Blue rings on brake disc/rotor? - Dealer blaming me?

[frikkieh]

You take it for suspension , they also do the brakes, now you have trouble with the brakes. This tells me they cocked something up like using the wrong pads. I had it before, but it was an incorrectly supplied radiator fan.
Edit: so it is possible that the parts are incorrect - just check that.

 

[Philip Foglar]

See what happens as the disk/pads bed in - the agent's conclusion and reaction seems suspect though. Not related but how's this for ridiculous reasoning - you can drive for a distance with a punctured BMW Approved RFT and that's fine, but don't fit non-RFT's or non-BMW Approved tyres, because they might cause damage to the suspension, and best of all, gearbox! LOL Madness, madness, madness! :nonono:

 

[@ri]

See what happens as the disk/pads bed in - the agent's conclusion and reaction seems suspect though. Not related but how's this for ridiculous reasoning - you can drive for a distance with a punctured BMW Approved RFT and that's fine, but don't fit non-RFT's or non-BMW Approved tyres, because they might cause damage to the suspension, and best of all, gearbox! LOL Madness, madness, madness! :nonono:

:thumbdo:

 

[moranor@axis]

I wish they gave me a 3l turbo! It's a 2l. Seriously how much braking force can I make LOL..

for some reason i always thought you were one of the 135i guys :fencelook:

 

[@ri]

I wish they gave me a 3l turbo! It's a 2l. Seriously how much braking force can I make LOL..

for some reason i always thought you were one of the 135i guys :fencelook:

lol :rollsmile:

 

[Coisman]

I wish they gave me a 3l turbo! It's a 2l. Seriously how much braking force can I make LOL..

for some reason i always thought you were one of the 135i guys :fencelook:

imp:
And if any of you guys actually took the time to click on his profile you would have seen he drives a E88 120i. :thumb:

 

[Raybimmer]

If discs are hot and you hit a pothole full of water the rapid cooling can cause hot spots or even cracks . Here you would see a blue area on the disc .If new pads are fitted they should tell you to brake lightly for first 200 km or so . The pistons have been pushed back into the calipers to fit new pads so they do not stick out so far , there should be less vibration and high frequency noise . You could take pads off , give discs a roughen with emery cloth - just remove surface brightness then smear a layer of copaslip on backs of pads and refit . Use brakes lightly for a day or two then follow bedding in process as described - do not stop dead during the process !!

 

[Philip Foglar]

If discs are hot and you hit a pothole full of water the rapid cooling can cause hot spots or even cracks . Here you would see a blue area on the disc .If new pads are fitted they should tell you to brake lightly for first 200 km or so . The pistons have been pushed back into the calipers to fit new pads so they do not stick out so far , there should be less vibration and high frequency noise . You could take pads off , give discs a roughen with emery cloth - just remove surface brightness then smear a layer of copaslip on backs of pads and refit . Use brakes lightly for a day or two then follow bedding in process as described - do not stop dead during the process !!

+1

 

[andrewbuch]

Your brakes lasted 30K Km & they telling you that you are heavy on them?? That's BS..

 

[MikeR]

the blue rings happen from excessive heat build up - it must have been there before the pad change as the bedding in would not have done that.

The noise will go away dont fear.

 

[@ri]

Thanks guys.

So @MikeR if there are blue rings (which I can't see anything blue as such) will they affect stopping power?

Thx

 

[netercol]

how the hell does one "brake excessively" ??

 

[@ri]

how the hell does one "brake excessively" ??

I have no clue!

 

[Bemused]

Surely, if the car brake system is original, you should be able to brake as hard as you like as often as you like without the brakes being negatively affected. If they burn blue or buckle or fade to buggery or squeal then it has to be a design flaw. That has to be BM's problem, not the owner/driver's problem. I'd look at the consumer protection act and see if there isn't a comeback to the dealership. It may be worth mentioning to them that you intend looking into that area if they don't want to co-operate in a reasonable manner. My 2c worth.

