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?
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?