V
volture
I was told volvo s40 brake pads don't have wear sensors on them. Can this be true?
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
M
Mike F
volture said:I was told volvo s40 brake pads don't have wear sensors on them. Can this be true?
No Volvo has ever had a wear sensor - I can't understand why. Other
cars have used pad sensors to turn on a warning light on the dash, it
seems like such a good idea for so little extra cost.
S
Stewart Hargrave
From a point at sea, to the circles of your mind, this is Mike F:
Not so sure; doing proper servicing is surely a better idea.
To my mind, the need for a wear sensor implies poor servicing.
Checking the brake pads by eye, involving taking the wheel off, means
that much else in the wheel/brake assembly can get looked at at the
same time. A sensor would only a good idea when servicing is not being
carried out at all, and in that circumstance, to rely on a fallible
sensor of some sort cannot be a good idea.
And besides, I've always found that the loud grating noise (often
followed by the sound of bending metal) that you get when the pads
need replacing is ample warning.
--
Stewart Hargrave
Faster than public transport
For email, replace 'SpamOnlyToHere' with my name
No Volvo has ever had a wear sensor - I can't understand why. Other
cars have used pad sensors to turn on a warning light on the dash, it
seems like such a good idea for so little extra cost.
Not so sure; doing proper servicing is surely a better idea.
To my mind, the need for a wear sensor implies poor servicing.
Checking the brake pads by eye, involving taking the wheel off, means
that much else in the wheel/brake assembly can get looked at at the
same time. A sensor would only a good idea when servicing is not being
carried out at all, and in that circumstance, to rely on a fallible
sensor of some sort cannot be a good idea.
And besides, I've always found that the loud grating noise (often
followed by the sound of bending metal) that you get when the pads
need replacing is ample warning.
--
Stewart Hargrave
Faster than public transport
For email, replace 'SpamOnlyToHere' with my name
M
Mike F
Stewart said:Not so sure; doing proper servicing is surely a better idea.
To my mind, the need for a wear sensor implies poor servicing.
Checking the brake pads by eye, involving taking the wheel off, means
that much else in the wheel/brake assembly can get looked at at the
same time. A sensor would only a good idea when servicing is not being
carried out at all, and in that circumstance, to rely on a fallible
sensor of some sort cannot be a good idea.
And besides, I've always found that the loud grating noise (often
followed by the sound of bending metal) that you get when the pads
need replacing is ample warning.
--
Stewart Hargrave
Faster than public transport
For email, replace 'SpamOnlyToHere' with my name
Well, there's no doubt proper inspections and servicing is better. I
personally have no problem, especially since the cars I've had for the
last 15 years have all had 5 spoke wheels with openings large enough to
quickly do a brake inspection whenever I want. However, most people
aren't like you and me, they need something to tell them when something
needs attention on their cars. And a light on the dash is a good way to
do that. And since BMW, Mercedes and Porsche (and others I don't know
about, I'm sure) all use sensors and lights, then there becomes an
expectation that other cars will also have the same feature, and as you
say, people start to rely on them.
S
Stuart Gray
Mike F said:Well, there's no doubt proper inspections and servicing is better. I
personally have no problem, especially since the cars I've had for the
last 15 years have all had 5 spoke wheels with openings large enough to
quickly do a brake inspection whenever I want. However, most people
aren't like you and me, they need something to tell them when something
needs attention on their cars. And a light on the dash is a good way to
do that. And since BMW, Mercedes and Porsche (and others I don't know
about, I'm sure) all use sensors and lights, then there becomes an
expectation that other cars will also have the same feature, and as you
say, people start to rely on them.
Volvo is the only car I've had that doesn't have pad wear wiring, and come
to think of it, my old 240 and both my 740's don't or didn't have low fuel
warning either. I do have low washer fluid warning, low brake fluid warning
in the SE tho, but no brake or fuel. It is odd but there must be a "Volvo"
logic behind it. maybe they just ran out of space on the instrument panel
!!!
Stuart.