The brake replacement indicator light came on the other day. The drivers manual mentions to replace brakes soon. does anyone know how soon that might be? Thanks

 

Unless you have been monitoring the thickness during the life of the pads and have an idea of how fast you are using them, no real solid way to say how long you may actually have.

 

The service menu shows an approximate countdown of miles on every start-up of the next service due. You can also scroll through the menu to see. If the light is on it is about due.

My experience is with my R56, your sig has a picture of a R53 so I am not sure when the sensor on those trips.

 

The sensor itself is 2-3mm thick, so you have about that much pad left. How long that will last you depends very much on conditions and your driving style. Definitely weeks vs. days, but pushing it to months risks a reduction in braking power.
If cost is an issue, go to a local independent mechanic (or check a local MINI club for assistance.) You'll get far more for your money, and MINI brakes are not significantly out of the ordinary (though the rear pistons must be turned as they are retracted.)

 

One thing..
Mini nrakes are pretty standard...most anybody can do them...quality parts that match your driving style is important too.
The gen1 brake sensor is just a loop of wire that gets cut when the pad get too thin...
And the gen one only monitors ONE PAD on the front (out of 4), and ONE PAD on the rear (out of 4)..other pads may be thinner or thicker....
To be safe, i'd drive nice, and get it done in the next couple weeks, say a couple thousand miles.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Just out of curiosity I took it to a local tire store and they said it needed rear brakes and rotors. they estimated that it would probably cost about $500. I am not so sure that it really needs rotors. They said that they would have to order them because they do not stock mini parts in the warehouse.

I will take it to another place to get another opinion. I want to stay safe and I want to take care of my mini too but don't want to replace any parts if I don't need too.

 

Most any auto parts store stocks the pads/Rotors....
Think they may have been full of BS...or maybe never deal with anything not made in Detroit...er...Mexico...

Stock rotors are pretty soft cast iron....and too thin to machine, so if you pay $$ for brakes, they get swapped out nearly 100% of the time. A DIY'er that monitors them may get a second set of pads, especially if they are pad friendly. My rear rotors were replaced on my car after one set of pads, due to corrosion, rather than wear.

 

this place has tried to get one by me before. My old 87 chevy truck needed an alignment once and one guy told me it needed new springs. I went back and talked to another guy and he said no it does not need springs. most of the time they do good work but the new people are going to try and get more money and work of course.

I am also thinking that some places see that it is a mini and want to automatically charge more because of that. If I took my pontiac grand am down there they would not charge as much. lol

There is another local shop that has done work on my other vehicles that I will ask them for an estimate.

 

many many threads on this point - rotors . . .

MINI has allegedly said from day one that the rotors should always be replaced at the same time as the pads - that is with every pad change. (altho I've never found that in writing - even in the MINI service manual) Also it is alleged that MINI says you can't resurface the rotors - one typically has rotors smoothed on a lathe to give new pads a smooth clean surface - because they are thin to begin with. Again I can't find that in writing from MINI. What the service manual DOES say is that the rotor has a minimum thickness, and for your rears that's 10mm. A GOOD shop will measure and then make a recommendation. (ask what the thickness is...)

I have found that I can comfortably go two sets of pads to a set of rotors, and having never found excessive grooves in my rotors have not resurfaced them either.

It is always difficult to make sound recommendations cross country.... I see yours is a GEN1. What are the miles? Do you know if the rear pads have ever been replaced? Run your finger over the rotor face. Is there a significant lip at the outer edge, or significant grooves in the face? Either would induce me to say change the rotors.

$500 is kinda high for rear brakes IMO. You can get parts for a couple of hundred at any decent parts store and there is NOTHING special about MINI brakes. They are plain old disk brakes same as used on many many vehicles. A mechanic with the car on a lift and the proper tools should do all 4 wheels in an hour! You can spend a few extra dollars for pads to go to fancy ones .... check some online part suppliers for cost. I like EBC green pads and a set for a GEN1 rear can cost $70 to $80 depending on the source; I've bought pads at AutoZone for a 2002-S for half that. OEM rotors can run you $90 or more each, and you can find 'fancy' ones for plenty more. But IMO a rotor is a rotor and the MINI brakes are pretty over engineered meaning plain is plenty good. Again check your local part store for a price. One problem with buying rotors via the web: they are HEAVY so the shipping charge can be a killer. The extra labor for a pad only job vs a pad AND rotor job should be minimal as once you get to the pads, getting the rotor off is easy.

Lastly - have a local MINI group? Brakes are pretty easy for a MINI geek with a decent set of tools, a good jack and stands, and for where you are - a heated garage!

Bring the car to Florida and I'll change 'em out for free, you just pay for the parts. (and gas to get here)

 

thanks for the information and the offer of changing them out for me The car has about 68,000 miles and I have had it about a year. I am the forth owner so I am not sure what services it has had ever had. I just joined (minutes ago) a mini group here in my area and I will ask there too.

I will go and look at the rotors and see. I don't know why a diagnosis cannot be made cross county. lol

Heat wave here it is 37 degrees out