When I sell, I will just re-install. Dealer do give me a hard time when I service it.
For my 996 I cut the cable and twisted the two cables together ........

mudman2

or you could do that and save yourself 48 bucks

Lee0826

TRYING TO PM YOU BUT COULDNT. WHERE EXACTLY ARE YOU LOCATED? I am in the metro Detroit area

riz.hus

Hi Guys, I had the brake discs, pads and sensors replaced today on my 2007 cayenne. Initially no sign used to show up, then when the brakes wore out, it was coming with this sign (o) and 'Brake Pads' before replacing and is still coming after replacing everything. Does this mean one of the new sensors is not working, or something wasn't fitted properly? Any help would be appreciated!

Torre

I have the exact same problem. I drive for 3 days after I had a full replacement, when suddenly the yellow Brake Pad light came on, but after restaring the car it was gone. I took it to the Place (Porsche Only Indy) that did the Brake Job, they checked that all sensors sit tightly and they cleaned them a bit and said they can't find anything wrong with them. Drove for the rest of the day with no problems untill today Morning when it went on again. Restarting the car solved it once more and now it's gone.

Could it be a problem in the wireing? I never had this problem untill the brake job.

69gaugeman

The brake pad sensors have a small wire running through it and when the rotor touches it as the pads wear down it breaks the wire. The system looks to see if electricity passes through the sensor back to the module. Taking the wires from the sensors and connecting them together will remove the alarm message. If the symbol comes on when you start the vehicle, it means there is a break in the wiring.