Brembo Brake Upgrade

[24KaratHoe]

Dealer installed Brembo brake package on 2022 Z71 Tahoe and says they are unable to reset the front pad life but can reset the rear
Anyone know anything about this?
I find it hard to believe this feature can be ordered on the build but won’t display front pad life

 

[Macrez21]

It is true. The front pistons are much bigger there is no room for pad sensor reader. The rears retain it because all they do is change the color. (Different caliper but same size). I kept my original brakes after the dealer installed the them from factory and the module behind them is quite large.

 

[DuraYuk]

Curious when you get this big brake kit is the front pad sensor turned off by dealer ? Or just shows 100% the whole time ?

 

[ProfeZZor X]

Curious when you get this big brake kit is the front pad sensor turned off by dealer ? Or just shows 100% the whole time ?

When I upgraded my brakes with a different 8-pot Brembo kit, it came with modified sensors that tracked the wear on the pads. The Brembo sensor heads are at a right angle, so the stock ones wouldn't fit in the little space they needed to fit into, so my installer had to splice the stock cables to fit the new sensor. Otherwise, they still work just like the factory sensors.

 

[BacDoc]

When I upgraded my brakes with a different 8-pot Brembo kit, it came with modified sensors that tracked the wear on the pads. The Brembo sensor heads are at a right angle, so the stock ones wouldn't fit in the little space they needed to fit into, so my installer had to splice the stock cables to fit the new sensor. Otherwise, they still work just like the factory sensors.

This is exactly what my dealer service technician told me.
He said he could make the brake life sensor read percentage if he “spliced” it to work.
I asked him if he would do it if it was his truck.
He said hell no, and asked me if I change the oil based on the OLM ( he knows I don’t and change the oil every 3-4k miles).

He told me that inspecting, testing and replacing components is part of routine maintenance and better than relying on any instrument monitor. He said he will inspect and check my components and fluids every time I bring the truck in for service and let me know if anything needs to be done.
He’s not a fan of the idiot gages except for tire pressure and fluid temperature.
This same technician has kept my last few Chevy trucks running perfectly for over 80k miles with out anything more than preventive maintenance.

I got the point.

 

[Stbentoak]

My dealer installed my Brembo's and the pad life monitor works just fine. Front and rear show 96% with 5k miles on them... Just as I would expect......

 

[BacDoc]

My dealer installed my Brembo's and the pad life monitor works just fine. Front and rear show 96% with 5k miles on them... Just as I would expect......

I’m curious to see if the sensor was spliced to show the pad life.
As the other poster mentioned the Brembo performance brake sensor is at a different angle and cables need to be spliced to fit and read the “life”.
I was given the option and went with the mechanic’s opinion, he thought it best not to splice.
He also told me to change my oil at 500 miles and not to use the OLM monitor to go by the “life” of the oil. Both good advice.

 

[Stbentoak]

I’m curious to see if the sensor was spliced to show the pad life.
As the other poster mentioned the Brembo performance brake sensor is at a different angle and cables need to be spliced to fit and read the “life”.
I was given the option and went with the mechanic’s opinion, he thought it best not to splice.
He also told me to change my oil at 500 miles and not to use the OLM monitor to go by the “life” of the oil. Both good advice.

I changed mine at 500 and then I changed it at 5000.. I'm going to go every 5K after that. That's more than what's required. And all I'm really willing to do.
It'll run forever. Or it'll throw a bearing and I'll get a new motor.

I'm wondering if you order the brake kit from the factory if it doesn't come with its own special sensors that clip right in. They could be spliced. I don't know. Don't really care as long as it reflects properly.

 

[BacDoc]

I changed mine at 500 and then I changed it at 5000.. I'm going to go every 5K after that. That's more than what's required. And all I'm really willing to do.
It'll run forever. Or it'll throw a bearing and I'll get a new motor.

I'm wondering if you order the brake kit from the factory if it doesn't come with its own special sensors that clip right in. They could be spliced. I don't know. Don't really care as long as it reflects properly.

I ordered the GM Brembo performance kit right from GM and other posters have mentioned the same thing about the performance brake system and the angle being different than stock. It is not plug and play.
It’s probably not that big of a deal and minimal labor charge but my guy advised not splicing.

If I based my maintenance on the life% indicator I would have had him splice it but my history with this service technician has been great and I rely on his advice.

 

[ReaperHWK]

I ordered the GM Brembo performance kit right from GM and other posters have mentioned the same thing about the performance brake system and the angle being different than stock. It is not plug and play.
It’s probably not that big of a deal and minimal labor charge but my guy advised not splicing.

If I based my maintenance on the life% indicator I would have had him splice it but my history with this service technician has been great and I rely on his advice.

To bad you didn’t see the install directions that came with it, I wonder what it says about the sensor.

Trucks ordered with the Brembo package obviously have a sensor that works, they should really include it. That or the dealer could install the correct sensor.

I plan to DIY install this when my pads are shot on my 2026; I’ll find out then!

