Hello all,

I have a couple of issues happening now. I knew I was getting to the point where I needed to have a look at my brake pads after passing 40K on the OEM's.

Yesterday morning when starting my MINI for my morning commute, it gave me the service indicator. After I released the parking brake to pull off, the parking brake light stayed lit. I stopped and then pulled up and released the brake to see if that turned it off. Turning off the car and back on didn't help either.

I scrolled through the service menu and saw that the front brakes were showing as -20 miles, so I thought that the light staying on may be an additional indicator that the brakes are overdue. I also had this happen to me a couple years ago while under warranty. The dealer looked at it a couple of times, but said that there was no issue. I continued on my way to work figuring the brake light remaining lit was due to one of those two issues.

On the ride to work, I started noticing a moderate clacking noise when applying the brakes. I was not a continuous sound commensurate with wheel rotation, but just a few random clacks that sounded to me like something hitting a part of the suspension. Previously, while sitting at a light occasionally I would hear one clack of a similar nature. There has been no issue with braking operation at any time.

After I got home from work, I threw it up on a jack and pulled the front wheels to have a look. The brakes are definitely getting close to their limit and the rotors are at .8" (+/- .005 on each side) with a distinct lip a their outer edges. I took a look around and did not see anything that would cause the clacking.

Is there anything else I should look for or any ideas what may be causing this noise?

Thanks.

 

perhaps when the pads get hot, they expand and contract hence making the noise. i suppose once you replace the pads, the noise should disappear.

 

I've bought the parts to replace the pads and rotors and am planning on doing that this weekend. On the description for the wear sensor at an online store, it gave me the impression that the brake light will stay lit if the sensor has tripped. I'll have at it over the weekend and hopefully that will sort these issues.

 

Despite the 90+ degree temps over the weekend, I got the new rotors and pads installed. The wear sensor had definitely been tripped and the pads were about 3/4's of the backing plate.

After having all the new parts installed, the parking brake warning light was still lit. The CBS indicator for the brakes was still showing as due and I tried to reset it by the procedure in the Bentley manual, but that procedure would not work. I had to use the two button method on the tachometer to get into the menu to reset. Once I was able to reset it, the brake light went out.

So all is well in MINI-land for me.