Over the weekend the "Brake Pad Low" warning indicator came on. I have two questions:

1. It seems this occurred early, as my car is a 2013 with under 20K miles. Is this early or an indication of something else?
2. After the indicator comes on how urgent is the repair needed?

FYI, I plan on replacing with EBC Red pad to eliminate the dusting issue.

Thanks

 

The brake pad low indicator comes on when there is approximately 4 mm thickness left on that pad. Not at all unusual after 20k miles on an XF which are hard on brakes and wear through the pads fairly quickly. No need to panic yet as 4 mm is plenty of pad. However that is just one pad, others may be more worn, you should check them all manually. No need to remove the pads, just whip the wheels off and have a good look at the edges of each pad with a torch/flashlight.
The warning doesn't tell you which pad, it could be front or rear, but more likely to be the rear as the XF is notorious for the rear pads wearing faster than the front pads.
There are only two wear sensors, one on the inner pad on the LHF wheel and one on the inner pad of the RHR wheel.

 

If you got 20k miles from the brakes you're doing pretty well. There is a sensor on one of the front pads and one on one of the back ones. Unfortunately it doesn't tell you which. Although typically rear wears faster.

Sounds right to me that it's low pads. It usually goes with a few mm of pad left but it's not an exact science - if it were me I'd have it seen to within a month but doesn't need to be immediately. Very easy to check if you pop off a wheel or take it to a mechanic to look

Jag will tell you it needs pads and rotors and they charge about 1000 for a pair (front or rear). I'd say get aftermarket pads like ebc reds, posiquiet etc - semi metallic or ceramic and massively reduce brake dust. and have an indy do it. You can also measure rotors to check if they are in tolerance. I changed mine to R1 concepts rotors (drilled and slotted) and much prefer the looks

Make sure you get the right size - it differs across many models. If you have the 5L SC then the front brakes are very big

Lots of great posts on here if you're handy and want to do it yourself

 

And OzXFR beat me to it by 2 minutes!

 

You probably suffer from the same malady as I do - a total inability to type above a snail's pace!
Many a time I have typed up a response only to find that someone else has snuck in before me while I was typing, making my response seem a bit dopey.

 

Just to throw in a recommendation for the EBC Redstuffs. Available for a reasonable price, I have seen pretty much no dust, and no squeal.

 

And they aren't as grabby as the stock pads either. Makes it much easier to come to a smooth stop.

 

hi all! I'd like to jump on with a related question - are the pad wear sensors reusable if the warning light has not come on? are they reusable if the warning light has come on?

 

I've heard that they are more abrasive for the rotors than the stock pads. Is this true, did you guys notice anything?

 

In theory they are reusable if they haven't yet triggered the warning, but in practice it's very difficult not to break them when you try to remove them or reconnect them on the new pads, they go very brittle with age especially the mounting clip on the front one.
Once they have triggered the warning they are not reusable.
They work on a closed/open circuit principle, when working the circuit is closed, then when the brake pad wears down to the trigger point the wire is rubbed through and the circuit goes open.
Many, including me, find they are a pain and a waste of time so we have disabled them, easy to do.
Just cut the wires a bit short of the sensor (the bit that plugs into the brake pad), strip the two wires, join them together (solder, shrink wrap, whatever), then tuck the wires up out of the way (I tie them down with a zip tie).
You must leave the other end plugged in otherwise you get a constant warning/error message, ie you can't just remove them altogether.

 

Haven't had to replace them yet and will be tossing the rotors at that time as well. Even if they are harder on the rotors, they are worth it to me. But I don't drive it many miles each year

 

Yes the are, I reused mine when I switched to EBC reds awhile back. You need to just pry gently up on the small clip that holds it in place, without buggering the clip up because you'll reuse it too.

 

Thanks for the comments..

Ordered the EBC Reds last night, should have in a week or so.

 

One of the easiest brake jobs I have done in years. Hardest part was the anti rattle spring on the front calipers.

 

If you don't want to ruin your rotor, change em pads quickly.

 

Just about to order EBC Redstuff ceramic pads for the front of my 2010 5.0 XF Supercharged. Can anyone confirm part numbers / and recommendation of where to buy? I thought I found them on amazon but it says ‘rear’ in the item title but ‘fits your car at front’ in the amazon info. So not sure if it’s right...

And any particular anti squeal paste you use?