Warning: Failing EBC Pads Aren't Isolated!
 

Loved my Greenstuff. Low dust, good braking. Heard stories of pads disappearing. Brushed em off as random as mine worked fine. Halfway thru its life, still worked great.
Then a week back, felt binding on reverse. These were intermittent. Then, my Ol' Gray 02 R53 (48k mi, never sees track nor abuse) evolved to having HILL ASSIST! Thought: this just can't be! Shared this phenomenon w/ my buddy, Da Mastah. Thinking my MINI must be special. Think Herbie!
Jacked up the car today puzzled. All Rotors were freewheeling, no binding at all. Drove to work up the hills.... Imagine my horrific drive downhill! Rear brakes created grinding noises I've never heard before, pedal went deeper, then back, losing grip. Fronts kept the car in check. Babied it right to my mechanic buddy's doorstep.... Pics say a lot:
LH rear- Lost the inner pad (left on pic)
Attachment 154287

RH inner pad had partially delaminated, detached upon pad removal (top of pic)
Attachment 154288

Felt extremely blessed! Those w/ EBC pads, swap em out now! These are accidents waiting to happen.
EBC, WAKE UP!!!! Your pads aren't safe!

Been hearing more and more stories lately about this with EBC....
Kinda disturbing....

I've had my EBC greens on for a while now since last November. I will probably change them in the summer to Hawk pads after this story now too. I've heard a few in the past but nothing like this.

Is there anything official on this? Links to other stories?

Google READ EBC BRAKE USERS ~EBC PAD FAILURES

A few LONG threads on other sites that get ****** out if we mention their name....
But certainly not an isolated case....but not exactly epidemic....

How much pad is left?

MINI's spec is the pad should be replaced at 3mm. I think EBC recommend 4mm. I've had bits fall off my Yellowstuff track pads, but only when they got below 4mm.

This is not something I want to hear, I just put on EBC greenstuff pads two months ago!

We've sold hundreds of sets of EBC pads without issue. This is the 3rd set I seen someone complain about, 2 sets by the same person so that is an odd coincidence?? From looking at this set it looks like they were pretty worn to begin with.
I ask how long the car had been sitting before driving it off and having them come apart? Because I have seen pads rust to rotors and chunk apart because they were stuck.
I would be interested in hearing what EBC says after seeing the pads as they have always been good to deal with.

I'm going to continue selling them as they've proven to been good pads with how many I've sold. Just hope isolated cases like this don't ruin a good product.

Car is used 3-4 times a week to work, never abused nor tracked, have never even seen snow! Pads regularly checked & have half left. The LH inner pad went, while the RH dis-bonded half after removal. I loved how these worked & even brushed off failure posts.
No one should ignore safety. I'm just putting this out there (from 1 mini owner to another) to help prevent accidents from happening.

How old are these pads?

Pads are 4-5years old. Have other cars w/ older pads & no issues.

You drove the car 3-4 times a week and had the pads on 4-5 years, seems like you were a bit over due for new pads wouldn't you say? At least I always change mine 2-3 years depending on how hard I drive too.

Could be due to age. The thing is, I rotate my cars & none of the others in 3 decades of driving has seen failure like this, even with older pads on much heavier SUVs.
Just warning everyone to check pads regularly. If you suddenly develop the symptoms I got like HILL ASSIST when you don't have this feature & resistance on reverse, replace those ASAP. Brake failure shouldn't be taken lightly. I've ignored the failure posts, never believed it could hit me.

EBC Brakes is now using a new NRS (NUCAP Retention System) Hook System on their brake pads. This should prevent pad separation entirely:

"NUCAP is so confident in the NRS technology, we’re pleased to announce the NUCAP Industries, fully-funded, 100% Brake Pad Performance Guarantee. Starting May 1, 2013, NUCAP will guarantee all brake pads manufactured with the NRS™ Retention System against delamination for the useful life of the pads and will reimburse customers a flat $250 for the cost of their brake pads and labor."

http://ebcbrakes.com/articles/ebc-br...o-and-impreza/
http://www.nucap.com/products/backing-plates/nrs/

Can vendors who carry EBC confirm if NRS is now on all EBC pads for MINI? I won't mind trying them again, if so.

Wonder how long it will take for vendors/sellers to clear their shelves of "new old stock".....
Let's face it...
Many mini sku's are fairly low volume parts.....and slow moving compared to other makes/models...

I've emailed EBC Brakes asking if there is a way to tell if their Greenstuff, Redstuff, and Yellowstuff pads have NRS either before or after buying them (online). I'll share the answer here.

PS: Use code "FRMTUNDRA16" for 16% off entire purchase at AutoAnything.com, or code "AA15" for 15% off other products like EBC brake pads. Just ordered Greenstuff pads and Centric high carbon rotors there for my wife's Jetta using the 16% code.

Thanks, Steve!
Way, can you help shed some light on this?

When Way has been asked previously about the separating EBC pads he has remained silent until post #9. I sure would not buy EBC pads until it can be guaranteed that they are of the new construction & not prone to pad separation. Nothing against Way, but saying we've never seen this widespread problem seems odd.

Sounds like a tacit admission of a problem EBC has been having with their old pad attachment mechanism (glue?).

Strangely, no other brake pad manufacturer seems to be having this issue. Googling for "ebc brake pad failure", you get 141,000 hits from various car forums:
https://www.google.com/search?q=ebc+brake+pad+failure


I wonder how soon before we see massive sales of old-stock EBC inventory...

a

Mintex is another brand that has had same issues.

Cut the guy some slack. Post #9 was made the same day as the OP. Way has a shop to run. If you're really that concerned pick up the phone and call the shop. How many other shops even have a decent forum presence?

That question has been asked many times. In more threads than this one. I was cutting him slack.

Yes I know he has a shop. Don't you think he has a duty to his customer's to provide a safe product? I know he does not make those pads & their design is not his fault. Selling those pads with a known defect is.

:thumbsup:
I'll cut him some slack....
He seems to be honest in saying HE HAS SEEN a couple failures...(bet he has on EVERY FACTORY and non-OEM product on a MINI!).....
heck...I bet he has SEEN EVERY brand have failures....
Bonded pads are not perfect...
But then again...neither are riveted pads...
BUT we can all take comfort in the fact that EBC as (apparently very quietly :sly: ) moved to a better bonding technique.....
While a failure is bad...
it was found and fixed...
and the pad maker has taken actions to ensure it will nor happen again!!
Nuff said.