Expert help needed!!

[Dawn]

K guy's, i need some expert advice, like before tomorrow morning....Ive done 3000 miles since my service, BMW said everything is fine , don't need new brakes, all is OK, hmmm
Ive noticed a funny noise coming from my car when i cornered left, mentioned it to hubby , who never drives my car except for today, anyway he heard it and when we got home he took the wheel off and the brake pad has worn down to the disc(k) absolutely zilch on it and has caused damage!!! is this right?? in only 3000 miles since the service, with no recommendation for a brake pad change.
i need to get my facts straight as I'm going to be on the phone first thing tomorrow and don't want to sound like a pr*tt!... any ideas ?


Also sorry did a bit of a search but sorry if this has been discussed before.

[MINIMANIAUK]

Brake pad wear is simply down to the amount of heat in the pads ,as they wear they get thinner and thus hotter and so wear faster, so when inspected at say 8000 miles and 1/2 thickness of pad remain does NOT mean 8000 miles are left before replacement. Mini brake pads seem to wear at the same rate as the discs so its not unusual to require both discs and pads,so if you are down to the metal on your pads you probably would need new discs anyway,hope this helps

[Dawn]

Quote: Originally Posted by MINIMANIAUK

Brake pad wear is simply down to the amount of heat in the pads ,as they wear they get thinner and thus hotter and so wear faster, so when inspected at say 8000 miles and 1/2 thickness of pad remain does NOT mean 8000 miles are left before replacement. Mini brake pads seem to wear at the same rate as the discs so its not unusual to require both discs and pads,so if you are down to the metal on your pads you probably would need new discs anyway,hope this helps

thanks for the reply...surely tho having read the service report the Brake pads thickness had been gauged and deemed fine. Now surely this seems somewhat excessive to us that this amount of wear should happen seeing as i only do very short journeys and BMW offered no recommendation for a Brake pad replacement. i will ring them anyway to see what they have to say,

[MINIMANIAUK]

On the whole the main dealer technicians are good,but they are under pressure to get cars in/out partly due to the high sales of Minis and workloads,they are not greatly rewarded by the dealers and there is also turnover of staff ,so just cos they got a mini overalls on does not mean they have years of experience on the Mini,like any walk of life you get good bad and indifferent.on the flip side some customers will moan if the brake pads were changed and still had 100 miles left in them.but when they charge £100 an hour they should expect to get moaned at

[Malin Dixon]

I think that the garage should have said something, but I also think it is not worth complaining.

Brake wear is very, very dependent on driving style. A formula 1 car destroys the brakes in 200 miles, 100 times as fast as a road car. It is hard to drive so that brakes only last 3 tanks of fuel, but the F1 drivers do it every second sunday.

So you would have to prove that you hadn't driven very hard. I know you haven't, but I guess you can't prove it.

Also, as others have said, most modern cars wear the disks just about as fast as the pads. This has the advantage of extending the time before either have to be replaced, but it cost more when they have to be done. Hovever at £100 per hour, it probably saves you money. It also means you never have to bed new pads into an old disk that won't be flat.

So, the garage not telling you caused you to damage further the disks that were probably going to have to be changed anyhow. And other customers might have thought that the garage was touting for business if they pointed out pads worn like yours were.

In all, it hasn't actually cost you anything, and what the garage did is in a grey area. Just find someone to fit new disks and pads. I don't think that the pads and disks are in the warranty, so there is no need to get them from the dealer.

If only one of the pads is badly worn you may have a sticking caliper, which should be fixed at the same time as you get new pads.

[Dawn]

Guys thankyou for your advice The garage is my main BMW dealer, not some back street Joby where you couldn't expect less. Our argument is that for a service to be done by professionals , you pay/or not to have someone do a service for you so that you should not have to worry about whether or not your car is safe...

i don't drive my car too hard, but I'm not a wuss!! Surely safety is the issue here? my other cars when serviced if needed anything done to them we were adviced, are MINI service exempt from this?..i wonder, we could bang on about this all day, like i said for the advice given , I'm thankful, but as for BMW/MINI service, I'm not!!

