How To Deal With BMW Yellow Brake Light? [Diagnosis & Fix]

While driving a BMW, you may notice that your brake light comes on and stays on. In most cases, you may have seen a red light. However, it can be yellow sometimes. Whichever color it is, it is a warning, so what should you do?

The yellow brake light on a BMW indicates issues with the brake system.  There are many other reasons; it may be that the brake pads are worn or the brake fluid is low or leaking. There are many ways to deal with them.

However, no matter what the yellow brake means, the first and last thing you need is to remove the light. With this regard, we have structured a complete guide on how to deal with this issue beforehand. Stay with us till the end. 

What Causes of BMW Yellow Brake Light?

Identifying the root cause that triggers the Yellow light on your BMW’s screen is the first step in creating an action plan to fix it. The most common reasons for it to come on are listed below. 

Low Brake Fluid

Brake fluid helps transmit the force of your foot to the floor pedal and the brake pad. Because your BMW has problems stopping without brake fluid, your brake pedal may face failure. 

If your brake fluid leaks or the fluid level is extremely low, your car will no longer conduct effective braking, making it unsafe. In this situation, the yellow brake light will be turned on to warn you. 

Worn Brake Pads 

When you step on the brake pedal, the brake rotors or drums on the wheels are pressed against the brake pads. That friction, in turn, slows the wheels, which causes the car to stop. However, this constant friction is responsible for gradually removing your brake pads. 

When you apply the brake pedal, you’re wearing away some of the brake shoes. As you keep on driving as time goes on, the brake light will be illuminated to inform you that the brake pads should be changed.

However, some experts claim that the yellow light turns on when the brake pad wear sensor is bad or completely disconnected. Whatever the fact, it’s connected with the brake pad issue indeed. 

ABS Issue

In case the yellow light is constantly illuminating, there might be an issue with the Brake Assist feature. Sometimes, Brake Assist tends to apply brakes automatically, turning the brake warning light on. 

If you think something is unusual in your ABS, you should immediately go to the nearest service center. 

How to Diagnose Yellow Brake Light Issue on A BMW?

As you can see, several causes can lead to the yellow brake light issue on a BMW. But which one is the actual culprit on your BMW? For this, you have to diagnose the issue properly. Here is the simplest diagnosis process:

Diagnosis 1: Checking the Brake Pad Wear Sensor

Since worn brake pads or a bad brake pad wear sensor is the most common cause of turning the yellow brake light, you should make a checkup regarding the brake pads. You can do this in the following way:

Locate and Press the BC Button

First, you should locate the Board Computer or BC button on your BMW’s turn indicator lever. When you detect it, press and hold it down for a while. The light is glowing yellow. 

You’ll notice the error code CCID 328 is displayed on top of the dashboard. This indicates that the error code signifies a brake pad wear sensor.

Raise Your Car

Most of the time, this situation is related to wear and tear on the front-end brakes. Therefore, you have to raise your car and get a lug wrench.

Remove Tires

Afterward, remove the tires, then you will see a black box beneath a small yellow sticker. Pop it into the opening containing a hole in the top, and then you will see that your brake pad wear sensors connect to it, forming an electrical connection.

Examine the Connector

Now, examine the connector’s pins. If they are bent, straighten them, reconnect the power cable, reset the light, and check whether it reappears. Turn your vehicle on, wait several seconds, and check to see if the light turns on. 

If the light has not returned, pull the emergency brake, then the direct light comes on, but the yellow warning light is still off. This way, we know that the 328 error code is for the front brake wear sensor.

Diagnosis 2: Checking Brake Fluid

If the yellow light turns on back, you need to check the brake fluid from the reservoir. The brake fluid reservoir will generally be found under the hood of the master cylinder. If you do not know where to go, the info should be given in your owner’s manual. 

Note that it must have minimum and maximum markings outside, and the brake fluid should be between the minimum and maximum. Check it to be between the lines.

You should also check the color of your brake fluid to see whether it’s too dark. If it’s too dark, it indicates brake fluid replacement. 

How To Deal With BMW Yellow Brake Light?

If you can diagnose the cause of the yellow brake light, you have done a big part in fixing the issue. Since several causes can lead to this issue, you must fix a particular component responsible for your case. Let’s see how to fix the yellow brake light.

Replace Worn Brake Pads

If you discover the brake pads on your BMW are extremely worn, you should not have any issues switching to another set. However, brake wear sensors may also need to be replaced. 

Whatever the scenario is, you’ve also got to inspect the brake discs. If they are damaged (or worn), you may want to replace the brake/disc assembly.

Change or Top Up Brake Fluid

In case the brake fluid is low, you have to top it up. However, the brake fluid sometimes looks ugly when it’s too old. Whatever the case, you shouldn’t ever keep the fluid level below the recommended level. 

If you don’t find the specific fluid for your BMW, you can opt for DOT 5. However, the reservoir should be bled properly before you fill the new fluid. 

Worn brake pads can be the root cause of low brake fluid. As the surfaces wear out, the brake fluid yields greater clearance against the thinner brake pads further into the disc, which allows sufficient resistance to the brakes. 

This is displaced by the fluid, resulting in a decreased fluid level in the reservoir. Replacing the brake pads first can remedy the problem if the brake fluid level is not low enough. Topping up the fluid can be done after, as required. 

However, if the fluid level is low, but the brake pads hardly show any existing damage, it’s probable that there’s a brake fluid leak. You should have your mechanic inspect the issue further. 

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FAQs

It’s worthless to say that we have tried to cover almost everything we need to draw a general conclusion. However, it’s perfectly normal if you are left with some concerns about the BMW yellow brake light. Consequently, we have created this section to address these very common inquiries. 

Final Words

As of now, you’ve got an idea about what the yellow light background in BMW indicates. From what we have said, it is clear that you should not drive a car if the warning light is on. As part of the reminder, we have brought it up again.

Lastly, note that regardless of how simple it may seem to fix the brakes on your vehicle yourself, we always advise that you leave this to a professional. It would be best to speak to your closest BMW dealership.