I took my 2007 MCS to a local repair shop today. I knew that my front brakes needed to be done, because I kept track of the miles to replace and it finally set off the alert: the "Brake" light in the tach lit up, and I'd get a red "car on a lift" alert every time I started the car on the tach as well. I knew the brake fluid needed changing because I could get that info from the service part, but that didn't warn me every time. So they did the brake fluid and the front brakes (using OEM parts) today, along with the oil/filter. They didn't know how to make the alert lights go out. Now for the bad part: he says I need a master cylinder. The car stopped on a dime going in. Now there's a LOT of brake pedal travel stopping. He told me that sometimes, after they bleed the brake fluid and the piston goes all the way down, then returns to refill the fluid reservoir, the second seal blows, thus the excess pedal travel and need for a new master cylinder. Does that make any sense? I'm having them rebleed/refill the system tomorrow to rule out air in the lines. When I pump the brakes the pedal still travels very far. I also want to know how I can reset the lights (the one that says "brake" on the tach (same one that shows the parking brake is on) and the red "car on a lift" light, and the brake fluid thing. Thanks very much in advance! He quoted me $550 for the master cylinder job.

 

How did they bleed the system? It sounds to me that they blew the seals bleeding it provided they didn't just botch the bleeding and get air trapped in it. Personally I wouldn't trust them to do the work again as it sounds like they really don't know what they are doing. Go someplace else and get it fixed right. Then ask for your money back from these idiots.

 

Shop f*cked up....and are trying to get you to pay...agree with the above...
They just pushed the pucks in...pushed the dirty fluid up the lines...messed up the master perhaps...i would worry about letting that place touch the car....master was fine when you drove in...should be fine after...

 

yeah you got ripped. get your money back and take it somewhere that specialises in mini. my car is as old as yours and no probs.

 

Been working on MINI's for 10yrs now and I maybe replaced one brake master cylinder. So I think someone messed something up. Maybe go to a different shop. Brakes are a safety item so get it fixed before driving.

 

One way that I judge if a master cylinder is good or bad is...

If you are stopped at a red light for instance, you have your foot on the brake pedal. It should hold pressure on the brakes, if its a bad master the pedal slowly goes to the floor and you have to keep pumping to keep the brakes on.

If you put the brakes on and the pedal has some play but holds and never goes to the floor I say it just needs to be bled again.

That is just what I think.

 

R56 service / brake lights etc reset procedure

Is in this thread.

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

 

Thanks for the responses. The brakes were 100% fine when I drove in, just the sensor indicated my fronts needed replacing (which I knew after watching the miles to replacement). I asked them to do the fluid at the same time. Then the master cylinder just "goes out" when they bleed them/replace the fluid. Now the brakes go way down applying the pedal and he says "that just sometimes happens when the seals go out". I don't know how bleeding is done, it just seems like I had a good MC going in, a bad one leaving. I'm not sure what to do next. I don't feel good giving them another $550 for the extra job. The pedal definitely goes lower the more I push it, I pump it but that doesn't stop it from going lower down. It's probably not just air in the lines, it's probably losing pressure.

 

Keep us posted, but I would avoid that shop like the plague (let them know what you now know) and find a place that fix it right. Then, pass the bill back to him.

 

Looked at the Owner's Manual. What I see is a car on a lift in the display, and the word "brake" lit up as an indicator light on the tach. I just assumed that meant the brake pads were worn. But the book says this combination indicates "Vehicle electronics failed" (you cannot continue your journed, contact dealer). The combination of the brake pad ! in the display and the "brake" light is worn pads. Does this make sense? I know the pads were on the brink.

 

Did you replace the rotors too?

I also think the diagnosis is wrong, and would have the brakes bled by someone competent.

How often does it happen that people don't want to pay the dealer's price for repairs and it winds up costing them even more for substandard work?

I'm not saying that there aren't great places besides the dealer to get work done (Way MotorWorks for example ) but that you need to be really careful who you let work on your car.....

