Hi folks -

New Mini owner here. I know there must have been many posts on this, but for some reason my search terms aren't finding them. I'd like to find out what's up with what our dealer says about it being normal for Mini brake pads and rotors to only last about 30 K miles. Really?? Our Miata has 65 K on the original pads with no visible grooving on the rotors. Its brakes are at least as high performing as the Mini's and it gets driven pretty sporty. Our Explorer has 165 K miles and is only on its second set of pads with little visible wear on the original rotors. And it tows a boat. Our Mini has less than 5 K miles and the left front rotor in particular is already pretty seriously grooved. And as my wife's grocery-getter, it hasn't seen any hard brake use at all. Now I'm hearing this is only somewhat worse than what's to be expected. I can't think of any sensible explanation except a manufacturing defect or serious design flaw. Anyone know ?

Thanks,
Skip

 

More information needed. What year? What model? Automatic or manual?

 

I got even less. Considerably less.

In general, German cars use softer rotors and to a degree, softer pads. It's just the way they do things. BMW's are the same as are Mercedes.

When replacing the rotors, I highly recommend switching to Centric rotors. Centric and Stoptech are now the same company and both of their products are top notch. Get the slotted but not drilled rotors and while the heat treated rotors will last a little longer, they also cost more as well. I use the non heat treated.

 

Thanks for the replies. To answer the first one, our Mini is a 2012 base model hardtop bought new in 2012. The brakes are whatever is standard OEM on that model. No optional upgrades or mods. But my question is really more about Minis in general. Is exceptionally high pad and rotor wear a known problem with these cars in the Mini enthusiast community, and is there a reasonable explanation? Given 40+ years experience maintaining disc brake systems on other (non-German) cars I've owned, I needed an independent reality check to believe a 30 K replacement cycle for both pads and rotors would not mean something was defective.

 

+1 on soft rotors and VERY dusty pads. I too had never experienced that massive ridge in the rotor well before the pad was worn out. That's why MINI recommends (defacto requires) rotors be replaced with pads. On other cars, I'd just have the rotors turned and be done with it. With the MINI, there's not enough material to turn. Nothing wrong with your car. Motor on.

 

I replaced front my EOM pads/rotors at 55k miles, when the sensor lit up. The computer says my rears have another 10k to go. I get plenty of brake dust, we all do. I went to a local shop, not the dealer, more for convenience than savings. I too wonder if an independant can't just replace the pads not the rotors if you're not having any vibration. I know they are too thin to turn.

 

I got around 33k out of my rear pads and replaced front and rear with stoptech pads.

Replaced all 4 rotors at 57k with centric premium (no slots or holes).

Very happy with the stoptech and centric stuff.

Currently at 75k or so and I've got tons of life on both pads and rotors. Which is kind of a bummer because I have upgraded stuff I need an excuse to put on.

I'd be surprised at the rotors lasting only 30k...are they just grooved or are they thin?

Also, forget what the computer tells you. Everyone has different driving situations. Just look at the pad to see how much life is left...it's not hard. The sensor is good for letting you know when things are gone, but I ziptied mine up out of the way after it went off the first time.

- Andrew

 

Yes, OEM pads and rotors go fairly quickly.
I've noticed that the combo of Hawk HPS pads and Cryo powerslot rotors last much longer
(about 2x for the pads and 4x for the rotors compared to OEM).

 

Sorry. I think there is 2 things to consider here. OP states that LF rotor has grooved. That is not normal. Being a 2012, this is covered right?

Second, Everyones drive style has to be considered. No doubt the pads are the same and the rotors are the same across cars but we can each get different mileage.

For me, I was able to get 85,000 miles out of the OEM original set. But that was all highway miles and zero stop and go per se.

Even after 85000, all 4 of my rotors were flat smooth. I prob could have slapped new pads on and got another 20,000 miles out of the rotors before I would have been below minimum thickness. (I replaced the rotors since I was doing the brakes anyway).

 

Of course, driving styles will greatly affect how many miles you get out of your brakes, regardless of who makes them. But as stated before, German rotors are notoriously soft and wear quickly. I was very surprised when I found I needed new rotors at around 18,000 miles.

OP: If you're car is under warranty, try getting them to replace the worn bits as your mileage seems particularly low. Without seeing your "grooving", I can't say if it's normal or not, however, both sides should appear pretty much the same. If they're not, something else may be going on.

