Red "Brake" Warning Light - Intermittent

[defever]

Hello B5 drivers,

I would like to ask for your advice / confirmation on what I suspect…

Since last week, the red brake warning light (red circle with "!" in the centre) started to appear intermittently.

They don't come on when the ignition is turned on but:

1. when I make sharp turn to the right (i.e. around mini-roundabout). Left turn is fine.
2. When the car rocks (i.e. going over speed bumps)
3. When I apply the brake hard (just to test, not as an emergency)

Bit of Googling tells me that the warning light is related to brake pad or the brake fluid.

This makes sense because the fluid in the reservoir is near to the “minimum” at level ground and I can assume that the sensor in the tank (which I believe is located on the offside of the tank) is triggered when the car is rocked (as mentioned above). Unfortunately I can’t see the actual state of the brake pads while the wheels are in situ.

I haven’t noticed any further decrease in the fluid level nor any unpleasant noise when the brake is applied so I’m suspecting that the pads are worn to a level that they lowered the fluid level (not a leak, hopefully) and need replacing.

I’m tempted to try DIY brake pad replacement for the first time, but I’m hesitant if I, an amateur, should be fiddling with safety aspect of the car.

Am I in the right direction with this red brake warning light or am I missing something?

Thanks everyone in advance for your advice, as always!

Happy motoring!

[expat2000]

Sounds like you have the diagnosis spot on, might not be pads but worth checking for peace of mind. Changing the pads is not a difficult job but if you are not confident then get a pro to do it, you may need to invest in a tool to push the brake pistons back into the calipers. It should not be an expensive job for a workshop to do though as it's bread and butter to them, they may advise you about your discs as well.

If the pads are OK it may be a small weep from somewhere in the system and worth trying to find but it may have been slowly escaping for years so may be tricky to find. How you deal with this is a personal matter, I would probably just top up and keep a careful eye on the level in future but others may advice getting the whole system checked. Depends on your confidence/paranoia levels :-)

Stuart

[defever]

Thanks very much Stuart! I went to my usual garage in the end to ensure nothing is missed.

So, an update! Took it to a garage this morning after an weekend of nearly 500miles drive. The fluid level was going down much quicker than it has been so I had to top up 250ml to silence the constantly warning sign.

The pads weren't at fault in the end. There was a leak and it was leaking from rear calliper and from the base of the reservoir...! Both replaced (the reservoir tank is £47.44! bit steep for a small plastic tank?), bled, and pressure tested.

Completely different from what I assumed! Lesson learned; seek professional advice (including the forum users)!