My wife's Cooper S computer is showing that the front brakes need to be serviced in 1100 miles. I have checked out the pads and they have plenty of material left. This car has about 20K miles of which 3/4 are hi-way miles. I have been though the "search" reading up on the braking system to learn a bit more about the Mini brake system.

Since I only have 20K on the car it is headed back to Global Imports in Chamblee to let them deal with it. After the warranty is expired I will do most of the maintenance myself.

My questions are:
What is the typical life of brake pads on a new Cooper S?
Do brake sensors go bad when the pads are OK?
When I do need rotors/pads are there any benefits to slotted/drilled rotors in a car of this weight?

 

I have never replaced my brake pads or rotors. And its dealer maintained - 28k miles.

 

on both my S I averaged around 24,000 to a set of pads and I'm a pretty easy driver in a FLAT area and no commute. 20,000 is a little early but if you read the other 11,365 times this question has been asked you'd see it is not out of the question. MINI uses soft pad and rotor compounds. Note I got 24,000 pads consistently on my S's, but on my Miata I was on original factory pads when I passed 110,000 miles.

a GEN2 estimates brake wear by a counter just like the oil life counter AND the wear sensor. It is possible for the counter to hit zero and there still be life in the pads because the sensor has not tripped. I reset mine the first time it came on and was good for over 5000 more miles before the warning came back on. You can reset the counter thru the OBC stalk. If the sensor is OK you'll get many more miles. If the sensor is tripped your lite is going to come right back.

I subsequently by-passed the sensors since I check my pad condition at each oil change/tire rotation; and ignored the counter.

Again it is the consensus of many here that slotted and drilled is just bling on the MINI as the brakes are already oversized for the weight of the car - for road use. If you track then cooling may be an issue for you. If in doubt, I'd talk to Way . .

 

I have a '13 R56 S with 21,000 on it and I'm sitting in the dealership as I write this - getting front pads put on. My sensor said 1700 miles. Dealership said the light comes on when you are down to 10% on the pads. They said it is not unusual to need pads at this mileage.

 

I have a 2012 - when I went in for service the computer said I needed brake pads - I didnt. . . they had to reprogram the sensor - which turned my oil change to an all day adventure. . . - but it appears to be a programming issue according to the S/A that they are correcting as they find it ( mine gave me no warning of the brake pad issue)

 

I spent 3 hours in the dealership to have the sensor reset. The pads had 7 mm of pad left and they do not change them out until it is down to 3 mm. They will most likely be changed at the next oil service.

I did get a car wash and 2 cups of Starbucks coffee for my morning...

 

If your car is less than 3 years old and under 36000 miles brake pads are covered by the initial maintenance warranty. If the MINI dealer will replace the pads for no cost to you, go for it. They changed my front brakes once without cost to me. I agree with the above posts that it seems that the indicator says the pads need to be replaced before they actually need it. I do my own maintenance now that I am out of the 3/36, so I only change them when they get very thin regardless of what the computer says.

 

I keep a little flashlight for that very purpose, looking at wear on brake pads. I've got EBC Red ceramic - Fr. & Rr & Sensors sittin' on dining room table waiting for installation. JCW rotors & calipers already on used F-56 when I bought it.

 

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