Before I take my Mini into the dealer to get reemed, I wanted to get some feedback to see if anyone else has run into this problem. The ABS brakes on my 2006 MCS have become mushy. The brakes work, but there seems to be alot of " pedal travel" from when the pedal is depressed and when the brake engages. The car stops, but this is a bit un-nerving if situations of hard braking. I am assuming that the car just needs new pads, but there are no alarm indicators for brake service. The car was purchased a year ago as a CPO, so I assuming the brakes were serviced as part of that certification. I have logged approximately 30K miles, almost all freeway. BTW, what can I expect to pay for a brake job at the dealer? I am weighing the option of taking it to someplace else if the brakes need servicing. Any feedback would be helpful : )

 

I have the same problem in my 2005 MCS. It started a couple months ago when I noticed the brakes being a bit mushier than they should. So I checked my pads and they were worn down to nothing. Thinking I had found the mushy brake problem, I replaced the pads myself with ordinary pads (not upgraded, just plain jane pads from Autozone).

That didn't fix it.

They were still mushy and inconsistent. One time they will brake fine - a little mushy but ok, the next you have to push twice as far. It always stops. I always have brakes, but I never know when I hit that pedal how far or hard I will have to push. That's dangerous.

So I took it to the stealership. They performed "regular maintenance" on my brakes, which consisted of flushing my lines to the tune of $200. It changed nothing. (I may as well have taken that money and made a bonfire with it for all the good it did me.)

Since I've learned not to trust the stealership (for other reasons than just this brake "maintenance"), I took it to a friend/mechanic, who doesn't normally work on MINIs. I was going to have him bleed the brakes, as mushy brakes are usually indicative of air in your lines. But I decided to upgrade the lines and the fluid while I was at it. So he upgraded the lines and fluid, bleeding them in the process.

It is still mushy. In fact, it is worse. I have to press the pedal two to three times as far as before. On the good side, the braking seems more consistent now - it's always 2 to 3 times as far.

Anyway, I post this in the hopes that your dealer will figure out the problem, and that you'll post it so I can try the same thing and fix my problem.

 

Check your wheel bearings for excessive play, and your brake rotors for runout (wobble). Either of these can knock the brake pads back away from the rotors more than usual, leading to increased pedal travel.

 

In my case we have to change the brake pump... And for obviusly reasons.. Change the brake fluid.. My mechanic put in it the ate blue and im feeling my brake a little sponge... He told me that i have to came back with him to bleed the line, and that is normal with every change of fluid, is that correct? Thanks!