Is it common to get over 100,000 miles out of the original brake pads? We have never replaced the front pads on our '06 MCS and they still look to be in great shape. We are having no problems with braking, just had figured I'd swap the pads since we have it apart for other maintenance. I replaced the rear brake pads a while go under similar circumstances. I figured at about 70,000 they might need it. I bought the pads then found the originals in great shape. I replaced them anyway, they were a bit more worn than the front. Again, no braking problems, no rotor warp, nothing. We do drive it pretty conservatively, especially in braking. I'm still surprised that the front pads look like they could go another 50,000 miles.

Any comments, suggestions. I have new pads and the new sensor. I don't mind changing them it just seems odd to get such long life out of the original pads.

 

They look pretty darned good to me!

Bloody amazing!

 

MiniQ, did you drive the car 100,000 miles or tow it 100,000?

I can't speak to my MINI yet (don't even have 10,000 miles on mine), but I've never ever had a set of brakes last that long (I have seen 50-60K when driven conservatively), let alone last that long and still have that much pad left!

I'll be very curious to see what some of the more experienced people have to say!

 

for a MINI - unheard of

I got that and more out of a set of Miata brakes tho . .

 

Is it an R53? If so you might wanna check your supercharger. It's probably gummed up from lack of use

This post blows my mind. Have you replaced or checked your rotors? How do the inside pads look?

 

+1 Check the supercharger....

All I can say is some folks really are attuned to their cars & really can go that far on brakes. If it was my MINI I'd change them out. Lots of heat cycles on those pads & rotors. Heck brakes every 100,000 is cheap insurance.

 

Those look pretty good for over 100k. That being said, I think I have only changed mine once. I'm at over 253,000 now.

Nik

 

My brake pad light came on when I was a little over 92K on my original pads, when i changed them out they still had some time left, maybe 2K or so. my Supercharger for sure is Not gummed up, as i do have a heavy foot, however i am not one to brake hard, and i also travel mostly off hours and 75 to 80% highway.

 

I had to replace the pads on my '06 at 37,000 miles. I do, however, drive aggressively, and actually expected to have to replace them sooner. I was happy they lasted as long as they did. Over 100,000 miles? I'm with the guys above, that car is not being USED!

 

Tsk tsk tsk...you need to enjoy your car more.

 

Mine made 70k before the back brakes were shot. The backs were worse than the fronts but it needed both. At that time probably 18 out of every 25 miles were on the expressway.

 

I don't think the supercharger is having any problems. We have put a lot of highway miles on it but I think the key is that my wife and I both (car is actually "hers") don't abuse the brakes. We tend to slow well in advance of lights and stop signs, and we downshift progressively along the way. As we've gotten older we have realized that it is easier and cheaper to be a little more conservative than to spend hundreds of dollars on repairs from accelerating to within 15 feet of a stop. I learned this lesson from an old Pontiac that I drove hard and had to pour money into the brakes. I don't think they were as robust as the Mini brakes are but I abused them, too.

I still think they've lasted far longer than I would have expected but I'm oddly okay with that.

 

I was about to ask if you are downshifting when approaching a stop. Those pads look like they still have plenty of life remaining.

At the track, the instructors remind us that brake pads are cheaper to replace than clutches

 

Probably quite true but so far we hope we're living somewhere in the middle.

 

I'm betting the dealer replaced them while you were in the 3/36 maintenance period.....check your rec'ts from your service work, or ask the dealer to check your history file for you....

 

I had to change the pads on my 06 MCS shortly after I bought it... was doing a tire rotation and noticed I was about to hit the sensor.. I was at 64k then... I'm amazed to see your pads looking that good at 100k they practically look new. Are you the original owner?

 

Thats what i was thinking.

 

What do you do for your MINI to make it last so nice and long?
Specifically do you follow everything in the manual exactly as far as maintenance? We all hear MINIs having issues. Are you had many repairs over that period of time?

Oh and I forgot to mention. Don't laugh. Our other car is a Prius Hybrid and we are still on the original brakes at 75,000 miles.
And yes, contrary to popular belief, the Prius can and will stop on command.

 

The brakes have never been replaced. That was my original thought when I went to replace them at about 75K and found them to be in great shape. I didn't do it this time but I even removed them back then to compare with the new pads. I wanted to make sure they hadn't "hardened", if that is even possible. They were virtually identical once I cleaned off the brake dust and brush them off a little.

I even recall our last service visit under the factory maintenance and they made a point of mentioning how good they were wearing. If only we could get that kind of wear out of a set of tires!

 

and heel toeing makes both of them last

 

I pretty much just follow the OBC for oil changes, and then replace parts when they need replacing. This has been a very reliable car, with only expected repairs so far. Brakes (rear twice, front once), supercharger (@193,000) belt, every 30K, control arm bushings, etc. I believe I spend the most on tires.

Nik