Following Randy's excellent instructions here, I jacked up the car, pulled all four wheels off my DSC-equipped '03 MCS and got the pads off one front side. Well, I discovered that there's a sensor wire attached to a small plastic plug that slides into a stepped groove in the inner Left Front and Right Rear pads. This is different from the install pictures in Randy's How-To, and I'm not sure if this is an '03 change, or part of the DSC/EBD system. Anyway, my new Mintex pads do have grooves in them, but they're not designed the same as the stock pads and the plastic plugs do not fit. The stock pads also have a metal backing that covers the groove, that's missing from the Mintex pads. Has anyone else encountered this? Is there a work-around, or are the pads just not the right ones? Any idea what the sensor wires do?

I bought the Red Box pads, and the front part number I received is MDB2162AF or 90R-01607/478. Rears are MDB2163 or 90R-01607/479.

:???:

 

My theory would be that the sensors are for a low brake pad warning lamp on the dash. If the sensors won't fit the new pads you could simply remove the sensors but then of course the brake wear indicator lamp would fail to work.

 

Good call: on page 84 of my Owner's Manual it says just that. What threw me was that not all 4 corners have sensors. Is this new for '03? Do any aftermarket pads accomodate the sensors?

 

My MCS was built as an '03 on Dec 20, 02 and I didn't see any sensor in the
brake pad when I changed them.

 

Mine was built in March '03... Must be a running change. The [generic] Mintex instructions do mention a wear sensor plug, and the box shows a lead/plug coming from the pad, it's just that the Mintex pad design doesn't work with the stock plug. I'd like to retain the sensors... Am I the beta-tester for this...? :???:

 

Exbat:

The Mintex pads for the MINI do have a brake wear sensor slot in the backing plate. The serial number on the box that you quote is the correct number for the MINI pads, but obviously, the pads are incorrect. DOH! I have sent a local news investigative reporter to Mintex headquarters to get to the bottom of this. In the mean time, as I state in my email to you, send them back COD, and I'll replace them with the correct ones. -Eric