I have about 27k miles on my 05 S and the brake light is on in the speedo; I'm not knowledgable about brakes so I need some guidance on where to go...

I can obviously get the pads replaced at the dealership, but I assume this will cost an arm and a leg; what about places like justbrakes or pep boys or a tire store or whatever?

i'm looking for the best combination of price and quality; the stock brakes have worked just fine for me, so i'm not really thinking about upgrading pads, though I could be convinced if the price isn't too much higher...

 

Your brakes are covered under warrenty, to it to the dealer and they will take care of it, NO CHARGE!! and they will rest the light on your dash too! For an 05 that sure seems fast to go threw a set of brake pads?

 

As what schooner2 said, brakes are under the 4 year/50,000 mile plan thing. The dealer will put on new ones for free! So luck you, you get to keep your arm AND your leg!!! Yay!

 

oh sweet; i didn't realize the brakes were covered; that's awesome
i have to get my 2nd scheduled maintenance next week anyway (for some reason mine still has 500 miles to go even tho i have 27k-28k on it)

i drive in a LOT of stop/go traffic in Atlanta and it's also hilly here, so i guess that's why my brakes went through pretty fast

 

Brakes aren't covered under warrantee, but they ARE covered in the free 3-year maintenance deal. So you're fine on the free replacement. I had mine replaced just before my 3 years were up, no hassles.
The light on the dash comes on when the sensor wire embedded in the brake pad gets worn through. The only way to get rid of the light is to replace the wire, which runs about $50 from memory. But it's free for you!

 

glad i got the upgrade to 60k then...i can get this replacement set replaced just before 60k for free

 

Yes by all means have the dealer look at them. My guess is that unless you drive like a total mad man your brakes are ok. I think you are low on brake fluid which will trip the dash light. As the pads wear the fluid drops in the master cylinder. Let us know what the dealer finds.