I've been having issues with my 2011 justa coop's rear brakes. No problems stopping, but there are scratching/grinding sounds during the first few minutes of my drive then the sounds stop. It's got 44k miles on it and now the brake light has come on. My thoughts are rotors? Especially since I drive infrequently and winter just "ended" in NY.

I have an appointment with the dealer and I'm not familiar with enough with maintenance/warranty/costs to avoid paying more than I should. I can't find the details for the 4yr/50k miles warranty anywhere, but I'm doubting I'll have any coverage with this problem.

Any suggestions for me? Thanks!

 

Yep the sensors came on because most likely your rear pads are worn out. I don't think brakes are covered under warranty. Also I don't think you can resurface the rotors as they are to thin from the get go. SO those will have to be replaced also. BTW 44k miles out of the brakes is a lot. Most people get in the 30ks out of there brakes. If they don't cover it you can save yourself some money and do the brakes yourself. It is a pretty easy job to do.

 

44k out of rear brakes is great. Since you have 44k mi, you're most likely out of factory scheduled maintenance. Rotors are a part of that, so they're not covered.

 

Thank you both for the information! Even though you explain doing the brakes myself as simple, I don't know anything about doing work on a car. I'm not looking forward to the cost of getting this done :-/

 

ANY shop can do MINI brakes....heck it is not a hard thing to diy if you have basic skills and tools, but nothing wrong with letting a pro do it!!....
So if it is not "covered"...a local shop can do them for much less...
a couple thoughts....
The light frequently comes on Before the pads are worn....you MIGHT be hearing rust on the rotors since you did say you do not drive much...
Get it looked at, but I would not spend $600-800 on a dealer brake job.....hopefully they will give you a FREE inspection...reset the light for you and say..."your brakes have 30% left" and tell you they should be due at the next scheduled mx"....
Good Luck!!
Some folks here seem to get 35-40K on a set of pads...but if you are not super aggressive, 60-70K is IMO more normal...
I usually find that folks who tend to get LOW MPG also burn up pads....

 

I am surprised your justas brakes are worn at 44,000 miles. I was able to get 60,000 out of my 09 justa. Like ZIPPY said, you do not have to go to the dealer for a brake job. I would find a reputable independent shop.
I only go to the stealers when there is no other choice. There is nothing special about MINI brakes.

 

I agree w/ ZippyNH; the first 'real' car maintenance that I ever did on a car was a brake job, if you've got a couple of hand tools and a safe way to jack the car up, its a great project. Give this a read and see if its up your alley-

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm

You should be able to find the spec on how thin your rotors can become before they need to be replaced, depending on your driving style, you might could get away with just changing the pads. the pads are the real reason that the light comes on due to wear- the sensor doesn't pick up rotor wear.


Save yourself some labor costs and have a fun-strating weekend!

 

Wow! I had to have new front pads at about 23K miles on my '12! I try not to use my brakes too much, but some trips (especially up the hills and down again) require them.

 

Are you sure it's the pads? Might be the 2 year reminder for brake fluid.

 

I have a 2011 Justa and got the maintenance light. I thought it was telling me it needed an oil change so I took it to the dealer, they told me it was the rear pads and Minis were notorious for this. They replaced the pads under warranty. My car had 44,680 miles on it. I do have the extended maintenance warranty/agreement so I am not sure if it was that or the fact that I had less then 50,000 miles on it.

 

Once you get a quote from the dealer, you are likely to reconsider
Brakes are a common maintenance item, and learning how to DYI them will save you $800+ every other year.

There are many threads on this forum on DIY-ing a brake job. Here is one of them: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-pad-wear.html

Even with buying all parts from scratch (sockets, jack, stands, etc), you will spend less money than what a MINI dealer will charge you for one brake job on both axles.

Good luck either way,
a

 

Got that right!

With just 1000 miles over the free maintainence schedule,the dealer wanted $550 just for the rear brakes!