The front brake pads in my wife's MCS are almost gone after less than 20k miles.

Is this normal?

 

yes , wait for sensor light. then call and make appointment at your dealer (service agreement means its free)

 

Just wait until they tell you the disks are almost gone too! $$$$$

 

Wait, the brake pad replacement is free?

 

If you have the MINI warranty, yes. pads and rotors covered for free in the first 36K. If you have extended, covered too.

 

It depends how enthusiastic you are. I got the front brakes done at 16k on the MC and 8500 on the MCS. Though that was helped by some track days particularly in the MCS, one of the track days ran 7k off the brake service indicator. The dealer did both services for free under the maintenance warranty.

The MINI spec is the pad should be replaced at 3mm, but the dealer would do the brakes if the indicator was under 4000 miles.

 

So there's a sensor light that goes off for the brakes?

 

Yep

 

...if the OP is in the US. No go for Canada... this is "North American" Motoring, after all.

 

Didn't know we got new brake pads under warranty. Sounds pretty good to me.

 

My understanding is that it you are supposed to replace rotors on MINIs when you replace the pads.

 

That was what i understood as well, replace rotors with pads, but that seems dumb. Most cars its 3 to 1. Three sets of pads for every one rotor change, on average.

 

how do you check how many miles left on obc?

 

The rotors are imprinted with a minimum thickness. When replacing pads replace the rotors if they don't have enough thickness anymore, but you may not need to.

The OEM pads are softer than many aftermarket ones (which is why they dust like crazy), so they may wear faster than the rotors. If you are getting it all done under the free maintenance, then yes, take the rotors. If you're paying for it, do the rotors if needed, but not necessarily when replacing pads.

 

Something else to discuss with my Dealer. I will be coming up on 20K in 1,500 miles. I will also be replacing my Runflats at that time too.

 

"most cars" yes, but not a MINI. You might be lucky to get 2 to 1, but I've never seen anyone getting 3 to 1 on a MINI.

After the free pads and rotor service is done at the dealer there are many aftermarket pads and rotors that will give you longer life on the street*.

* the above statement doesn't apply to pads and or rotors used for track events.

 

Are there any replacement rotors yet for the factory JCW front 4-pot Brembo brakes?

 

not that I have found and given the time it took to get the R53 JCW/R56S rotors in the aftermarket I wouldn't plan of seeing any soon. But I can get you the pads.

 

Yes, I have your pads, or what's left of them.

Yeah, the official replacement rotor is the vented/slotted ones for about $150/each. About about 12K miles with one track weekend into the original ones. They look good for now.