[spiderweb]

Hi all,

Nearly every YouTube video that I've seen has a step to put your vehicle in "Brake Service Mode" before attempting to replace the rear brake pads. The thing is, I don't have the "Brake Service Mode" option when I navigate to Settings -> Brakes menu, I only have the "Auto Park Brake" option. Does this mean that I can simply replace the rear brake pads same as I did with the front ones? I don't want to do any damage to the caliper or the piston. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Trailhawk15]

im thinking there is a combination of holding the parking brake and accelerator pedal that will enable parking brake service mode.

on my 2015 it is in the menu on the radio.

 

[Ops]

page 162 in the manual

Brake Service Mode
We recommend having your brakes serviced by
an authorized dealer. You should only make
repairs for which you have the knowledge and
the right equipment. You should only enter
Brake Service Mode during brake service.
When servicing your rear brakes, it may be
necessary for you or your technician to push the
rear piston into the rear caliper bore. With the
electric park brake system, this can only be
done after retracting the EPB actuator. The
actuator retraction can be done easily by
entering the Brake Service Mode through the
Uconnect Settings in your vehicle. This menu
based system will guide you through the steps
necessary to retract the EPB actuator in order to
perform rear brake service.
Service Mode has requirements that must be
met in order to be activated:
The vehicle must be at a standstill.

The parking brake must be disabled.

The transmission must be in park or neutral.

The EPB switch not activated.

The vehicle in ignition RUN mode.

The brake pedal not pressed.

While in service mode, the EPB fault lamp will
flash continuously while the ignition is in the
RUN mode.
NOTE:
A dedicated message will appear in the instru-
ment cluster if Brake Service Mode cannot be
activated.
When brake service work is complete, the
following steps must be followed to reset the
parking brake system to normal operation:
Ensure the vehicle is at a standstill.

Press the brake pedal with moderate force.

Apply the EPB Switch.

NOTE:
A dedicated message will appear in the instru-
ment cluster if Brake Service Mode cannot be
deactivated.

 

[Marek K]

I don't have the "Brake Service Mode" option when I navigate to Settings -> Brakes menu

You didn't say which year Renegade you have (I assume a European version...?), and possibly what Uconnect you have.

I've never done this; but, yes, what Ops quoted above is from the 2021 Owner's Manual (which both of us have). No need to go into Uconnect or any other setting.

Note that it says that if the mode is engaged, the Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) fault will display when the ignition is ON. So that should confirm whether it worked or not...

 

[BLKTHINJAPAN]

I know it is not available on RHD models exported to Japan. Japans transport laws do not allow for self repair of vehicles and state they must be serviced by certified technicians.
Not saying people don't work on their own cars here because they do but technically it is against the law.

 

[Marek K]

Japans transport laws do not allow for self repair of vehicles and state they must be serviced by certified technicians.
Not saying people don't work on their own cars here because they do but technically it is against the law.

Seriously? (Not that I'm doubting you...) You're not allowed to repair or service your own vehicle in Japan??

Not even change your own oil?

Replace wiper blades?

Refill the washer fluid...?

 

[BLKTHINJAPAN]

For the most part any repairs that involve the safe operation of a vehicle on the roadways are technically only allowed to be performed a certified repair shops.
Do people change their own wiper blades and oil yes, do some p[people always take their car to the stealership and pay too much? yes

 

[spiderweb]

You didn't say which year Renegade you have (I assume a European version...?), and possibly what Uconnect you have.

I've never done this; but, yes, what Ops quoted above is from the 2021 Owner's Manual (which both of us have). No need to go into Uconnect or any other setting.

Note that it says that if the mode is engaged, the Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) fault will display when the ignition is ON. So that should confirm whether it worked or not...

I bought my Renegade 3.5 years ago, so I'm guessing it's 2019 or 2018, and yes, it's an European version (I'm from Macedonia). It's a 1.6 MJet Diesel Longitude version with manual transmission. I don't know the exact Uconnect version, but I'm guessing it's up to date since I've been making all my regular services in the authorized dealership. Now that my warantee expired, this is the first time I'm trying to do something on my own. I already bought the brake pads, as well as the Lambda probe (I got frequent "Check Engine" light turning on and off intermittently), so I assumed that I could do all this by myself (and a friend who knows a bit more than me on car repairs).

Now, I believe that all I should do is turn off the "Auto Park Brake" option, so that the park brake is not applied when vehicle is turned off, and I can do the replacement. But I wanted to check here first, whether I can get the "Brake Service Mode" option to somehow appear in the menu. I'll try the steps that Ops mentioned in his post (most of those are for automatic transmission as far as I can see, but nontheless), and see whether I'll have any luck with it.

 

[BLKTHINJAPAN]

I just ensured my parking brake was not engaged and wound the pistons back into the caliper like you would on any rear disc vehicle have not had any problems and the brakes work as they should.

