Quick question to you all you seasoned Mini owners. I have been told by the service department that I need to replace the rotors with the brake pads. Is this true? Or can I get away with every other pad change? I have 30,000 km on the Mini cooper S Convertible 2006.

Thank you

Janna

 

What you were told IS the MINI recommendation. I've done every other for myself and others without problem, many times.

With a 2006 I'd do a quick check to see if you actually NEED the pads and rotors since it sounds like your sensor has not activated and telling someone they need brakes is a quick money maker for too many dealerships.


First time my 02 went in for service out of 'pre-paid' dealer told me I needed pads and rotors.

a) wheels were dirty and there were no finger prints on them suggesting a wheel had been removed to perform an inspection

but worse

b) I changed 'em myself not long b4 they were virtually brand new.

talking to fellow owners in the area, I discvered this was very common at that dealer and several folks had bought DIY parts only to discover ther pads were less than 50% worn. "you need brakes" tends to hit us in a soft spot.

Eyeball the outer pads. When pad material is thinner then the backing plate you should be looking for replacements. This can often be checked w/out removing the wheel. To dig deeper, the minimum rotor thickness is stamped on the rotor and would be measured (20.4 mm front, 8.4 mm rear for stock rotors) MINI does not recommend resurfacing rotors (of course not, they say change them) and some places try to charge more to resurface them then you would pay for new ones. Check MOSS, MiniMania and others for cost of plain jane rotors. When the pads are being changed, 90% of the work for doing the rotors is already done...additional labor charge should be minimal.

Lastly, pads and rotors are actually a fairly easy DIY for someone comfortable working around cars. Look for a local group of owners and you may find someone willing to install these parts for you. I've done many sets for the cost of listening to my b.s. and a burger when the job is done.

here's a nearly new pad with some white on the backing plate

here's a pad due for replacement

 

Thank you, my sensor did go off, what bugs me is that I just had the car in and had asked how my brakes were, being they had done a tire rotation. They couldnt tell me. So i can only assume they only stick to their computer unlike Toyota and other companies who give you a % reading. I am going to attempt to change them myself, swf with my dads supervision. It doesn't look difficult.

Now should I go thru them to get the parts or is there a place I can order parts in. I live in Canada but have a mail box across the border and can pop down at any time?

Thank you
Janna

 

1. There's a really good DIY guide buried here on NAM for the brakes - but does not cover rotors, but like I said that work is minimal. I think OCTANEGUY was the author so you could search on his name and 'brakes'. Or PM me an e-mail that accepts attachments, I have it saved in pdf and Word formats. Or pickup the Haynes for Mini up to 05 - it is just fine for your 06 'vert

2. There are a BUNCH of vendors out there.
MiniMania.com
MossMini.com

just for starters .... now that MINI has been around for a while people in larger cities are even finding chain parts stores to have things on the shelf.

I've ordered from UK suppliers for my '79 so I'd expext any larger parts dealer to have no problem shipping to you; a smaller (aka out of their garage) vendor might balk in which case I'd find another vendor. MOSS has both US and Europe sites so I can't see as there'd be a problem there (all their classic stuff came from UK until recently)

3. That said, there are at least 5,789,286 opinions on what to buy assuming that you are not afraid, or even WANT to use other than factory parts. The primary reason for doing something else is one of two things: either better performance, or less dust, or a combination of the two. The first issue is somewhat subjective; what "works best". Opinions vary and I can not point you to a decent quanitative head to head test. The second is easy, just about ANY pad other than factory will dust less! Investigate the search function here on NAM and you'll find a post for each and every of the opinions I referenced and the number grows daily.... I took the factory pads off my 07 as soon as my 'preferred' pad became available. If you want to know what I use on my 02 and 07 PM me. I'll not start another "this is better" discussion here tho...my cars are virtually stock (no pulley or exhaust etc) and pure street driven...no autocross or streetracing alho I have been to the Dragon on occassion and am always in search of decent twisties. Parts other than OEM are used where I find that cost effective and for things like dust. Rotors, pads, filters, fluids .... that sort of thing.

4. If your sensor has activated then you also need to replace the sensor as it is 'consumed' once it activates. The sensor works by being a small loop of wire encased in plastic attached to a pad. When the pad gets thin enuf, the plastic contacts the rotor during braking and eventually the tip wears enuf to break the loop of wire. This open circuit causes the dash lite to come on. It can only be turned off by closing the circuit again. Replace the sensor (MiniMania has them as do others, around $20 I believe) OR you can open the worn sensor, splice the wire ends together, and tie the sensor out of the way - this will allow the lite to go off, but you no longer have that sensor. There are two sensors, left front and right rear wheel. The sensors are different parts so I'd determine which one actually went off before ordering as you probably only need one or the other, and 9 times out of 10 the fronts is where your heavy wear should be. (the DIY includes sensor replacement)