So I know that many of you have experienced the red "BRAKE" light coming on during acceleration, followed by the yellow VDC and slip lights coming and staying on. I know that topping off your brake fluid and having your break rotors inspected is how to address this. I brought this to the dealership, he topped off my break fluid, and the lights kept coming on even under non-aggressive acceleration. Brought it back a second time and he said I have about 25% left on the brake rotors and it will cost $700 to replace all 4 brakes. With winter season right around the corner, I don't want to risk losing my VDC and traction control in the snow. Should I just bite the $700 bullet and pay up to have my breaks replaced now? Or see if I can make it until after the winter season to get replaced. Any advice is much appreciated!

 

FWIW it's "brakes" not breaks
That said, the VDC Slip dash lights won't activate from the rotors & brakes being worn. Your ECU is sensing a difference in traction, it's possible your rear tires are worn more than your front or vice versa, enough that it's sensing a traction issue. If you are running a staggered tire set the variance front to back may be too much (1% or more can cause problems at speed), but this will usually light your AWD on the dash.
Quality new rotors & pads can be bought for about $400, so $700 from the dealer for a new install sounds about right.

 

Hahah, whoops! Thanks for the subject line correction and thank you even more for the info on what's behind this annoying disabling of my VDC and traction control. Sounds like I may need to stay on top of my tire rotations better.

 

Hopefully it's something that easy

 

Here's the response from my Infiniti dealership service manager when I asked if it could be a tire ware issue that is causing these warning lights: "The only reason that light would come on for your tires is if front to back is a HUGE difference, like if you had baldees in the back and new ones in the front. The reason your light was on was the brake fluid level. The traction control and vehicle dynamic control uses brake applications to get the job done, so if the fluid level is less than satisfactory, the systems can't function correctly."

 

I thought these lights were coming on (the VDC/Slip) after you had the fluid topped off and the Brake light was no longer on

Once the fluid is topped off and your brake pads are snug against the rotor it won't take any additional fluid to stop your car.

The reason your fluid was low in the first place was due to wearing of the pads/rotors (or a possible leak), but once the fluid was topped off (and no leaks detected) things should function properly.

There could be something amiss w/ your Master Cylinder/ABS system, but not rotor/pad thickness as long as your brake fluid is at the proper level.