 

[Philip Foglar]

Well, in most cases the stopping power of these cars is immense, and the by-product of this is heat, lots of it! For instance, going down a long and steep pass making lots of use of the brakes is fine, as long as the car is moving so that there is enough air flow to cool the brakes down. The worst thing to do, is to stop at the bottom of the pass, and even worse, sit with your foot on the brakes then! I would think though that BMW brakes are designed with performance in mind so should be pretty robust - i.e. would take a lot of abuse to ultimately be heat damaged.

Basically, a general thing I always say regarding brakes, look after them so that they can look after you!! :thumbs:

 

[@ri]

Surely, if the car brake system is original, you should be able to brake as hard as you like as often as you like without the brakes being negatively affected. If they burn blue or buckle or fade to buggery or squeal then it has to be a design flaw. That has to be BM's problem, not the owner/driver's problem. I'd look at the consumer protection act and see if there isn't a comeback to the dealership. It may be worth mentioning to them that you intend looking into that area if they don't want to co-operate in a reasonable manner. My 2c worth.

Thanks, good to keep in mind! The system is original. I totally agree with you.

Unless they are trying to imply I tracked my car or something? (which i haven't..) Anyways, this guy was just the mechanic/workshop foreman or whatever like you guys said.. But I don't see why I should have to wait for the RMT (Regional Manager or whatever) to become available in October until they sort it out.

Appreciate all thoughts/advice. Thanks everyone :thumbs:

---

Well, in most cases the stopping power of these cars is immense, and the by-product of this is heat, lots of it! For instance, going down a long and steep pass making lots of use of the brakes is fine, as long as the car is moving so that there is enough air flow to cool the brakes down. The worst thing to do, is to stop at the bottom of the pass, and even worse, sit with your foot on the brakes then! I would think though that BMW brakes are designed with performance in mind so should be pretty robust - i.e. would take a lot of abuse to ultimately be heat damaged.

Basically, a general thing I always say regarding brakes, look after them so that they can look after you!! :thumbs:

I'm usually quite conscious like that. But even so, like you said they should be more performance oriented. I personally think that BMW are skimping on parts for the lower models, and leave the good stuff for the more powerful models like the 135i etc.

 

[Philip Foglar]

That is possible! Wouldn't put it past them!

Hope it comes right though! :thumbs:

 

[@ri]

That is possible! Wouldn't put it past them!

Hope it comes right though! :thumbs:

Thanks mate will let you guys know what happens

 

[MikeR]

how the hell does one "brake excessively" ??

as I mentioned "EXCESSIVE HEAT BUILD UP" that can happen by sitting on the breaks for too long - Ie going down a very long mountain pass on the breaks, and not excessive breaking. :fishwack:
its not a bad thing, so dont let them bullshit you - the breaks where design for abuse, it wont effect breaking at all - its mostly a discoloring of the metal from higher heats than its used to, not very clear to the untrained eye.

 

[@ri]

how the hell does one "brake excessively" ??

as I mentioned "EXCESSIVE HEAT BUILD UP" that can happen by sitting on the breaks for too long - Ie going down a very long mountain pass on the breaks, and not excessive breaking. :fishwack:
its not a bad thing, so dont let them bullshit you - the breaks where design for abuse, it wont effect breaking at all - its mostly a discoloring of the metal from higher heats than its used to, not very clear to the untrained eye.

Thanks for clarifying again!

Wont let them BS me. It's just the way he said it like he was accusing me of excessive braking wtf. Have they honestly not seen anything like that before that they have to call the regional manager out..

Maybe it had to do with the fact that it was 5PM on a Friday (after just colleting my car) and he wanted to go home?

Maybe he was an incompetent mechanic as mentioned?

At the end of the day the decision is probably not even up to him to make.

I dunno, but bottom line is if it's something so critical as braking where it is going to affect stopping power of the car then motorplan should replace it straight away without such inconvenience!