Are X5 brakes inherently spongy or is there air in my system?

WWONG · 08-13-2011, 02:34 AM

There seems to be a lot of travel on my brakes to come to a stop. It's spongy. I only have about 350 miles on the odo now... is this normal for you guys? On my ol' 335i, when I barely tap the brakes, my head hits the steering wheel and my front teeth are chipped.

ElGitano · 08-13-2011, 05:44 AM

Some thing is wrong. My 35d has 500 in the odo and the brakes are fantastic. Pretty much like you describe in your 335i

richard in NC · 08-13-2011, 09:15 AM

When I get into a 3 series loaner there is less play before the brakes take hold as compared to my X5.

I do recall the X5 brakes felt soft when it was brand new. As compared to a 3 year old 550i. But now they have plenty of bite and stop the X5 darn quickly.

One thing to try is a few hard stops (EDIT: should be fine to do after the 350 miles that you have). When coming off an interstate with no one behind, slow down quickly from the 60-70 mph down to 20 mph, accelerate back to speed, and brake hard again at the stop. Do this a few times to help the pads seat into the rotors for a quicker bite. A couple of hard stops like this are no issue as long as their is no stop and go traffic aftwards.

When switching to high performance track specific pads, I've had to do 8 successive stops from 80 mph just to get the new pads to bite at all. I then drove for 20 minutes without stopping and still had nearly smoking rotors.

skalberti · 08-13-2011, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WWONG

There seems to be a lot of travel on my brakes to come to a stop. It's spongy. I only have about 350 miles on the odo now... is this normal for you guys? On my ol' 335i, when I barely tap the brakes, my head hits the steering wheel and my front teeth are chipped.

New brakes take 500-600 miles to break and seat in. Take it easy those first few hundred. No hard or panic stops. After they break in you'll notice better stopping and pedal feel. Just my .02

WWONG · 08-14-2011, 06:59 PM

Well I tried the bedding procedure but for some reason, that threw off my alignment lol. Going to see if it's covered by the new car warranty (heard alignments are free for 2k miles)

richard in NC · 08-15-2011, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WWONG

Well I tried the bedding procedure but for some reason, that threw off my alignment lol. Going to see if it's covered by the new car warranty (heard alignments are free for 2k miles)

The only possible explanation for that is if you have a sticking pad. Not likey on a new car.

1MOREMOD · 08-15-2011, 05:33 PM

yeah doesnt sound right the brakes in my x5 actually respond with less travel then my m3

08-13-2011, 02:34 AM	#1
WWONG Banned 109 Rep 1,830 Posts Drives: 2012 BMW X5 xDrive35d Join Date: May 2010 Location: Houston, TX iTrader: (14)	Are X5 brakes inherently spongy or is there air in my system? There seems to be a lot of travel on my brakes to come to a stop. It's spongy. I only have about 350 miles on the odo now... is this normal for you guys? On my ol' 335i, when I barely tap the brakes, my head hits the steering wheel and my front teeth are chipped.
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08-13-2011, 05:44 AM	#2
ElGitano Registered 0 Rep 2 Posts Drives: X5 Diesel Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: USA iTrader: (0)	Some thing is wrong. My 35d has 500 in the odo and the brakes are fantastic. Pretty much like you describe in your 335i
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08-13-2011, 09:15 AM	#3
richard in NC Colonel 1229 Rep 2,602 Posts Drives: 2009 Z4 35i Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Charlotte, NC iTrader: (0)	When I get into a 3 series loaner there is less play before the brakes take hold as compared to my X5. I do recall the X5 brakes felt soft when it was brand new. As compared to a 3 year old 550i. But now they have plenty of bite and stop the X5 darn quickly. One thing to try is a few hard stops (EDIT: should be fine to do after the 350 miles that you have). When coming off an interstate with no one behind, slow down quickly from the 60-70 mph down to 20 mph, accelerate back to speed, and brake hard again at the stop. Do this a few times to help the pads seat into the rotors for a quicker bite. A couple of hard stops like this are no issue as long as their is no stop and go traffic aftwards. When switching to high performance track specific pads, I've had to do 8 successive stops from 80 mph just to get the new pads to bite at all. I then drove for 20 minutes without stopping and still had nearly smoking rotors. __________________ 2020 X3M non-comp, Alpine White over black : Exec Pkg, ventilated M Sport seats, 20"s 2020 M2 Comp, Sunset Orange/Blk: Orange stitching, DCT, exec pkg, bicolor rims Gone '18 M550i, '16 X4 M40i, '15 M5, '13 X3 35i, '12 335is, '11 X5 50i, '09 Z4 35i, '08 550i, 06 X3, 06 650i, '02 M5, '99 540i Last edited by richard in NC; 08-13-2011 at 11:59 AM..
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08-14-2011, 06:59 PM	#5
WWONG Banned 109 Rep 1,830 Posts Drives: 2012 BMW X5 xDrive35d Join Date: May 2010 Location: Houston, TX iTrader: (14)	Well I tried the bedding procedure but for some reason, that threw off my alignment lol. Going to see if it's covered by the new car warranty (heard alignments are free for 2k miles)
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08-15-2011, 05:33 PM	#7
1MOREMOD - 11817 Rep 23,187 Posts Drives: Race car-> Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: check your mirrors iTrader: (5)	yeah doesnt sound right the brakes in my x5 actually respond with less travel then my m3 __________________ 02 Tiag e46 M3\|6MT\|GC plates\|MCS c.o.\|GC bars\|GC race control arms\|GC bushings\|BW eng. & tran. mounts\|subframe kit\|BW race shifter\|BW Jaffster\|Euro header\|BW exhaust\|K&N c.a.i.\|Epic race tune\|Rouge pulleys\|Seibon CF hood\|CSL bumper\|apr gt 250 & splitter\|ST-40\|XR-2\|SS lines\|half cage\|Recaro profi\|Profi 2 harness\|BMWpedals\|BW studs\|
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