I am a new owner. My mini has 65K miles. One of my indicator lights came on yesterday. I looked in the manual for information, and of course the indicator light that is on is not in the manual. I called BMW of Nashville and the mechanic said it was my brake light. My car drives great and the brakes have not made a noise. My rotors seem fine as well. The mechanic mentioned the replacement of the rotors too while on the phone. Why would the rotors need replacing? Do I have to take my car to BMW to change the pads? Any additional information would be appreciated?

 

I have the same car, same year, and the explanation of the warning light is in the owner's manual. The light is turned on by a sensor on the left front or right rear brake pad, and means that the pad in question is worn beyond a certain thickness (unless the sensor failed, which would be unusual). It's likely you need new front pads (the rears typically last longer than 65k miles), but you can't be sure unless you pull off the wheels off and look at the pads. Same thing with the rotors...you can't be sure if you need new ones without examining them. Most dealers and many private garages will replace your rotors everytime the pads are replaced, rather than taking the time to examine them. The wear limit for front rotors is 19mm, and for the rears, 7mm. I recently replaced my front pads and did not replace the rotors, and I've had no problem. Others here are of the opinion that not replacing the rotors when the pads are replaced is asking for trouble, but IMO so long as they are not worn beyond the limits, damaged, and/or or you are not feeling a pulsation in the brake pedal, it's OK to reuse them ONCE. At 65k miles, it's likely this is the second set of front pads the car has gone through, so it's possible the rotors may have already been re-used once. If you have access to the maintenance records for the car, you may be able to determine that. In my case, I knew for sure that the rotors had been replaced the last time the pads were.

 

good time to learn how to use search function

brakes are easily one of the top 5 most discussed topics since this board began way back when.

thousands of opinions about which pads are better

and plenty of DIY hints and helps

any decent brake shop can replace MINI pads and rotors .... absolutely nothin' special about them ... well maybe the sensor but it ain't rocket science.

 

Thanks guys for the information...

 

hmmm

one visit every two weeks ....

guess we don't need to jump on your questions . . .

 

All the work can be done by yourself in your driveway with simple hand tools. Several vendors offer complete brake packages as well as individual parts.

All of these vendors offer packages:

http://www.outmotoring.com
http://www.detroittuned.com
http://www.waymotorworks.com
http://www.fastmini.net

http://www.pelicanparts.com offers individual parts also.

Make sure you get 2 new brake wear sensors, they are a one use item.

There are several superb how-to tutorials in the How To section: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ms/how-to-340/

Most of all, it's a MINI, have fun with it! Brake problems are just an excuse to upgrade.