 

[Marek K]

Now, I believe that all I should do is turn off the "Auto Park Brake" option, so that the park brake is not applied when vehicle is turned off, and I can do the replacement.

I'm not so sure about that. The procedure (which looks like it applies to both manual and automatic transmission ("transmission must be in park or neutral") is more than making sure the EPB isn't on -- because that's just the first step. The rest of the procedure would completely retract the piston.

I would go through the steps, and see whether your EPB fault light flashes -- that will confirm that the procedure is successful.

By the way, as complex the Renegade is, if I were you I'd really want to have a Owner's Manual, at least in soft copy. For U.S. versions, they're available for download here -- this is for a 2021:

2021-jeep-renegade.pdf

If you're not sure what year yours is, you can look on the data plate that's inside your driver's door frame on the B pillar -- at least, yours should be in the same place as mine:

That gives the month and year of manufacture (not necessarily the model year) -- mine is 02/21 (circled), or February 2021.

I'm from Macedonia

Yes, I can from your profile... flag of Macedonia -- er, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- er, Northern Macedonia...

You guys must be so confused. But:

Where are you in Macedonia? I was deployed there as a civilian for three months at the very end of 2001, working from the Defense Attaché Office at the U.S. Embassy in Skopje. That was right after 9-11, and right at the end of the civil war you guys were experiencing with the Ethnic Albanians in the mountains around Tetovo. A couple months before our Embassy had been attacked and partly-burned (some vehicles, anyway) by an angry mob. We were very worried about such things in Europe. And no one from the permanent Embassy staff were regularly traveling up into the mountains to see what was really going on (not even the guys who should have been); so my partner and I were making regular trips all around there.

Beautiful country -- very beautiful. And nice people everywhere (unless they were pointing AK-47s at me , which happened a couple of times).

I actually met Vlatko Stefanovski there, who was a childhood friend of my landlord. He's still one of my favorite musicians, and I think one of the world's great guitarists...

 

[spiderweb]

If you're not sure what year yours is, you can look on the data plate that's inside your driver's door frame on the B pillar -- at least, yours should be in the same place as mine:

There is no manufacture year on that sticker on my Renegade:

But nonetheless, it's the version before the facelift, because I got a big discount during the clearance.

I remembered that I do have a hard copy of the owner's manual:

I read through all relevant sections (EPB, Uconnect 5 options, everything under "Parking"...), I could not find any paragraph referring to "Brake Service Mode", or servicing brakes, just the regular wiper and washer replacement, and light bulb replacement. I think I'll just go with retracting the parking brake and try the replacement. If something goes wrong, the authorized dealer is close by... It will cost me more, but I hope I won't get to that point

Yes, I can from your profile... flag of Macedonia -- er, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- er, Northern Macedonia...

You guys must be so confused.

Well, I know I'm not. To me (and to most of the people here) it will always be Macedonia. There's a lot of politics involved around the name change, and if there are Greeks here they would jump all over this thread with their famous "Macedonia is Greece" quote, but I don't want to pollute this thread with it. I'm from Bitola, if you have been in Macedonia you probably know where it is, and I can agree with you that we have a beautiful country but we are still not trying to make the best of it, which is also the case for every Balkan country. The amount of hatred and bad blood that politicians served us (and still are) will take at least 2 generations to dissolve. We haven't had any conflicts for 20 years now, so feel free to visit us again, if, as we say "the road brings you nearby".

Thanks for your responses, will post here when I'm done with all my repairs.

 

[Marek K]

There is no manufacture year on that sticker on my Renegade:

That's strange. I would think that would be standard on those stickers. Maybe just in the U.S....

I see there's no model year on your Owner's Manual. But at least you've got it -- and I see there's no mention of Brake Service Mode.

As far as model year, there's another way to determine that. Check you VIN (Vehicle ID Number). The 10th digit shows the model year:

I just checked, and my 2021 Trailhawk does have "M" as the 10th digit.

If you give me the model year of your Renegade from the VIN, I can download the (U.S.) Owner's Manual for that year and see what it says for Brake Service Mode.

I was joking about you guys being confused. It must just be frustrating to have your neighbors so upset that you have to change your country's official name like that.

Yeah. Twenty years now of (relative) peace. Thank God. It was pretty tense then. "Ovo je Balkan," to quote a Stefanovski song title. I heard a lot of people there say that, fatalistically -- in Macedonia, and in Bosnia.

Bitola, huh? We took a road trip from Skopje down to the south, along the western mountains (wow!) to Ohrid (wow!!!). We drove past Bitola on the way back to Skopje -- didn't stop, unfortunately.

Landscape around there really reminds of the American West, particularly California.

That interior area was where Milcho Manchevski's "Dust" (Prashina) was probably filmed. The movie came out just when I was there, and I've got a copy.

Great, great movie. Great line from the movie -- something like, "Macedonia... Where the centuries don't follow one another; they coexist." Oh, yes.