Does The Is ..............

[MrADeveci]

...... have a brake pad level warning indicator ?

When the pads reach a certain limit, will the (!) light on my dash appear ?

I couldn't see anything obvious around the caliper to say it would ?

I got the pads, just need to change them very soon ....................

[Brettster]

I dont think they do, at least, I never noticed it on mine, they may squeel tho

[Monster-Mat]

no.

its done by a sensor in the fluid pot

[lexicon]

The brake pad wear indicator consists of (to quote the manual) "a squealing or scraping noise while driving" - hi-tech or what

[MrADeveci]

no.

its done by a sensor in the fluid pot

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........... cheers mate.

Would that trigger the warning light to come on then ?

[lexicon]

The light comes on if the fluid is low, not for pad wear (see previous post).

[Monster-Mat]

however.........as the pads wear the level drops. thats why the brake generic light comes on, and not a low fluid level light

so Ahmet as your pads wear the light will come on........and the non technical audible warning will be caused by the metal tabs on the pads

Edited November 19, 2005 by Monster-Mat

[lexicon]

so Ahmet as your pads wear the light will come on

I think that's misleading - pad wear will not usually cause a sufficient drop to trigger the warning light unless the level was low to start with.

The level may also have been topped up at service in the meantime.

Better to say it MIGHT cause the light to come on but you should not rely on it for that - you should inspect the pads.

[MrADeveci]

Cheers again guys ............ be on the safe side I'll just change em over .........

anyone offering up ? :D

[SHAHZ]

Im in exactly the same situation, have had the pads sitting in my boot since july i think its a good thing ive hardly driven it

[lexus_IS_200]

Im in exactly the same situation, have had the pads sitting in my boot since july i think its a good thing ive hardly driven it

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is it easy to do changing the pads

[Brettster]

very easy as long as you have the right stuff, also make sure to buy some copper grease and some new clips for the calipers just incase. before you start

[derekyau]

Cheers again guys ............ be on the safe side I'll just change em over .........

anyone offering up ?    :D

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No problem. Not difficult.

D.

[ColinBarber]

so Ahmet as your pads wear the light will come on

I think that's misleading - pad wear will not usually cause a sufficient drop to trigger the warning light unless the level was low to start with.

The level may also have been topped up at service in the meantime.

Better to say it MIGHT cause the light to come on but you should not rely on it for that - you should inspect the pads.

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no you shouldn't rely on the warning light, it's not meant for that and you will probably find your dealer will top up the fluid when serviced so will never drop low enough.

[Monster-Mat]

i agree, in theory, however the level should never need topping up!

so if you dont want to actually look....just wait till you hear the screeching pad wear indiator

on the mitsubishi, it actually states that when pad wear is low, the subsiquent drop in fluid will illuminate the pad wear indicator.

Edited November 20, 2005 by Monster-Mat

[Tony-Bones]

The brake warning indicator is triggered by a float in the brake fluid reservoir, calculations are that as the pads wear the hydraulic pistons in the calipers will extend, in this event the brake fluid level will drop resulting in the 'float triggering' a warning on the dash......... UNLESS.... some idiot on a service tops up the reservoir.

[trinilex]

Well said Dr......

trinilex..........

[lexicon]

The brake warning indicator is triggered by a float in the brake fluid reservoir

True

calculations are that as the pads wear the hydraulic pistons in the calipers will extend, in this event the brake fluid level will drop resulting in the 'float triggering' a warning on the dash

Not true - the reservoir has enough capacity to allow from 0% to 100% wear plus some reserve. Don't forget that the "level" is subject to change due to ascent/descent and cornering attitude.

Also consider that, as pads wear at different rates, you may have 100% worn fronts with the rears anywhere between 0 and 100%. The level therefore cannot be used to judge the wear of any particular pads.

UNLESS.... some idiot on a service tops up the reservoir.

I would not consider topping up of brake fluid to be idiotic - it is a normal service check.

The thing is, you CANNOT use the level warning lamp to reliably indicate the state of the pads - that's not what it's for.

[Monster-Mat]

whatever.....

the mitsubishi manual must be wrong, the technical handbooks must be wrong aswell.

no one said it was a definative guage of pad wear.

it was stated that it was a means to see when the pads have worn, if you did wait for the light to come on.......the audible indicator would sound anyway.

so its arguing for the sake of arguing

[Tony-Bones]

The brake warning indicator is triggered by a float in the brake fluid reservoir

True

calculations are that as the pads wear the hydraulic pistons in the calipers will extend, in this event the brake fluid level will drop resulting in the 'float triggering' a warning on the dash

Not true - the reservoir has enough capacity to allow from 0% to 100% wear plus some reserve. Don't forget that the "level" is subject to change due to ascent/descent and cornering attitude.