I think ZippyNH may have called it - if they pushed the old fluid up into the ABS system and the master cylinder, they could have gotten debris into the system that can cause problems.

 

Yeah they did the rotors too. I talked to a guy in Tempe at EurotechAz that does a lot of Minis. He's never replaced a master cylinder. I did it here because the dealer is 100 miles away. I'll have them bleed the brakes again today, he says he does it the old fashioned way, "pump pump pull". There has to be air in there I still think. If it's still messed up I'll go to Scottsdale or Tempe soon.

 

Most consider it good pratice to crack open the bleed lines when you push the pucks in, so the dirty fluid gets squirted out, rather than up the brake lines back up to the master...
most shops, and even a growing number of home users use preasure bleeders today....bottom up.
A shop that "still does it the old way" is not nessarirly a bad thing, but it does indicate that they may be behind the times a bit...
In this day and age, for a minimal (for a shop)$$, most shop subscribe to online data services that get most of the shop manuals for most makes, recalls, etc, all online, with many troubleshootong procedures listed....and most shops invest in a selection of tools and electronic readers, and can do much morr than say we cannot turn off your service light....
Just sounds like a place to get the oil changed/brakes done on the grocery getter, but perhaps not on a nice car.
The fact THEY LET YOU LEAVE WITH A DEFECTIVE BRAKING SYSTEM, rather than fix it says volumes...perhaps a middle ground for a sop might have been to say you pay for the part, we will install it for free, maybe we messed up....even that comming from a reputible shop would sound bad....you went in with good pedal ferl, and worn brake pads...you left with a failed compotent...unsafe, and reeks of incompetence.

 

PS brakes on a mini are very standard automotive items...even a local chain should do them ok, what makes mini's a biy more specialized is the selection of performance parts many drivers want, but even most napa's etc are starting to stock many more mini items...so even mild upgrades can still often be done, bypassing the dealer, saving $$...

 

They bled the brakes again yesterday, the dude said there wasn't any air in them, and there's the same pedal travel. He said he had indeed searched an online database to see if the Mini had any special quirks involved in bleeding the brake system and there were none. So the diagnosis is faulty master cylinder. They'll do it next week for parts ($390 includes tax). I don't know what else to do so I said OK.
What I DON'T know is what the combination of the red "car on a lift" in the display and the "brake" indicator light on the tach means. I assumed it meant the brake pads needed replacing but I don't think so now. Could that have meant the master cylinder was bad from the get go?

 

What you say is...

"Please explain to me how the master cylinder was working fine before I brought it in and now you are telling me it has failed? Clearly this is something you caused. Please do not touch my car any further."

You then call a tow truck to haul it to a new place that knows what they are doing. Once you get it repaired, you file a small claims court to get your money back.

Make sure you document EVERYTHING!

Don't let them get away with this.

 

Followup: They replaced the MC charged me $385 including tax. I'm not 100% sure now that there wasn't something wrong with it before the front pad sensor set off. So I don't know anything, except my freaking front brakes had better be lasting me until a dump the car! The rears say 10k miles, but they've said that for awhile.

 

BigNewt, sorry to hear about your trouble. I had my Mini to the dealer for the two year brake fluid change and had a similar problem. The brakes worked fine before going in and after the fluid change, the brake pedal would slowly go to the floor when stopped at a light with my foot applying light pressure on the pedal.

I made another appointment for the problem and the dealer replaced the master cylinder.

The dealer claimed they don't have problems with master cylinders going bad, they didn't even have one in stock and they had to order it. It seemed to me that the problem was caused by the mechanic, but it's hard to be certain. For me it turned out OK because it was repaired under warranty.

Good luck and I hope your problem is solved.

 

I looked back through my service records, and my dealer did flush the brakes one time a few years ago. I'll take some solice in the fact that this happened to someone else, and I'm glad yours was under warranty!