BMW X5 BRAKES
BMW appear to have adopted a belt-and-braces attitude when it comes to the brakes on their X5 and rely upon proven components that are straightforward to service and replace. With dinner plate-sized ventilated discs all round, there are twin-piston calipers and slider bolts at the front, and single-piston calipers at the rear, all of which can be retracted with a pair of water pump pliers.
At the rear, the handbrake mechanism operates a set of brake shoes inside a drum, which is part of the brake disc. And the handbrake shoes have a straightforward toothed adjuster wheel, which can be accessed through the face of the drum/disc.
The only potential complication with the X5’s braking system concerns its handbrake mechanism, which is electronic, but this doesn’t involve the calipers, only the handbrake cable. It’s wise to use diagnostic equipment to switch to maintenance mode and ensure the electronic part of the handbrake cable isn’t activated, but otherwise, working on the rear calipers doesn’t pose any risks.
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