Also consider that, as pads wear at different rates, you may have 100% worn fronts with the rears anywhere between 0 and 100%. The level therefore cannot be used to judge the wear of any particular pads.

UNLESS.... some idiot on a service tops up the reservoir.

I would not consider topping up of brake fluid to be idiotic - it is a normal service check.

The thing is, you CANNOT use the level warning lamp to reliably indicate the state of the pads - that's not what it's for.

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Hmmm, not happy with that! as we know the Max/Min scale within the reservoir dictates the fluid level, I'm sure we both realise 2/3 of the braking force and wear will involve the front pads, since the depth of the pads is some 10/15mm this measurement alone once worn will allow the float to be at the 'calculated' position to indicate a warning.... not the minimum level in the reservoir, and as I'm sure you know the rear pads offer little toward the fluid level in a measurement toward wear.

Accent/decent if the fluid is low this will flash the warning light...... it's not instant! in your face, time to stop, get a train type of warning.

The warning light is for 'brakes' via the reservoir! but i do Agree with you this cannot be relied on 100% due to the reasons in above posts.

[ColinBarber]

I would not consider topping up of brake fluid to be idiotic - it is a normal service check.

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I would because when you then have to change the pads you have to drain some out because it would go over the maximum. Unless you have a leak the amount of fluid in the system will remain the same, no need to add any and by opening the reservoir you just let moisture in.

[Monster-Mat]

I would not consider topping up of brake fluid to be idiotic - it is a normal service check.

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I would because when you then have to change the pads you have to drain some out because it would go over the maximum. Unless you have a leak the amount of fluid in the system will remain the same, no need to add any and by opening the reservoir you just let moisture in.

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thanks colin

[lexicon]

I would not consider topping up of brake fluid to be idiotic - it is a normal service check.

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I would because when you then have to change the pads you have to drain some out because it would go over the maximum. Unless you have a leak the amount of fluid in the system will remain the same, no need to add any and by opening the reservoir you just let moisture in.

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Yes, that's a fair point, but it IS a check item on the service.

You may also have a fluid drain/bleed/refill at any time that does not neccessarily corespond with having all new pads - most pad replacement procedures warn you to check the rising level for that reason.

My point was that, for various reasons, the actual amount of fluid in the system is an unknown quantity, so you can't rely on it for measurement purposes - plus all the other stuff about uneven pad wear etc.

Matt - I accept the stuff about Mitsubishi, not familiar with them so I take what you say at face value.

The question was about the IS and the answer is still no, it doesn't have a pad wear warning lamp.

I wasn't wanting to start an argument - I just don't want people to think they can rely on that light to tell them when their brakes are worn.

[Monster-Mat]

I would not consider topping up of brake fluid to be idiotic - it is a normal service check.

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I would because when you then have to change the pads you have to drain some out because it would go over the maximum. Unless you have a leak the amount of fluid in the system will remain the same, no need to add any and by opening the reservoir you just let moisture in.

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Yes, that's a fair point, but it IS a check item on the service.

You may also have a fluid drain/bleed/refill at any time that does not neccessarily corespond with having all new pads - most pad replacement procedures warn you to check the rising level for that reason.

My point was that, for various reasons, the actual amount of fluid in the system is an unknown quantity, so you can't rely on it for measurement purposes - plus all the other stuff about uneven pad wear etc.

Matt - I accept the stuff about Mitsubishi, not familiar with them so I take what you say at face value.

The question was about the IS and the answer is still no, it doesn't have a pad wear warning lamp.

I wasn't wanting to start an argument - I just don't want people to think they can rely on that light to tell them when their brakes are worn.

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i know what your saying, but its because you didnt take my original ....and subsiquent comments at face value , that we now have this convuluted conversation

no one said it was a definative guage of pad wear.

it was stated that it was a means to see when the pads have worn, if you did wait for the light to come on.......the audible indicator would sound anyway.

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anyway...thers no way Ahmet will get his hands dirty attempting a pad change :)

[lexicon]

i know what your saying, but its because you didnt take my original ....and subsiquent comments at face value , that we now have this convuluted conversation

Yeah, well, that's because I was too busy replying to WIM and I didn't actually notice your post until afterwards

Anyway, I reckon it's time for me to STFU - life's too short :D