[DonDraper]

Ok, so my Cooper has 13,500km on the clock and I don't drive like a granny, but not like a maniac either... I drive curvy B roads on a daily basis.

The other day the 'brake warning indicator' light lit up on my dashboard (!) with the corresponding message on the computer (!) which asks me to take my car to the service. So I do. They order new brake pads... Install them only on my front brakes as the back ones seemed fine... I pick up the car, I pay '274?' (not happy)... I drive away and within the first half a minute the same warning light/message shows up...

I literally reverse back into the garage and directly talk to the head of mechanics... He plugs my car into the system as sees that the back brakes are also indicating to be ready to be replaced, but that he personally saw them and can assure me there's at least 70% of the back brake pads left ... :| ... I obviously ask how is such a thing possible and can we please erase that warning somehow... He says, that he's seeing how they're implanting 'longer' sensors within the brakes more commonly; meaning that as the brake pad is used up, the sensor ('wire' implanted in the brake pad material to signal its wear) is intercepted sooner than it should... He then assures me the car is perfectly safe to drive for a long time and I should only worry when the 'red' (!) warning light comes on, prompting me to change brakes immediately, and that even then I'd have about 15% of the brake pad left.

Only solutions, to either put up with the super annoying warning light for another 7-8,000km every single time I drive the car or spend another '274?' to replace a set of back brakes that are perfectly fine to use for many many km or miles...

Not impressed, even if I feel this sort of practice is not a MINI only thing, more like the brands trying to make some money on unnecessary service requirements ... Wanted to share my experience to warn, and wondered if anyone has been through the same experience or knows a work-around for this. Don't really feel it's fair to be honest...

Any trustworthy OEM suppliers in Europe? Good idea to go that route?

 

[Nedix]

After the latest developments with VW and Audi I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't a scam; I don't know if on the service side or Mini itself. When I bought mine, I was offered a free-of-charge-service, "free" so to speak because I paid something like 800Euros for all services within 3 years. This means that for 3 years, no matter what they find, they have to fix it including oil changes, filters etc. However, the catch is that the brakes are not included in this; yes, the brake diagnostic is included but not brakes/pads replacement. If I wanted also the brakes to be included then the premium was more than double, ~1800 euros. I thought (and still think) they did it like this because, probably, since this is a go-kart then people tend to use it to the max, as in spike accelerations and subsequently braking which increases the weariness of the pads etc. On my old car, a Renault Megane, I changed the pads only 3 times during its 9 years of life and only once the disc brakes so did not take this option from Mini.
But ... who knows...

 

[stevens]

Its more than likely a dodgy brake pad sensor, they are about £20 retail from BMW/Mini and its job is to wear with the pad so the car knows roughly where you are in the brake wear cycle. Once you get over half your pad worn it triggers a countdown (where it expects based on current milesge and last change) to make assumptions about when you should change your pads. If something happens to the cable (like its been nicked by a stone or sharp object) then it could trigger a false positive (once it goes it starts the countdown). I would of expected BMW to of swapped out the rear sensor at least if they are saying 70% of your pads are left because it wouldnt of actually touched the sensor until 50% left.

 

[Burning_rubber]

Never had issues with brakes in my MINI and BMW history. My first MINI had 125.000 km on the clock when I sold it and my previous BMW had 115.000 km...bot cars were driven like they should be...sporty. Never got the warning the brake pads or discs needed replacement. Service indicator on my BMW showed they it would take another 27.000 km before service was needed.

But nevertheless, I don't trust people that sell cars or insurances anyway

 

[jeremybingham]

I'd think too the sensor is faulty very simple to replace,just slots into a gap in the pad and reset. My only issue is that mini are told to guess/predict disc thickness so if they put new pads in but the disc thickness will be under spec in the life of the new pad they recommend new discs too. I like to get full use of mine!

 

[02fanatic]

Proud to be "old school"!...I hate all the electronic crap on otherwise great cars these days...just makes for more things like this going wrong. Formula 1 was so much better when they ran V10's instead of 4 cyl turbos...look at all the problems they have with the electronics these days...shameful. The more mechanical the car the better!

 

[02fanatic]

Slight correction for my post above....current F1 cars run turbocharged V6's (not 4 cyl)...just now watching the Singapore GP and Hamilton's car is "down on power" LOL! Not laughing at Hamilton but at the electronics on the car! I rest my case!

