BRAKE Light on instrument cluster keeps popping up whenever I brake...why?

[biodole]

Hey guys,

I've been noticing that whenever I brake a tiny bit on the hard side (i mean literally....anything other than super slow and smooth...any firm braking at all) the red "BRAKE" light lights up on my instrument cluster.

I'm not sure what this signifies - as I've researched the problem I found several possibilities. When I had my car in to be repaired about 3 months ago, they checked the brakes and said they were fine and didn't need any work....

I'm baffled...what should I do?


Thanks in advance! :beer:

[RR|Suki]

low fluid or bad sensor, usually means that your pads are low cuz the fluid level goes down as the pads wear. That assumes that the fluid level was correct last time the pads were changed and brakes bled though.

[LeoVampire]

low fluid or bad sensor, usually means that your pads are low cuz the fluid level goes down as the pads wear. That assumes that the fluid level was correct last time the pads were changed and brakes bled though.

He should be right on the money with what he told you!

[Hacklemerc]

What they said ^^^^^^^. Had the same problem and more fluid fixed it...

[LeoVampire]

What they said ^^^^^^^. Had the same problem and more fluid fixed it...

That is basicly your warning indicator that the pads have gotten low enough in friction material to need changing don't just add more fluid and wait to end up with a grinding noise of metal on metal. There are no wear indicators on our pads that start to squeel.

[RF Overlord]

^^^what they said^^^

[Hacklemerc]

That is basicly your warning indicator that the pads have gotten low enough in friction material to need changing don't just add more fluid and wait to end up with a grinding noise of metal on metal. There are no wear indicators on our pads that start to squeel.

Forgot to add that, I did indeed end up having to replace the pads and rotors at a later date. Give the brakes a once over and see how low the pads are.

[Egon Spengler]

Low fluid... Happened to me when I would brake hard and the fluid would slosh around... Add fluid and you should be fine

[biodole]

thanks a lot guys, will check the fluid tomorrow - I find it strange that the garage didn't catch that when I had them perform all the prior repairs...they actually said that the brakes were in perfect condition and didn't need any replacement/maintenance whatsoever. odd...usually I'd assume people want to drum up business...rather than avoid it - thanks again for the tip! will report back tomorrow!

[RR|Suki]

thanks a lot guys, will check the fluid tomorrow - I find it strange that the garage didn't catch that when I had them perform all the prior repairs...they actually said that the brakes were in perfect condition and didn't need any replacement/maintenance whatsoever. odd...usually I'd assume people want to drum up business...rather than avoid it - thanks again for the tip! will report back tomorrow!

could be a couple reasons for that. When the brakes were done last and bled, no new fluid was added, or if you had your fluid changed, not enough was added. Even when filled properly I'm of the opinion that there is still a fair amount of pad when the light comes on, atleast there was on mine. So if the fluid was a little low in the first place, then the brakes could very well look fine even though the light is on.