[Ash92]

Hi,

Recently had my mini in for the Jcw upgrade and they spotted my brake pads were low and offered to replace at a cost of £160.

I didn't get them done at the time, does the Mini have some kind of warning indicator light to let you know when the brakes urgently need changing? I don't want to get them done too early.

Cheers
Ash

 

[donnaj1dlh]

I think it should warn you. What mileage have you done - are these for front or rear pads?


For MINI OEM, it doesn't sound too ridiculous a price. But then I haven't needed to replace mine yet.......

 

[Koryak]

I wouldn't wait for the warning to come on because by then the pad wear sensor will need to be replaced too. My experience with an older R53 is when the pads are thin the disc is also thin so I change both. Also new pads on old worn discs take a long time to bed in. If the old discs are thick enough they can be align shaved which makes bed in much faster.

 

[jeremybingham]

if you fit new pads at least in the r56 you need to fit new sensors as they work by wearing out along side the pad BUT the f56 may well be different; not got to that stage yet! And yes a light come s on on the dash or there will be some such warning; in the r56 it used to tell you how many miles you had left on the front/ rear pads viat the obc.

 

[Ash92]

Forgot to mention these are rear pads, which is strange for them to wear first?

The car has roughly 32K miles - the majority of them motorway.

 

[vetsvette]

Do you use cruise control a lot? I believe the rear brakes are used to control excess speed when going down hills and such. I have also wondered if you still have the cruise control set and are driving at a higher speed on purpose if the brakes are trying to compensate. I make it a habit now when I purposefully exceed the set speed I turn cruise off until I settle on a constant speed.

 

[jeremybingham]

Quite a few threads on here with rear pads wearing before fronts; odd but who knows with traciton control/ stability control etc. 32,000 miles sounds VERY fair for any set of brake pads; always good to renew around then with some copper grease to prevent squeaks and to get rid of dust and check the sliding pins imo.

 

[fatmcgav]

I'm in the same boat, with an amber warning on my rear brakes after just 10k miles...

Need to give my Dealer a ring to see what they think...

 

[jeremybingham]

Now that is very short; mine have just been measured, 1/3 of life apparently all round-12000 miles so eta for new pads looking around 36,000 miles; i am happy with that but wouldnt be at 10k!

 

[Koryak]

if you fit new pads at least in the r56 you need to fit new sensors as they work by wearing out along side the pad BUT the f56 may well be different; not got to that stage yet! And yes a light come s on on the dash or there will be some such warning; in the r56 it used to tell you how many miles you had left on the front/ rear pads viat the obc.

I think the F56 brake caliper is a carry over of the R56 where the sensor only gets worn into after pads reach min thickness. No sensor needed if changed before. I'll take a look at a non-JCW tonight.

 

[Koryak]

I'm in the same boat, with an amber warning on my rear brakes after just 10k miles...

Need to give my Dealer a ring to see what they think...

This is really interesting as the rears don't really have to work much on these cars. Maybe your handbrake is sticking or its pad adjuster has some how over tightened in the caliper

 

[Jonvee]

Here is a link to a simple explanation of stability control. I would guess that the car is applying rear brakes most anytime you turn the steering wheel. It would easier for the computer to control the car before it gets anywhere near the spin-out stage.
http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Rollover/Electronic+Stability+Controlhttp://http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Rollover/Electronic+Stability+Control

 

[Ash92]

Cheers for the input guys. My plan is to change the brakes asap now before the warning appears. However I'll be shopping around and getting a free assessment from a local garage first k_hand:

The Jcw brakes upgrade Is very tempting though!

 

[fatmcgav]

I'm in the same boat, with an amber warning on my rear brakes after just 10k miles...

Need to give my Dealer a ring to see what they think...

Just to update on this, I spent yesterday afternoon enjoying the hospitality of my local dealer...

End result, rear brake pads replaced at a princely sum of £191 - ~£100 parts and rest labor...
Luckily rear discs have got plenty of life left...

I could probably have got the parts and did it myself, but pretty busy atm so wasn't worth the hassle...

And to top that off, my front tyres are below 3mm on the middle and outer, so guna need to get a pair of tyres in the next month or so :'(
Guess it's my own fault for not rotating them sooner...

 

[johntempleman]

A good point actually, I usually get it all checked when my car is due for servicing.

 

[andymini]

Hi, I have the same problem. My rear brake pads needed replacing after 20,000 miles and the front pads didn't need replacing. I eventually replaced the front pads around 26,000 miles. My mini is now on 41,000 miles and the rear pads need replacing again... It must be a design fault with the new mini as I owned the r56 model for 3 years and the rear pads lasted 60,000 miles...

 

[Cessa]

They must use some very soft pads in the mini OEM type. I would be looking at aftermarket pads that are of a more durable compound. I'm sure they wont cost as much as OEM and will last much longer. It will then be a question of how long the disks will hold up.

 

[Davyboy]

We've had 7 MINIs and never had the need to do anything to the brakes, agreed we don't do high mileage and more town work so the brakes are most likely used as much or more. My R55 done nearly 30,000 and all brakes where good for that again!

I'm thinking it best to keep a close eye and have my friendly independent garage to have a set ready as don't want to get stung with MINI prices...