If im wrong, then hands up, im not too proud to accept that, ill keep ya posted...

[MINIAC]

My US dealer gave me a Sevice Maintenance Checklist on which the overall thickness of front and rear disc brake pads (outer pads only) was recorded.

[Suzrider]

Pads worn to the metal within 3000 miles of a service is not normal. They should have advised replacement of the pads at the service if the pads would need replacing within 5000 miles. Go to the dealer and make a fuss at the desk. Get the service manager involved if they try to argue.

Under no circumstances let the person on reception fob you off.

Similar thing happened with my old car, a Toyota Celica Turbo. Major service - brakes no good I said - everything fine at service they said. Brakes still poor so I removed rear wheels to find both rear calipers seized and both discs corroded on the inner face.
It was obvious that they had never been checked! Boy was I mad. I removed a disc and returned it to the dealer, dropping it loudly on his service desk. After mentioning the poor quality workmanship of his service dept. and the risk to life and limb, they agreed to replace the discs and pads at no cost and gave me a voucher towards the cost of the next service.

It definitely pays to complain about the quality of work - if you think you're right, stick to your guns!

Good luck.

[Speedd]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dawn

Guys thankyou for your advice The garage is my main BMW dealer, not some back street Joby where you couldn't expect less. Our argument is that for a service to be done by professionals , you pay/or not to have someone do a service for you so that you should not have to worry about whether or not your car is safe...

i don't drive my car too hard, but I'm not a wuss!! Surely safety is the issue here? my other cars when serviced if needed anything done to them we were adviced, are MINI service exempt from this?..i wonder, we could bang on about this all day, like i said for the advice given , I'm thankful, but as for BMW/MINI service, I'm not!!

If im wrong, then hands up, im not too proud to accept that, ill keep ya posted...

Take the car in and ask to speak with the service manager. I would ask for an explanation and see what they have to say.

Keep us posted Mrs RW

[Rakey]

maybe its been caused by a sticking caliper, as this is a fault that seems to happen a lot

[smc]

Quote: Originally Posted by Suzrider

Pads worn to the metal within 3000 miles of a service is not normal. They should have advised replacement of the pads at the service if the pads would need replacing within 5000 miles. Go to the dealer and make a fuss at the desk. Get the service manager involved if they try to argue.

Under no circumstances let the person on reception fob you off.

Similar thing happened with my old car, a Toyota Celica Turbo. Major service - brakes no good I said - everything fine at service they said. Brakes still poor so I removed rear wheels to find both rear calipers seized and both discs corroded on the inner face.
It was obvious that they had never been checked! Boy was I mad. I removed a disc and returned it to the dealer, dropping it loudly on his service desk. After mentioning the poor quality workmanship of his service dept. and the risk to life and limb, they agreed to replace the discs and pads at no cost and gave me a voucher towards the cost of the next service.

It definitely pays to complain about the quality of work - if you think you're right, stick to your guns!

Good luck.

I am totally with u, one have to be hard especially when it it concern safety and lives of others, one who tend to be soft will be ignore or chewed up

[Dawn]

Oh dear...just been on the phone and spoken to the service manger who incidentally Ive had dealings with regarding my seats...any way, apparently It is not BMW policy to remove wheels now to check brake pads, one pad is randomly selected (bollo*ks) and gauged , just my luck they must have chosen a nice big fat one to gauge eh?
Any way, here goes, "Mrs C, bring the car down and we will get it looked at for you", me " my husband wont let me drive it because its dangerous", him, "OK, we'll arrange for someone to come and collect it ".( and for the grand sum of £250 inc VAT well have you back on the road in no time ! ) Now off you go and be a good girl! , he didn't actually say that but talked at me like i was a child. Phoned my hubby, not a happy chappy, hes on the phone as I'm typing this....
To be continued...