X1 brake failure

[Nellie]

2018 X1 owned by daughter. FSH and fully maintained.

9 weeks ago she nipped down to shops for fish & chips, and braked behind turning car - brakes didn’t function resulting in mounting the kerb to avoid collision and scraping down the side of her car.

 

Insurance company won’t authorise repairs until brakes fixed, and BMW now want £2,000+ to repair brakes.

 

Anyone had experience or advice of litigation process to break us out of this nightmare?

 

cheers

 

Nellie.

[Greydog]

Morning Nellie

Welcome to the Forum

The cause of the brake failure needs identifying and fixing, you say the car has a full history has a brake service been carried out ? By whom ? And when? Has the brake fluid level been checked ? Brakes are hydraulic in a closed system if they are losing fluid the leak certainly  needs identifying and fixing. Has your daughter noticed any fluid on the floor or reduced braking effect (soft pedal) before the incident ?

I don't understand your insurers, if a car was towed to the body shop they would repair the body and paint not test drive it ? But hey Insurers rule we can't move without it these days

Dave

[Nellie]

Hi Dave

MoT and 45,000 mile service in August. No fluid leaks, and fluid level checked post-accident - fine.

car went to BMW garage who reported master cylinder failure, and £1,400 to replace. Insurance is with Tesco.

Thinking maybe we need to contact ombudsman for help to break this standoff.

[Greydog]

Morning Nellie

The Master Cylinder in your car was used in several BMW Models from 1 series to Mini so should be available from a good Auto Factors 

I would expect to pay around a £150 or so (may be double if BMW OEM) plus Brake fluid a BMW Dealer will charge around £200 + per hr that is around 5 hrs labour ??

Find a Good Independent garage and ask for a price to replace the Brake Master Cylinder

As for the Insurers I have used Tesco insurance and (touches wood) never had to use it, are the brakes part of the claim? If not I am at a loss 

Good Luck

Dave

[Nellie]

Hi Dave 

BMW quoted £400 for the cylinder and £900 labour.

Tesco have insisted the accident was caused by the brake failure so won’t cover those costs, and won’t authorise the bodywork repair until they’re fixed.

Daughter has so far lost her no claims, facing a big bill, still paying the lease bubble, lost the cost of their driving holiday to France. Life sucks.

Cheers

 

Nellie 

[PJH]

Hi Nellie, My name is Paul and this exact thing just happened to my daughter in her 2018 X1. Would love to learn more about what you found out. Thanks, Paul

[Nellie]

Hi Paul 

 

BMW insisted that as the brake fluid was touched by the independent garage who did the 45,000 service, then it was not a BMW problem.  BMW eventually changed the brake fluid and retested, and NFF.  Daughter had to suck up those costs plus the repairs to get her car back.

 

Update: probably unrelated, but worth noting.

coming back from the Lake District in the rain (June 2025), the O/S rear brake seized. Car was recovered back to Reading.

Independent garage replaced calliper and pads, then ABS system, as they discovered a known fault with these brakes in that the ABS senses when the wipers are working and applies slight brake pressure to clear any potential water from the brakes . . . . 

[Greydog]

Morning Nellie and Paul

As far as I was aware and have read the issue is with the ABS unit or to be accurate 2 ABS units (ATE MK100 and ATE MK 25A) that were fitted to quite a few models (not just BMW) between 2011 and 2020 and shows more often on cars with DSC. The big problem is the rate of failures compared to the number of cars with the unit fitted is small so BMW avoid recall on safety grounds, plus it seems (as far as I know) to only seems to happen outside warranty ie. over 3 years old leaving repair cost with the Owner.

BMW will also argue that a car serviced by their Dealerships would pick up the fault at Brake Service and advise repair. Always expensive as BMW will replace units not repair them.

BMW will also wash their hands if a repair or service is carried out by a Non Franchised Garage (But they are not alone here just about all Main Dealers and Manufacturers are the same) That doesn't mean all is lost there are a few Repair Specialists in the UK who repair (and improve) these units one I have used is ECU Testing who are very good.

Now the calliper sticking? is the the ABS pump not releasing all pressure after braking or a fault with the calliper its self? it needs checking with a BMW capable Diagnostic system which would identify if it was a calliper failing/sticking or ABS issue. Also it is good engineering practice if a calliper sticks to either service both callipers or replace both If replacing Fluid only use BMW Spec fluid. 

It is sad to read tales of woe like this as generally the X1 is a good car and there is nothing wrong with Independent Garages other than some do not have the specialist knowledge or equipment 

If you are not able to DIY then I would find a BMW Specialist close by 

I am not a BMW garage just an enthusiastic car owner who loves to service and maintain my own cars plus some friends and families. Over the years I have amassed a strong collection of tools and knowledge including Diagnostics which allows me to work at Dealer level on several makes (Volvo, Mercedes, Audi, and BMW)

Dave