I bought my vehicle the first of the month. Initially, I thought the handling wobbles at high way speed were do to the high performance tires or a need for balancing. But after getting a balance, having the TPMS stay on, the dealer agreed to replace my tires and furnish stock rims. (there was a bent 17" rim, and a bubble in the tire) Again at highway speeds I was hearing a wooshing noise. I took it to a mechanic, believing it would need a balance and alignment...but he said the prior owner painted the calipers and they were touching the brake pad and causing the rotors to wear in the front. The mechanic outlined a remedy which included changing the front calipers and rotors. Subsequently, the brake light came on and I returned in to the dealer with the suggested fixes from the mechanic. There was quite a bit of brake dust coming off both front wheels, but the dealer was like "All German cars do that," He felt along the rotor and said: "There is a bit of a lip." I told him, I don't think that scrappy whooshing sound is a German hallmark. Good thing I found this in the first month, as I'm pretty sure this isn't covered in my extended warranty. The dealer was like, "I'll replace the caliper if need be, but the mechanic is trying to make money with the rotors. Bring it in on Monday." This makes the second repair the dealer said was either done (and wasn't) or that I feel like they should have caught before selling me this car. I think I'll take it to a foreign specialist in the morning to assure what needs replacing vs. what the dealer is willing to replace to get me through the warranty period. The brake light is on and there is a lot of dust and seizing according the the mechanic. It makes a not too pleasant oscillating sound when driven. I want to believe the dealer will do right by me (my friend says I'm being too demanding, but this is an $800 repair according to the mechanic) I need to know the correct language on what to ask for on Monday, as I'm not a car guy. Well, I love my Mini, so I may change that, but any advice would be very much appreciated. Am I making a mountain out of a molehill, meaning can this be serviced easily?

 

You left out all the details about the car, year mileage model , etc. and is this a Mini dealer?

 

Model, year yadda yadda. Take your car to any shop that services cars like Midas or Napa and they'll get you taken care of. Caliper brake systems are universal. There's nothing mystical about MINI brake systems, they're no different than those on mom's grocery getter appliance SUV. Couple years ago I had a little work done at a local body shop and at the same time had new discs and pads ordered. While they had the car they were glad to do the install as well and charge a token labor charge on top of the original work done.

 

800? is that for all 4 I hope? Personally id start with new pads and rotors, one end at a time. The paint thing sounds like bs. Were they painted to look nice or to hide rust?

 

2008 Mini Cooper S with 42,250 I put on less than 700 miles since purchase. The calipers seemed to be painted a while ago for appearance. The car appears really well cared for...

 

Sounds good. Thank you.

 

I went to Spartan, Pep Boys and Sears Auto. Each one gave a different stories on what the whooshing sound was. Spartan didn't even notice, Pep Boys just wanted to sell brakes and rotors and ditto for Sears, Sears in fact seemed way off base with the caliper explanation.

After going back to the dealer and his puzzled look, and promise to fix the problem on Monday...I felt uneasy so I decided to go by Midas. and finally ended up with a mechanic who really dug around in the brakes, and pointed out how the sensors work, and showed me how the brakes were worn. He also opened up the brakes and dug out pieces of melted plastic bag that turned into a wafer of melted plastic. The brake light is still on, and it seems all the brakes need replacing, but I'm glad I listened to my gut and got it looked at again.

 

I brought it back to the dealer who replaced a brake sensor and a couple of brake pads. I drove off, parked went into the store, when I came back out to the car, I heard a click sound on the brake on my side. I put it in drive, heard another click. In fact, whenever I press on the brake I feel the entire automatic shifter vibrate or click, and it's a rather loud clicking sound from the brake pedal to the auto shifter to the emergency brake. They are claiming that all cars do this, and (especially) BMWs. (I have been driving 28 years and have never heard or felt anything like this. I am figuring out they know very little about the cars they sell, and this is the third or fourth time I've been back for brake issues. I shook my head in disbelieve. I told them this car didn't make this noise this morning nor did it do this the first 3 weeks of ownership, and they very well know it. The dealer agreed to fix the "problem" if I take it to a mechanic who can determine what it is. I am done, as this inspires no driving confidence. I love this car...but it's driving me crazy only 3 weeks into ownership. The dealer was like: "You are trying to make us out to be dishonest." I asked him if he thought I was enjoying missing work and taking $29 cabs around town. Anyone have a similar problem with this clicking noise?

 

No. They don't "all do that." What a bunch of BS.

 

That's typical dealership aditude when they really don't know how to go about fixing things, so they claim that they all do it. In the beginning in 2007 the MINI/BMW told owner's that the timing chain rattle was normal and would go away after warm-up, boy they didn't have a clue did they? After that owner's started blowing engines.

Most of the time dealers work with one philosophy, replace it. Their not trained to deal with new developing problems. They have to wait for service bulletins or recalls informing them on what to do.