Spotted some kind of service required in around 450 miles warning the other day on the dash of my 2018 JCW.

Long story short I checked and the service required is the rear brake pads (!) in "450" miles which would put the mileage on the car at around 17,000 miles.

No track time. Hardly any mountain road time. (No time.) Just the 30 miles drive to work and the 30 miles drive back home M-F, except those days I take my other car.

'course I'll stop in at the dealer service department on the way to work Monday and ask about this but gee whiz if the car needs new rear brakes in under 20K miles....

Believe it or not short brake life is not something I have had to deal with with my other cars. Boxster brakes lasted 50K+ miles. Porsche Turbo front brakes lasted around 140K miles and the rears were showing wear sign but no brake warning light on at 161K miles when I sold the car.

I won't list all my other cars but really brake life has been very good with all of them.

 

Welcome to planned obsolescence (and expensive service intervals). My Mercedes tires didn't last but 17,000 miles (I'll never buy Continentals again). Swap the pads yourself -- it's easy.

 

Is it really just a false alarm based on we haven't seen you in a while time to manufacture a reason to get you into the shop thing?

God I hope not. This would put Mini down at the Ford, GM, and Dodge level of service and good manners prevents me from describing how low this level is. If so, I won't be buying another Mini then. (I was considering either another JCW or even trying for a new GP.)

Have not really had the chance to look over the brakes all that well. Have no way to get the car in the air. I did check the rotors and while there is a lip on the inside diameter and outside diameter of the rotor surface the lip is not nearly 1mm yet. In short unless Mini is that much different in how much "extra" material the rotors have the rotors do not show signs of that much wear.

'course, I know brake pads can wear out before the rotors. When I get time tomorrow before I leave the house for work -- so the brakes will be cold and I won't burn myself if I touch them -- I'll try to get a good look at the brake pads.

Have no place to work on my cars so if the pads do need doing I can't do them.

Have never owned a M-B. But I ran Continental tires on my Porsche 996 Turbo and the Continental tires were quite good, as good as the Bridgestone tires which I also ran at times and as good as the Pirelli and Michelin tires I ran on my Porsche Boxster. The only times I got less than 20K miles from the rear tires of either car was if the alignment was crap (or the occasional puncture which required replacement of at least tire and sometimes depending upon how many miles on the tires both tires on the axle). As for alignment, in one case I went through a set of rear tires on my Turbo in around 8K miles.

 

My MB is a GL450 so think heavy. The Continentals didn't last any time (less than 20k) -- very frustrating considering the high cost of those tires. Firestones were a bit better for mileage but I recently switched to Kumho on a whim. We'll see if Korea does any better.

 

Here's what I (sorta) learned in my recent replacement of all pads + rotors on my 2018 Clubman JCW at 12k miles.

Factory pads sacrifice durability / longevity for better pedal feel, less noise, and presumably better wet braking. The compromise is a much softer pad that makes a lot of dust, but stops the car pretty well at the expense (literally) of shorter replacement intervals. For anything more than daily driving, they're barely adequate and an aftermarket setup will improve performance. I replaced all four rotors, pads, and changed out to a high-temp fluid. I'll list all the bits at the end.

Resulting performance improvement was worth the cost, but I will just have to wait to see how long they last. If my driving routine did not involve aggressive canyon roads and the occasional high-speed run, I would have opted for the maintenance plan from the dealer that would cover the cost of pads + rotors during the warranty / maintenance period. There's nothing inherently wrong with the factory setup, and it reminds me of similar performance and wear on older Mercedes Benzes. I've worked in the auto industry for over 20 years, had over 20 cars, and this is the first one I've had with wear this aggressive. Search the forums and you'll also find that the stability and traction controls rely very heavily on the brakes at all four corners, which can also contribute to the accelerated (pun intended) brake wear.

Here's my current setup, with which I am very happy. I have a Clubman, so getting the right parts was tricky, but Way at @WayMotorWorks and his connections at StopTech were very diligent about getting me set up.

Front + Rear
StopTech slotted / vented rotors
EBC red pads

Fluid
Castrol SRF

Install
@MINICORSA North Hollywood, CA

 

Stopped at the dealer this AM. The warning might be a false alarm, bad sensor, or the pads are worn out.

