Brake Pads Worn
By Jesda Gulati
Additional credit to Robert, Heath, Keith, Alora, and Wes.

This is a summary of a discussion thread at NICO.

The pad wear sensor on the Q45 is a small cylindrical metal piece that goes through a hole in the brake pad. When the metal wears down, the wires inside it will break, tripping the "Brake Pads Worn" error message. You can replace the sensor or disable it entirely (preferred).

Sensor locations:
1) Passenger side front caliper
2) Passenger side rear caliper

First, jack up the car on a flat, stable surface, and place two-ton (minimum) jack stands underneath. Remove the lug nuts on the passenger side wheel and then remove the wheel. You will see the following:

This is the front passenger side after removing the wheel. In the above picture, I already cut the wire. Follow the wire to the back of the caliper and see for certain that it is an electrical wire. Do not mistakenly cut the brake fluid line!


Above, I am holding the sensor wire, which is connected to the back of the brake caliper. This wire needs to be stripped, tied together, and capped off. The same needs to be done for the rear.