 

[JPslov]

I'm OK with electronics on cars. I definitely agree with the "simple is better" mantra though. The biggest thing with electronics running cars is that its easier to shut out consumers who want to work on their car. I can get around weird designs in the engine compartment, etc..but if a company makes it so I can't reset the service interval without going to a dealer...then I'm going to get mad.

 

[jeremybingham]

Two ways to look at this; having always done my own maintenance and even witth mini discs and pads plus oil changes etc, electronics look after the timing etc; now all you need to is change spark plugs; no gap to check no points and no timing issues ever till it breaks! in some ways this makes it easier for the home mechanic ie me! Diagnosis of a fault ; now there's another issue!
in other words it's all well and good if it is working! Agree with you though-if you cant reset stuff yourself; mind you an obd device on ebay wont be long coming-in fact i think its available!

 

[johnan]

On the OBD issue, my Scangauge is Mini F56 specific as well as just about every other car with an OBD port, (the non Mini specific ones won't read all the F56 sensor outputs such as oil temperature,etc), and one of the other functions of the Scangauge is to decode warning lights and reset them.
I haven't tried resetting Mini lights yet, haven't had any, but it certainly works on my old MG which amazingly has an OBD port.

 

[hotrunner]

Two ways to look at this; having always done my own maintenance and even witth mini discs and pads plus oil changes etc, electronics look after the timing etc; now all you need to is change spark plugs; no gap to check no points and no timing issues ever till it breaks! in some ways this makes it easier for the home mechanic ie me! Diagnosis of a fault ; now there's another issue!
in other words it's all well and good if it is working! Agree with you though-if you cant reset stuff yourself; mind you an obd device on ebay wont be long coming-in fact i think its available!

Home mechanics will never be able to due software updates. That's proprietary info.....mind you they might have UBER mechanics coming one day soon coming to a town near you.

 

[JPslov]

Home mechanics will never be able to due software updates. That's proprietary info.....mind you they might have UBER mechanics coming one day soon coming to a town near you.

There is an interesting dilemma, especially after reading more and more about coding a MINI. If it's alright to switch out your own bakes, etc, should you be able to change you car's software as you see fit as well?

:nerd:

 

[Phoenixi89]

Ok guys...

Just took my 15' plate Mini Cooper SD 5 door in for its first service to MINI this morning (19K miles). The brake warning indicator came on a few weeks ago and I assumed it was just the brake pad sensor which was faulty and needed replacing.

I had a look in the MINI/BMW dealer workshop and the mechanic showed me the rear pads which have worn 90% through already! He said the front are absolutely fine but this was the 3rd case he's seen of the new F-models chewing through rear pads MUCH faster than the fronts.

Has anyone else has this problem?

I'm very tempted to get some aftermarket EBC's and fit them myself rather than spending the £230 MINI wanted to charge for new rear pads only!

 

[johnan]

After reading your post, I had a quick look on the Pagid and EBC sites but coudn't find Mini rear pads listed, which is strange..are they a weird design or something?

Or is it just me not looking properly? Quite likely.

 

[Hurbert II]

Welcome to the world of active stability management

Every time you get a bit frisky, Mini will be jabbing away at the rear pads to settle the rear end. Big Audi's monster through their rear pads and I believe the F56 is doing the same. The JCW seems a lot looser at the rear than the R56 did, much better for a bit of hooligan lift-off oversteer

EBC will give you longer life, but will get you through discs faster too Oh, and they may squeak a bit too..

 

[Phoenixi89]

Ahhhh that makes a lot more sense now.. thanks for shedding some light on this!

My driving profile is 80% motorway and 20% backroads, but that 20% is pretty wild I can tell you . Presumably disabling the DSC completely would help when driving agressively?

Johnan - I couldn't find any EBC pads on the website either (heard good reviews of the yellowstuff compound) but these seem to be compatible with the F56:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-Mini...hash=item1a020369b0:m:mgVzZue3WjMZHhfln858RFg

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-Mini...c551991ef:m:mgVzZue3WjMZHhfln858RFg#vi-ilComp

 

[Pumpkin]

This exact same thing happened to me. I'll post a thread shortly.

I posted about it here:

http://www.minif56.com/forum/289-mi...ion/67433-f56-brake-pad-wear-sensor-scam.html

 

[wwleone]

Using much the "cruise control" leads to an increased and premature wear of the brake pads.