The brake disk warning light has just come on .. how long

[osman]

Ok, so the orange brake disk warning light (check brake wear )has just started to come on... how long have I got?
last service I was told front and rear pads are about 60 % and the disks quite heavily warn and will need replacing along with pads soon but they meet mot requirements
this was about two months ago I've not done much other than a few hundred miles since then.
I know I should get it done asap but I'm skint ... just wondering if I can get away with local trips until the new year .. what do you reckon?

 

[sparkzer]

My rears warn to the point they were scoring the disks and didn't activate the wear indicator (and the score was actually on the driver side, where the wear indicator lives) so personally I wouldn't trust it anyway.

 

[osman]

My rears warn to the point they were scoring the disks and didn't activate the wear indicator (and the score was actually on the driver side, where the wear indicator lives) so personally I wouldn't trust it anyway.

Interesting !

 

[Pauly]

complete opposite for me, everytime the light has come on the pads still had 30-40% minimum left on them, enough for thousands of miles !

 

[sparkzer]

I think the best bet would be to pop a wheel or 2 off and check for wear the old fashioned way so you know for yourself, as driving around with a light on your dashboard will always leaving you wondering every time you see it....at least if you know for sure how much is left you can judge for yourself and can have some confidence when you press the pedal.

 

[osman]

complete opposite for me, everytime the light has come on the pads still had 30-40% minimum left on them, enough for thousands of miles !

Wow

 

[osman]

Wow

I think the best bet would be to pop a wheel or 2 off and check for wear the old fashioned way so you know for yourself, as driving around with a light on your dashboard will always leaving you wondering every time you see it....at least if you know for sure how much is left you can judge for yourself and can have some confidence when you press the pedal.

Agreed !

 

[Alster]

Same as @sparkzer my rear pads we’re down to the metal and scored the discs but no warning light

 

[AussieMick]

I'd be having a quick look and then you will know exactly how worn they are.

 

[Dundee_Kev]

The fact your discs were reported as being worn, it will be the wear edge that has worn through the wire. You'll probably find you'll be good for a little while yet. Common on most cars. If your pads did hit the metal, your disc is scrap anyway so not like your going to cost yourself more money.

Like others have said, have a quick look at them to see how much friction material is left on the pads. And don't run them to the metal and keep driving. I have seen customers do this and keep driving to the point the metal part of the brake pad wears so thin it slips past the carrier or it wears the disc so thin it breaks!

 

[Bigsidavies]

If you’ve got alloys with big holes in then you can push your phone through a suitable hole and take a pic of the pads without having to take the wheel off.