old96A4

http://wiki.audiworld.com/index.php/...ad_Replacement

here is my write up to replace your rear brake pads. you can find it in the Wiki under Q7 tech articles.

GRNMACHINE

old96,
HATS OFF to you!! Great writeup, great pics, lots of detail. This is a huge help for anyone thinking of doing brakes on their own. Really appreciate the details as well. Especially about buying new sensors etc. Last thing I want to do is search for $20 parts when I have everything apart. Would rather replace them while doing the job. One question--what happens if you leave the sensors off?

THANKS AGAIN!!!

old96A4

NOt sure I mentioned it in teh article from the looks of things nothing would happen, you just wouldn't get the light ever I would think. there is no connection to the pad. Looks like they just ware until the wire strips and hits the rotor and shorts to ground and lights the light. If its not there I'm not sure if teh computer can tell the difference or not. I"ll have to try it when the weather gets better here and see what happens. I'll do the write up for the fronts when I have to get to them unless some one beats me to it.

Jusforfun

Well done, that will be used!

OilBurner

Thanks for the write up. I replaced all the pads and sensors on our 2010 Q7 TDI the day after we took delivery (I Hate Brake Dust!). Already had the Hawk LTS pads and sensors ordered and received before the Q came home thanks to posts here on this site. I believe the pad sensors are normally closed (closed loop), so if you disconnect or the pads wear down and break the circuit on the sensors, the dash light comes on. When I replaced the pads, the brake pad light on the indicator lit up. One of the new sensors was bad (open circuit on the VOM) and it caused the light to come on. Once I figured out which wheel (you should always start the vehicle and pump the brakes till firm in between each pad change to reset the pistons AND check for lights), I took one of the new sensors from the front, tested it with the VOM, and went around plugging it into each wheel until the light went out. I used the front sensor on the back (just slightly longer lead) and fixed the problem.

old96A4

So they must work with the current going through the wire and a resister in the connctor. you break the ciruit the resistance changes and the computer flags it. So they have to be on to keep the light out must be. I bet if you figure out the teh resister is, take an old one and modifiy it to give the same vakue and I bet it would work, But as I said before for $20 its not worth messing with and its nice to have the warning.

GRNMACHINE

OilBurner,
Thats wild, I thought I disliked brake dust! U happy with the Hawk's? I am using Satisfied Ceramics on other vehicles and virtualy eliminated the brake dust. So far they have been great. If price is any indication of quality they are not as good as Hawks, they are a little cheaper than the Hawks thru Tire Rack. Which sells both.

OilBurner

Old96A4 - Yes, they must be connected in order to keep the light off on the dash.

GRNMACHINE - I like the Hawks and they seem to have the same bite as the OEM pads, just without the dust. We picked up the Q on a friday night and on Saturday morning my wife comes out to the garage and sees the Q jacked up with the brakes apart and freaks! It only had 54 miles on it. The pads are really easy to replace compared to the XC90 we have.

Arrie

I think it is that when sensor trips you get the light. Tripping is by wearing thru the wire or conductor in the sensor, i.e. when connection thru sensor is lost.

You can verify this by just unplugging a sensor. this should give you a warning light. This means that without sensors you could just connct the two wires together and warning light stays off. You just would not have sensors to warn about worn pads.

Above info I got elsewhere in these forums.

Arrie

IsR

Where in Florida is best to get the pads?