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DIY Rear Brake Pads - Piston Retract Issue

22K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  DaveN21 
#1 ·
Hi All,

I was in the garage this evening doing my brakes and an oil change and got everything done but the rear pads. I used the iLand diagnostic tool to set the parking brakes to the service position, as directed in the JLR maintenance procedures. I could hear the e-brake motors working and the dash said something to the effect of "parking brake in maintenance position".

So i was happy thinking this would be an easy end to the night, however, once i got the wheel off and the old pads out I noticed the piston was still pushed out. Tried to put the new EBC pads in anyway but of course the piston would not clear.

I reassembled the caliper with the old pads and tried deactivating maintenance mode and then activating again - both times the motors whirred but the piston would never retract. I even got in the wheel well with a flashlight on the piston caliper and watched but nothing happened. The motors would whir for a few seconds and then there would be a pop sound as they finished the cycle, the piston would jump slightly but not retract!


When i pull the e-brake the car stops fine and my brakes work great. Am I missing a step?
 
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#2 ·
I think after looking around on the web at other LR cars - the real question here is:

once the EPB is set to maintenance mode can I press the piston straight back using a normal piston compression tool? OR, do I need a special wind back tool? I just dont want to get it wrong.

I saw an Atlantic British video online on this where they use a wind back tool to retract the piston but the mechanic did not put the EPB into service mode
 
#3 ·
OK, I found the answer for all of you that may be curious or interested in doing this yourself. There are no answers to this online so I drove 10 mins to my local LR dealership and wandered into the garage.....ran into a LR mechanic (imagine that).

I asked about replacing rear brakes on my 2015 HSE (all L494 share the same rear calipers apparently Brembos only go upfront on the higher trims). He said once you put the car in service mode you can just push the piston straight back (IE RRS does not have threaded pistons) with a screwdriver while the caliper is still on the car, then you can finish it off with a standard piston compressor/C-clamp, etc. He also confirmed that the service mode WILL NOT retract the pistons for you - there are a lot of misleading comments online implying this is the case.

FWIW He did recommend not pushing fluid back into the reservoir and to open the bleed screw when compressing the pistons on all brakes. You would need a bleeder bottle to catch the bled fluid and then need to top up the fluid reservoir under the hood.


Hope this helps someone at some point. I was not able to find this answer online, anywhere!!!
 
#10 ·
OK, I found the answer for all of you that may be curious or interested in doing this yourself. There are no answers to this online so I drove 10 mins to my local LR dealership and wandered into the garage.....ran into a LR mechanic (imagine that).

I asked about replacing rear brakes on my 2015 HSE (all L494 share the same rear calipers apparently Brembos only go upfront on the higher trims). He said once you put the car in service mode you can just push the piston straight back (IE RRS does not have threaded pistons) with a screwdriver while the caliper is still on the car, then you can finish it off with a standard piston compressor/C-clamp, etc. He also confirmed that the service mode WILL NOT retract the pistons for you - there are a lot of misleading comments online implying this is the case.

FWIW He did recommend not pushing fluid back into the reservoir and to open the bleed screw when compressing the pistons on all brakes. You would need a bleeder bottle to catch the bled fluid and then need to top up the fluid reservoir under the hood.


Hope this helps someone at some point. I was not able to find this answer online, anywhere!!!
Yes, I got the message on the dash. I even put it back to normal and then re-entered svc mode. My pistons were not budging. My mechanic was able to retract them with his software though.
How do I enter service mode on my 2015 Range Rover hse
 
#6 ·
I used the iLand diagnostic tool. It works well, I think the GAP tool has more functions but its $400 more and I probably wouldn't use them. You don't need a diagnostic tool to enable service mode but it is easier than the series of button presses.
 
#8 ·
That is frustrating. I can attest to the fact that you can indeed push the pistons straight back, I went ahead and swapped my pads yesterday. Entered service mode, opened the calipers, pressed in the pistons using a $5.00 caliper compression tool, swapped pads, re-assembled everything and exited service mode. Took less than 30 minutes.

The LR tech said if you do not successfully get into service mode the pistons won't budge. Mine compressed quite easily. Did you get the service mode message up on the dash?
 
#12 ·
What was the reason for not pushing the fluid back into the reservoir? Unless he thinks it will overflow as over time you would had topped up the brake fluid according to wearing of pads.

I need to find the service mode for the 2015, am thinking of doing the F n R Pads and sensors when I get my tyres put on. Yep got the message brake pad worn.
 
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