O/T - Bini question
Turbo Mini Forums

OK, wrong forum but I know a few of you have them as a "second car".

What's the usual thickness of a new front brake pad ???

Reason for asking is wifey's Bini - company car - went in for a service at an authorised BMW dealer about 3 weeks ago. A week later she asked me to look at it as the windscreen wash had frozen. I usually fill it for her with the proper anti-freeze version but they had put plain water in.
Whilst I had the bonnet open it was obvious nothing else had been touched.
The oil was as black as tar and everything under the bonnet was filthy including sychamore leaves from last autumn (we have one she parks under).

When I pointed out I could see nothing had been done she said it had had to have the front brakes changed as well as the service.
Looking through the wheels (I wasn't going to jack it up and do an accurate measurement) the pads seem about 3mm thick and the discs are badly worn. I would have expected 6-8mm for a new pad ?

Anyway, she dismissed all this on the basis of "it's a company car and they know what they are doing" except today she just emailed me from work to say the service warning light is back on (after only three weeks) and her company is going to send it back to the same dealer (and would I take her to work which pisses me off as I already told her it hadn't actually been serviced the first time).

I can see the lack of oil/filter/etc changes but just curious on the brake pads - are BMW new ones only 3mm ?

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

No. At least 10mm or possibly even more new.

We had Lisas car serviced at the local MINI dealer when we first bought it. It was expensive but thorough, all the sunroof and window slides were lubricated with white grease, same for the door latches etc.
However on the engine oil the schedule does not say it has to be changed every time!

PS

The RAT BASTARDS!!

from what your saying, it looks like sweet FA has been done. Company Car or not, I'd be asking some polite questions from the service team.

I've had limited experience with Bini service so far but everything I have had is positive

Thanks both,
Do any of you know if the brake pads have wear sensors and, if so, are they linked into the "service" warning light or something else, or not at all.

Just a thought, maybe the 3mm brake pads have now lit the light ?

They certainly weren't changed as claimed and, at 3mm, from what Tom says, they must be old so maybe they have now just set the warning off ?

Looking through the wheel they look fairly clean but that could have just been a pressure washer or brake cleaner. No way are they 8mm plus thick.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

Yep, they have wear sensors on it. If they are worn, the brake warning light will burn.

Give them a little visit n confront them... see how they react

I bought a 58 plate one for my wife with 22k on the clock and it clearly never had the oil changed despite having 4 stamps in the book. Took it back and they "changed it for free ". Funny enough when I checked it again the oil was black and stunk , looked at the sump plug and it hadn't been touched . Complained got no where so did it myself . In short I have heard nothing but bad things about their customer service and workshops .
Also checked her pads and there is 7mm left , clearly not new ones either .

I would be playing merry hell at volume in person at the dealership. Brakes are safety. They obviously don't value your wife's safety.

Bmw seems to be giving crap service out at the moment seen a few people moaning

Send them a letter (to the dealer and the BMW head office and the lease company if it is a company car) to formally let them know they did a service not according to bmw standards and you will pursue this legally.

mostly does the trick (saying i'm going to sue you is not enough but sending a letter generally works as it has to pass the legal dept then)

Edited by Sir Yun on 17th Feb, 2015.

That sir, is not rust, it is the progressive mass reduction system

http://aseriesmodifications.wordpress.com/

The wear sensors are fitted to front and rear, but unplugging them will not turn off the light, in actual fact to turn off the light you need to plug in a diagnostic box to reset even after you have replaced the pads and wear sensor for new.

I reset the light in our r55 without a computer... You just use the stalk button. Very easy to do. My pads are also unplugged, as it annoys me to change out pads that are just under half worn lol... I can easily check them through the cavernous gaps in the factory wheels, so no biggie...

Edited by TurboDave16V on 18th Feb, 2015.

on that both r53 and R56 brakes I've done for brake pads wear sensors I replace them plug it into the brake pad then the wiring loom Start the car and it does off after driving a few feet down the road same as doing the abs sensors.

Well I must be fucking lying about the car parked outside then....FFS

Edited by Brett on 18th Feb, 2015.

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

R52 doesn't need anything to clear the ABS light.

I swapped a faulty sensor out on ours last night, light stayed on until I drove it. It's now cleared itself.

Airbag and service lights are another matter.

In the 13's at last!.. Just

Air bag light will go off if you stick a 3.9ohm resister in it. If it's the air bag in the seat. Just disconnect the battery for 5 mins job done

I play with R50 - R53s alot as few of my mates have them so picked up a few tricks but the 09 onwards R56 is abit more tech so you need a computer to turn crap off the obd torque app may do it for abs and brake lights though

Edited by Brett on 18th Feb, 2015.

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett