Hey all, first post. Forgive my ignroance about this subject and about cars in general, but I have a few questions. My MINI was a new 2006 S that I bought in 2007. It currently has ~23,000 miles. No parts have been replaced yet. My brake pad replacement light came on a few days ago and I called the dealer to see about replacement costs. He told me it could run about $300, including labor. Now, I'm pretty broke here and so here are my questions...

1) OEM is original equipment manufacturer, yes? My brake pads are currently stock and if I were to replace them with the same ones, then I'd be getting OEM pads, right? Seems like a basic question but I wanna be sure I understand =)

2) Since I'm broke, are there any cheaper pads that anyone would recommend? I understand that there's a sensor on the pads, hence the dash light alerting me to the problem, but do all brake pads accomodate this wiring? Do non-OEM pads that are cheaper accomodate this? Something tells me no.

3) I mentioned to the mechanic at the dealer that I can't afford new pads just yet. I told him I've had the car for a little over 3 years, have driven ~23,000 miles (not much at all, I know), and that my daily commute averages 10-15 miles roundtrip. He told me, because the light came on, that the pads have about 3mm left on them and that with my current mileage per day I'd be able to put off new pads for a month max before I'd be doing damage. Obviously, any squeaking or unhappy sounds at any point would mean change ASAP. So, for lack of a better way of putting it, how long would I generally have to scrape together the money before I'd be putting my car and my safety at serious risk?

Thanks in advance for any help =)

 

1) Yes, OEM means pads made for MINI
2) I just switched to Hawk ceramics ($170), but there are cheaper pads out there. The fronts have a place for the sensor, the rears do not.
3) Don't have work done at the dealer. Any independent shop can do the job for much less (although $300 is a pretty good price for a dealer).
MINI recommends replacing the rotors as well as the pads, as the OEM pads do a pretty good job of eating up the rotors by the time they're dead. Given that, your main risk is decreased braking performance rather than harming anything, as all those wear items will be replaced.
Your best $$ bet is to find a local club/friend to help you do it yourself!

 

Car Quest's Gold Searies Brake Pads are actually Akebono's, are very good and may be a less expensive alternative....

http://www.carquest.com/common/downl...sPremiumOE.pdf

I realize mileage is low, but any idea if the brake fluid has ever been replaced in your 06' ? If not, I would strongly consider a flush and refill. Moisture will build up in the fluid over time and that will damage the braking system quicker than mileage....I believe it is a recommended service every 2-3 yrs.

BTW: I think they go by production date of the vehicle for this, not when purchased. So it would be 2 yrs from date of when it left the factory floor. That info would be located on the stamped plate on door jam.

 

I would find out your local club listed here on NAM. Our club has garage days, that people bring their cars to and have basic jobs done together over a picnic type of a afternoon.

I replaced my front pads without having to replace the rotors. You will need to determine how worn the rotors are and if they have wear grooves. I put on EBC Reds on the front and it only cost me about $100. I would not use Reds unless you track your car, but you get the idea.

Determine what you need; new pads, new sensor and maybe rotors. Check out vendors here on NAM for cost, Chad at Detroit Tuned is very helpful.

Goodluck

 

Sorry for the double post.

 

Thanks =)

 

Since you are not using your car in performance applications the OEM pads are good choice to go back with.

There are some aftermarket pads I believe that accept the brake wear sensor, many do not.

If you are strapped for cash...consider doing the work yourself, There are excellent write-ups on here....IMO if you do the work yourself, stay with oem parts

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...beginners.html

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...beginners.html

 

where are you ?

I'll fix your brakes for the cost of materials/pads . . .

 

Hah I'm in Southern Cali so it'd be a bit of a trip for you, but thanks for the offer!

So out of curiosity, I stopped at a Pepboys on the way home just to see what they'd say. The guy told me that any time I replace the pads I should always replace the rotors and the sensors too, all OEM. Judging by what I've read around the forums here, it seems you don't always have to replace the rotors along with the pads/sensors. Was this guy just blowing smoke? Was he saying pretty much what any in-shop mechanic would say?

I might be wrong, but I think I remember reading that you'd only need to replace the sensors if

a) they're faulty
b) they're messed up because the pads wore down too far

The pads aren't at that point yet as far as I know (I looked) and there are no strange sounds or feelings at all when I brake.

Also, without taking off my wheels and calipers and measuring, how can I tell visually if my rotors do need replacing? I've read that they'll be grooved, but I don't exactly know just how grooved. They look kind of grooved but I don't know if that's what is being referred to. Does anyone have comparison pictures, like a new mini rotor vs a replaced one?


Again, thank you everyone who's been replying, you've all been very helpful

 

minimum thickness is stamped into the rotor

how far it might be grooved is subjective

since my early 2002-S I've gone two sets of pads to a set of rotors

if a sensor activated it was consumed. If the light did not come on the sensors are good. If the sensor did come on, ONE sensor was activiated and most likely it was the front (sensors are on left front and right rear, inner pads)

 

I am running the hawk ceramic pads on the front with EBC grooved routers and OEM on the back. Love the lack of break dust and performance. I just did breaks for a friend who was strapped for cash. We ended up with autozone pads (OEM replacements that accepted the sensors) and had the routers turned at Kregan. We are in SO CAL as well. They are an easy repair to DYI but get the tool from Auto Zone to push in the rear caliper, it is part of there free tool loan program. $300 seems very cheep from a dealer for breaks, I was quoted $600 per axle from one of the dealerships. Feel free to send me a "privet message" if you would like more specifics from SO CAL.

 

aggghhhh
BRAKES

things break

and BRAKES stop things

 

Hey captain... Give the dude a brake.

 

This may seem like a dumb/obvious question, but I wouldn't be able to put rotors for a JCW mini on my non-JCW, would I? I assume they wouldn't be compatible.

 

Nope. the JCW rotors are larger diameter. You need the JCW calipers (or second gen MCS calipers - same thing) to be able to use them.

 

well you need the jcw hanger to adjust to the diameter change anyway

I'm guessing the diameter diff' is accounted for in the hanger and not the caliber

sorry, I was a math major

 

Well, after all is said and done, I'll be getting Brake Best rotors (front 28.99, rear 31.99) from O'Reilly, and Duralast front/rear brake pads from Autozone (23.99). I'm gonna replace them myself with the help of a friend who has the tools, so all in all it'll come to about $180, which, while it still hurts, is doable for me right now (like I said, I'm pretty broke). They're certainly not the best parts, but they're new. Until I'm able to save enough to get better quality, longer lasting parts, these will have to do for now.

I've learned a ton just in the last few days, thanks everyone who gave me advice and info, it's very much appreciated!

 

Good luck, your gonna need it. I've seen and driven cars with the cheap brakes from your local parts store and it's never good. Most of the time the rotors rust badly. But that's not nearly as bad as how they don't stop. I've actually been scared when test driving these cars because the stoping distance over stock worn out pads was 2X as much. NOT SAFE. Be careful.

 

Hopefully, these will be fine until I have the money to get put better parts on. At the moment it's the best I could do.

Being broke sucks.

 

c.) the light is on

You said your light came on, I'm pretty sure that the sensor is sacrificial. if your light is on the sensor will need to be replaced.

Often times your rotors will not need to be replaced if there is pad left. But properly bedding the pads becomes much more important. With that said, I HATE doing work over when something didn't work out just right. So personally I replace pads and rotors with new OEM components...and by OEM I mean MINI/BMW OEM.....not auto part store brand stuff. I can't stand when things don't fit and work together exactly as they were intended.....a squeal or sound every time I push my pedal for the next 60k miles is unacceptable to me.....so when it is me doing the work, I buy oem parts.

 

I agree with your sentiments. Trust me, were I able to afford it, everything would be OEM for sure, but unfortunately I have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for the time being... I realize fairly generic auto parts store stuff is not recommended, nor quality, nor especially safe in comparison, but it was either replace with super cheap stuff or don't replace at all, and not replacing was not an option since the front pads were worn very well down.

Unless people are willing to start a "help the broke guy afford OEM parts" fund, they'll have to do until I have the money to get quality pads/rotors =)

 

FWIW, I'm guessing Way or any MINI shop would have a pile of used OEM pads with some life in them...

 

Atomsk,
With only 23,000 miles are you even sure that the rear brakes need anything done to them? Before you go buying everything make sure you pull off all of the wheels and measure the rotors and visually inspect the pads to see how thick they are. My guess is that only the front pads, sensor and rotors need to be changed. If you do not know how to do this, invite a friend and ply him liberally with fine food and beer and maybe he will be persuaded to help.

As someone else mentioned, since you have the warning light it means that at least one of the two sensors will need to be replaced, but more than likely not both. Usually the rear rotors and pads wear much slower than the fronts. In fact I am at 62,000 and still have the original rotors in the rear. Next set of rear pads and they will have to be replaced for sure.

 

Hey Bilbo,
The rear pads aren't as thin as the front, obviously, but I'd prefer to replace all 4 pads at once so I know for a fact that I did them at the same time for later reference. The rotors do have some grooving on them and I've heard that any grooving at all on the rotors requires action, be it turning them or replacing them. I'll see if I can take a decent picture on my phone (I'm at work right now) and, if you or anyone else would be willing, I can email it and see what the concensus is on the level of wear.

I was rather curious that people have been saying that they've been going past 50k miles on original rotors (you're at 62) whereas I'm at 23 with, according to a couple things I've read, enough grooving (in other words ANY grooving) to require action. For now, I won't be getting the sensors since money is an issue, but within a month or two so I'll be able to pick some up and put them in then. Until that happens, I'll be visually monitoring my brakes quite heavily.

I'll see about that picture...

 

After doing some more checking and discussing with a friend, it's more clear to me what "grooving" means. My rotors are showing signs of wear and since I didn't have anything to compare them to, I assumed that it was sufficient enough wear for them to be replaced, but I was wrong. They do show signs of wear but nothing else, there are lines but there's no damage or cracking or deep scoring or anything. It feels like a record when I run my fingers across them but nothing more. Soooo that saves me money (I knew it was a good idea holding off buying rotors).

Now that I won't be spending money on rotors I can put what I would have spent towards better break pads so I can return the chumpy Duralast ones to Autozone. Time to check prices/finances.