 

[ReaperHWK]

Found the instructions:

Site Maintenance

If you read it it says the new Brembo calipers come with a new sensor and harness. You just need to plug it into the existing harness connector. Not sure what the dealers are having problems with?

It also says the dealer needs to use a tool to recalibrate the brake pad sensors.


According to GM the pad sensors will work as part of this kit as long as the calibration procedure is performed.

 

[Stbentoak]

Makes sense.. I can't imagine them "Splicing" something. Maybe this said "technician" isn't as good as the thinks he is.....

 

[BacDoc]

Found the instructions:

Site Maintenance

If you read it it says the new Brembo calipers come with a new sensor and harness. You just need to plug it into the existing harness connector. Not sure what the dealers are having problems with?

It also says the dealer needs to use a tool to recalibrate the brake pad sensors.


According to GM the pad sensors will work as part of this kit as long as the calibration procedure is performed.

Thanks for this!
I’ll be talking to the service tech about this. It certainly seems like it’s plug and play and no extra work.
This does show the sensor directly plugged into to the brake assembly.

It also shows the same angle as OEM.
Not sure why I was told this sensor is different angle than the OEM.
I have also read about the different sensor angle when I was researching the performance kit.

 

[BacDoc]

Update on the Brembo brake kit.

I went back to the dealer and showed him the installation instructions. The service manager looked surprised but after he read it he said they would make it right.
He scheduled me for next week as he wanted to make sure they had the right sensor in stock.

He didn’t come out and say it but my guess is that they didn’t even look at the installation instructions. Even there it says the stock sensor doesn’t work so you need to attach the new sensor that comes with the kit.
I expressed my concern and he said that there would be no charge and next oil change is on the house.

Obviously they dropped the ball but they are a very good service department at least they are getting it done right.

As far as the brakes - they work great, smooth solid pedal and will stop like a car.
I have a little over than a thousand miles and no squeaks, noises or any excessive brake dust that my wife’s Honda gets on her front wheels.

 

[ReaperHWK]

Update on the Brembo brake kit.

I went back to the dealer and showed him the installation instructions. The service manager looked surprised but after he read it he said they would make it right.
He scheduled me for next week as he wanted to make sure they had the right sensor in stock.

He didn’t come out and say it but my guess is that they didn’t even look at the installation instructions. Even there it says the stock sensor doesn’t work so you need to attach the new sensor that comes with the kit.
I expressed my concern and he said that there would be no charge and next oil change is on the house.

Obviously they dropped the ball but they are a very good service department at least they are getting it done right.

As far as the brakes - they work great, smooth solid pedal and will stop like a car.
I have a little over than a thousand miles and no squeaks, noises or any excessive brake dust that my wife’s Honda gets on her front wheels.

I hate dealers lol. I hope they used all the torque specs specified and did all the computer calibrations. Also I hope they didn’t use an impact on all the bolts that said DO NOT USE IMPACT.

Did the dealer tell you about the bedding procedure in the instructions?

 

[BacDoc]

Yes, they told me about bedding/break in and I didn’t tow until after that and some miles.
I will ask them more questions about the installation when I bring it in next week.

After reading a few posts about upgrading the brakes I was expecting some noise and lots of brake dust as that was mentioned in a lot of posts.
I got none of that.

On a new truck with any performance upgrade that is genuine GM parts I would expect perfect performance and no noise.
I also wouldn’t accept any significant oil consumption between changes and some say they go through a quart or more and the dealer says it is normal!
No wonder the dealers get a bad rap!

 

[ProfeZZor X]

I finally placed an order for some replacement pads for my big Brembo BM8 calipers. After months of searching, I couldn't find a distributor here in the US, so I ended up ordering them from overseas. It'll be a few weeks before I get them, but I'm hoping I can eventually find a domestic supplier before I need another set of pads.

 

[BacDoc]

Another Update on my Brembo/GM performance front brake kit.

I went back to the dealer service department to figure out why my 2024 Tahoe High Country is not reading brake life on the DIC.
Originally the mechanic who has worked on several of my trucks over the years, told me the performance brake kit doesn’t come with a sensor to plug in to the brake life monitor.
I questioned this and showed him installation instructions that was linked on this thread, and that showed a plug and play connection for performance brake kit and the brake life sensor.

He took me to the parts department and put in my VIN, year and model and pulled up the manual and installation instructions straight from GM.
He said they always put that information in, just like I did when I ordered the kit from GM.

The instructions, model number etc is the same as the link posted previously on this thread except for the instructions page 14, and this is completely different than page 14 of the linked install instructions.

Turns out my mechanic was correct about the brake lfe sensor for the performance brake kit and my 2024 Tahoe.
It is not plug and play and if I want to read “brake life” on the DIC it would have to be modified and spliced to read percentage.

This was straight from the GM performance parts install instructions.
Apparently there might be something with the year and VIN and the performance kit that matches that.

 

[BacDoc]

 

[ReaperHWK]

I got the instructions here:

Site Maintenance

Click instructions. I put in the year and model of my truck and it says it’s applicable. 2026 Tahoe RST.

Did you put in your truck?