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Brakes don't stop well in rain...problem or normal?

49K views 96 replies 62 participants last post by  lffd86 
#1 ·
When I'm driving on the freeway in the rain, and I need to slow down for whatever reason, the brakes don't seem to respond for the first couple seconds I push on them.

It would seem normal to get a little water onto the disks or something, therefore demanding a little bit more time for them to "heat up" or something, but should it be taking this long for the brakes to actually start braking? It's like a 2 second delay before it starts to grab well. Even if I hit the brakes hard it still has a second or so delay before it really kicks in.
 
#6 ·
Nope, my car is at stock as can be. I may be exaggerating on the delay of the brakes, but it still has a delay in when I push the brake and when the brakes actually start to grab. It feels like water is between the pads and the disc. On any dry day, I can lightly tap the brake and the car will jerk, obviously from the brakes being applied. In the rain, it seems I push the pedal the same exact way and the brakes will grab after I've help the pedal for a second or so. I guess a good way to look at this problem is to imagine that your brakes are really fading. You press the pedal, and you have to really press them hard/hold them before the car starts to slow down. This is the same thing, but only in the rain.

I will go to the dealer and have them check it out...it's happened every time it rained decently hard.
 
#7 ·
I know what you mean.....

I know exactly what you mean. I posted the same problem here last week. Let me know what the dealer says. I have to resort to pumping the brakes evrey few miles to be on the safe side. I too thought it was due to to brake ducts sucking in so much water. But this can't be safe. Didn't BMW research this before putting this into production? Keep us posted.
 
#9 ·
I get the same problem. Called dealer. Their response was that brakes get cold and have to be kept warm. I do the same thing as Hyper330ci. I just tap them every couple of clicks. The trick is to remember.
 
#11 ·
Yes, I know that the brakes aren't going to work as well in the rain. I said that in my first post.

I'm just saying that it seems like it takes way too long for the brakes to warm-up. I don't even get full braking power for at least a whole second, maybe two.

I drove my VR4 Spyder in the rain all the time, and it never had this much of a problem. Yeah, of course there was a little bit of warming up needed, but it wasn't this bad.
 
#12 ·
Ha.... I was wondering why my car is doing this, and it appears that other people have the same problem. You really have to mash you brakes at first in the rain until it almost seams to burn the water off and then they work great. I was discussing this with my dad, and he told me that in older cars you would have to do this, and after the water burned off etc... or whatever happens without antilock brakes the tires would lock up as soon as the brakes started to grab.

Oh yeah... I have the Metech front bumper.... ummm... I wonder if there's a patern here.
 
#13 ·
Well, for whatever it's worth, my 2003 330Ci has the same delay when braking in heavy rain or water puddles. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who noticed this. What is funny is that this is the first car I have that has such a huge delay. It must have something to do with the disc and/or wheel design.

I guess I now understand why on the Maybach they have a rain sensor that moves the pad just close enough to the disc to remove the water without actually applying the brakes.

BTW, I know I'm resurrecting an old thread, but I figured any tidbit of info could help someone else searching the forums as I have done.
 
#14 ·
Hmmm...I find this relatively normal. My old Saab had exactly the same problem you guys describe, gradually getting worse as the pads wore. Even with new pads, I'd have the same problem after getting the car washed. On my 330Ci, I find the car to be great in the rain, including braking. But then again, my car's only a day old at this point. I'd check the pads first before anything else. And maybe the surface of the disc as well. Good luck, everyone!
 
#16 ·
Brakes getting cold is one thing. A 1-2 second delay in your braking should NOT be normal. My car was doing this and I thought the brake ducts were sucking up a lot of water. I checked out the brake ducts and they actually suck air behind the entire wheel hub, so that wouldn't be it.

I took it to the dealer and they replaced my front pads and rotors. Guess what? Problem gone.
 
#17 ·
I dont have the Mtech but I do have the sport bumper and I noticed a difference when I changed from the stock 323 bumper to the 330i sport bumper, I think it definetly lets in more water, the first time I pump it clears the water away second time they work fine. It only happens when it rains really hard though.
 
#18 ·
old thread but actual problem

Hello everyone...

I found this thread by searching for the words "problem brake rain"...and I can tell you that in Germany lots of people have this massive delay of brake function in hard rain - especially in winter - too.

Here you get a link to a german board to see how many people in their 330s of the E46 model have this problem. We are about 60 people driving 330s. The problem exists at all kinds of model: Touring, Limousine, Cabrio and Coupe. Also Gasoline or DIESEL. All these cars have the same braking wheels and pads.

http://www.auto-treff.com/bmw/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=149271&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

Checkin out the data of the first - about fourty cars - told us, that the appearance of the problem is not a problem of the M TECH II BUMPER.
Also the "Stock" cars have the same problem.

But in Germany one can buy a special brake, offered by BMW. Its called "Compound BREMSE"

We in Germany can`t believe that we should pay extra money to get a brake system that works fine/well. In our opinion the cars are much to expensive to buy optional tuning kits to get the brakes work as they should do.

Does anyone here know if anyone outside Germany has won against BMW e.g. "on court = "vor Gericht" => that BMW had to mount the slotted rotors on the car??

Greeeetz Sixxx
(sorry for my bad english, lessons were long ago)
 
#19 ·
funkeycold said:
When I'm driving on the freeway in the rain, and I need to slow down for whatever reason, the brakes don't seem to respond for the first couple seconds I push on them.

It would seem normal to get a little water onto the disks or something, therefore demanding a little bit more time for them to "heat up" or something, but should it be taking this long for the brakes to actually start braking? It's like a 2 second delay before it starts to grab well. Even if I hit the brakes hard it still has a second or so delay before it really kicks in.
This happens to me. It was really scary the first time but now I just anticipate this and all is fine. It is a build up of water on the rotors and pads. This is why BMW has brake pads that gently press against the rotors during precipitation.
 
#22 ·
Yeah, Qshio3000, I'm afraid he is serious. It's like this: you drive in the rain (say on the highway), step on the brakes, and for a moment nothing happens. When the pads are finally done wiping the water off the discs, deceleration ensues. It's pretty nerve wracking the first time, especially considering how powerful the brakes are in dry conditions.

Clearly there is something in the design of the bumper, underbody, wheels, etc., that promotes air/water flow towards the discs. This makes sense in a way, because in the dry, you want as much air as possible cooling the discs.

I'm not surprised that the Germans, with their autobahns, have noticed as well. Can you imagine the scare when you're tooling around at 130+mph? As mzarolinski hinted to, this is probably why the new 3 series (E90) has the brake pads move closer to the disc, when the wipers are activated, in an effort to dry out the discs.
 
#25 ·
This problem - wet & cold braking - depends on the pads. I had the OEM pads on my car and never had a problem. I switched to Axxis Metal Masters and now I have the problem. After talking with Mike Miller (BMWnsCCA tech guru) about this, he said that it's a combination of the pads and the rotors. Basically, the non-oem pads need heat to operate properly. Solution has 2 parts: anticipate traffic - look ahead of the car in front of you; occassionally depress the brake pedal for about 1 or 2 seconds to heat the pads.
 
#26 ·
Hello Again...

does anybody of you know a case in which this problem has ended in an accident.

Here in germany it`s hard to get the evidence that an accident occured because of this problem...

Does anybody of you know such a case`?`?

If someone wants to get more information how many people in Germany have this problem too, please click here:

http://www.auto-treff.com/bmw/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=149271

We are now about 64 people.

Sixxxpack
 
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