Hard to believe with 17K miles and no tracking and really not much in the way of spirited driving the rear brakes could be worn out.

But I'll find out soon. I have an appointment to bring the car in on the 12th to have this looked into. Was told if new hardware required could be a 2 hour wait for the car. I guess I can wait 2 hours as long as the WIFI and coffee machine are humming.

 

Traction control, and Stability control have a lot to do with brake wear.

Havent you noticed, making a right out of a driveway, the brakes keep your wheels from spinning!!

 

Yeah, I'm aware of that.

You may be on to something. While I haven't really pushed the car hard -- no 4 wheel drifts around turns, etc. -- occasionally under some reasonably spirited cornering it has felt like sorta like the brakes were being applied.

Maybe the times I felt this it was because I was triggering the traction/stability control and the rear brakes were being applied?

Just have to wait until June 12 when I have the car booked to be looked at.

 

My old 2013 R56 needed front brakes at 15k and rear at 20k.
Luckily Mini covered brakes then.
Not the 2017 F56, looks like I’ll need all 4 by 17k.

 

My JCW is almost two and a half years old, and I am on my fourth set of pads.

The E-LSD and stability control chew up the brake pads a LOT.

 

My car might be experiencing the same thing. Today on the way in to work took my usual route which includes a pretty sharp right turn off the freeway down to a stop light.

Usually I don't look down at the dash but today and did and I spotted what I guess is the dynamic stability control light flashing. Concurrent with the light I could feel what I guess could be the brakes, or brake being applied. The car felt no where near the limit and the pavement is not rough.

 

I have a Clubman JCW ALL4, so it's doing all kinds of stupid stuff with the DSC / ETC. When I drive up to Angeles Crest, I always switch to Dynamic mode so it doesn't just suck the fun out things. I have been able to upset that system as well, though. My last drive saw some slightly more spirited than usual driving on one particular stretch. One section is a little faster (or a lot faster, see notes below*) and on a slight kink in the straight with a rise that unloaded the suspension, the DSC very aggressively applied the rear brakes, which were already a little warm from the twisty bits. I ended up having to pull over and stop completely, re-start the car, and get going again. Let the brakes cool while I had breakfast at Newcomb's Ranch and everything was normal on the way back down.





* I mapped my drive on Google when I got home. It is a 72 mile drive that the Google estimated would take me 1h 51m. It's a very twisty road, but I made the drive in 1h 15m. Look up the Angeles Crest Highway and surrounding roads if you're not familiar with them. Early on a weekday morning means less traffic and more fun!

 

Rear brake pads need to be replaced. Mileage in 16,638 miles. Pads (well, for sure one pad) down to the wear sensor. The pads are not covered under the maintenance agreement that came with car so I have to pay for the pad replacement. SA told me this will run in the $420 range. About "par" for the course. My Porsche brakes: new pads, rotors, other hardware but not a brake fluid flush/bleed, cost around $1000 per axle.

Rotors look ok. I get the old pads so I will take pics.

Had car in a few minutes before the appointment time. Car didn't go back until 40 minutes later! Estimate (well, hope and pray) the actual pad replacement doesn't take more than an hour.

 

30 minute job, at best. Check out ModMini on YouTube and do it yourself. Unless you're tracking your Mini go with ceramic pads (less than $30 on eBay). They produce much less dust and keep your wheels a lot cleaner. If you're tracking it, you can buy Brembos on eBay for around $125.

 

Do you just do it yourself and what pads do you prefer? Are you checking the rotor thickness? Any issues with that yet?

Just asking because I like the fact you put on the front-and-rear Eibach sway-bars (which I just did too) And I'm also waiting for my Evolve OBD adapter for an ECU flash tune from them. (Yup, I read your mods.)

I've replaced lots of brake pads and very seldom replace rotors, which some people mention on here they're doing early. I'm hoping the rotors last for a little bit at least.
Thanks

 

Yeah, I looked at the brakes, took some pics, and returned to the waiting room. The tech came in not too long after with some paperwork but I didn't believe it could be for my car. But it was. 30 minute job -- if that long -- once the wheels off the car.

Tech just installed factory pads. Brake dust is not a problem. While some accumulates it washes off whenever I wash the car.

Added: Did a bit of a brake bedding in on the way to the office. Brakes feel better. More brake action. Didn't realize the brake action had fallen off.