 

OEM ROTORS ARE soft....
Oem pads are dusty....
the MINI is pretty heavy for its size as a small car, and has a decent amount of power...
Then add the typical mini driver drives with enthusiasm....
If your car is retty new, the dealer will likly toss a new set on for you...
+1 on centric rotors...cheap, but good value...and then you can pair them with less dusty pad that suits your driving style...many can be said to be "rotor friendly".

 

I drove a 95 Miata for 12 years. At 100,000 miles I checked the pads ... there was plenty of material left ....

I am an early MINI owner and I needed to change the pads on my 02-S at about 30,000 (I owned the Miata and the 02 at the same time)

I now drive an 07-S and am just about to change the pads at 44,000 miles

btw I check the need for new pads VISUALLY - not by the computer - I've already reset the MINI computer after it 'told me' I needed pads but a physical check said no way ... diff was about 18,000 miles . . .

 

The MINI service indicator starts at 30,000 and counts down or up from there. If you're hard on the brakes it'll count down faster. If you're easy on the brakes it'll count down slower or even count up. In normal driving we seem to count down about twice as fast as standard, so they might last 15,000 miles if we let them. Once we take it to the track we count them down very fast. So we had 4 pad changes in 24,000 miles.

 

I have a '06 S and just replaced mine at 99,700 mile and the sensor had yet to go off.
I have a '05 S that I bought used and the light just came on at 56,000.
I think driving style is the key factor. I've had the '06 since new with 60% highway miles I would guess.
I think there is a lot to consider in the wear.
Just my opinion

 

Yes, Mini pads and rotors wear down quickly. The size of the pads are noticeably smaller than my VW's. Similar driving style and similar environment.

The original front pads & rotors were replaced at 26k miles on my '06 MCSc by the 1st owner. Currently at 42k, the original rears are still good... probably has another 7-10k to go.

For comparison, my '01 VW NB front pads & rotors wear out consistently at 85-90k per set while the rear pads go out ~75k.

on page 999 of the User Manual recommends using Fred Flintstone braking technique to improve the life of brake pads. ;-)

 

The dealer just did a pad replacement on my extended maintenance warranty, '08 S. NO disk anything - "within tolerance". Looking through the wheel, the rotors look like a geography lesson. No fade or pulsing however. Can't beat free.

 

Hello. Question for you, I have a 2011 MCS and I keep requesting that my dealer change my brake rotors because they are grooved out, since it is covered under the maintenance warranty program. They keep saying it's within specs, and have refused to do so. This week, my rear rotor warped and had to be replaced. I asked the dealership again to replace the other 3 rotors as well, otherwise I'll be back in the shop in a month. Again, denied since it was within specs.

How you have handled this situation? From reading, I've noticed that the rotors & brake pads are very thin, which is why I also purchased the extra maintenance warranty. I just don't want to be spending every other weekend in the dealership having my rotors replaced.

Also, when they replaced my rotor, they didn't replace my brake pads. No doubt, the grooves will be back in a week due to uneven brake wear. What has been your experience with that as well? Most mechanics recommend that rotors & pads be replaced at the same time.

Thank you!

2011 MCS - 27,500 miles

 

You likely keep getting uneven pad deposits. Warping rotors doesn't really happen. Bed or rebed your pads and pay attention to how you're using them. Also, I don't change pads every time I change rotors. But I make sure I bed them in well.

- andrew

 

Smylekids -

If your question was for me, the answer to how I have handled the situation is that I haven't. Our nearest Mini dealer, where we bought the car, is more than 160 miles away. Amazingly, they are willing to have the car towed there and back at their expense just to look at the situation. Can't gripe about that. But so long as the brakes still work fine and aren't yet worn out, I can't in good conscience see them waste the resources that would take. I'll just make sure to get by there before the warranty expires. Then, when those warranty replacements again wear out quickly, replace them myself with some of the longer lasting aftermarket components mentioned here.

Seems pretty clear from the other answers in this thread that rapid pad and rotor wear really is a trait of Minis and other German-designed cars. I could buy the explanation that it's a trade off for higher performance, except that they don't actually perform noticeably better than other modern cars with much longer lived brakes. Anyone know the real reason?

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