I just bought a 2016 S from a Subaru dealership. It was a trade-in. The carfax says that both front and rear pads/rotors were serviced. However I am finding that the brakes squeak at light-medium pressure and the brake feel also seems inconsistent when coming to a stop. Is it possible that the Subaru dealership did not properly service the brakes? Are there any nuances to how MINI brakes are serviced compared to other makes?

 

Anything is possible in terms of quality of a brake job, and the original condition of the brakes is just as much a factor. That said, in terms of Subaru vs MINI brakes, not a ton of difference -- disc brakes are disc brakes for the most part.

On the MINI one thing that is a must-do, and I don't know if current models of Subaru brakes require it -- compressing the rear pistons requires turning them, if one just clamps them it will damage the piston/caliper.

Squeaking could be as simple as needing to apply some brake quiet to a contact point on a single brake shim. Straightforward if you know which wheel the squeak is coming from (I presume it's a wheel). The inconsistent feel, who knows, maybe the brakes need to be bled, maybe the fluid flushed and bled.

Truth is regardless of who touched the brakes last, sounds like they need at least a minor eyeballing.

Hope this is useful.

 

Much appreciated.

 

So it seems like this has something to do with the way that autos keep momentum while breaking. When putting the car into neutral while slowing down the squeaks disappear entirely and are also absent when car is in eco mode.

 

My guess is that the dealer “serviced” the brakes with cheap components. There isn’t anything special with the Mini brakes compared to any other car on the road. There is however, much variety when it comes to brake component quality. They likely used some cheap stuff just to get it into the “fresh brakes” category.

 

+1 they got the cheapest things they could find, unless it was done at Subaru and they owned a MINI dealer also in the car chain. Then they usually send it to the MINI dealer.