My 07 Mini Cooper (mine from new) has today had rear brake service with a non-dealer (but really competent mechanic).
New pads were fitted to both front and rear with new wires and new rear brake calipers.
On driving from the garage there is now a distinct difference in the pressure I have to use on the brake pedal.
Before the service,the pedal had to be just touched and the brakes became responsive.
Now, I have to press quite hard before the brakes respond. It is as if I am using physical force to make the brakes work.
The old pads would have bedded in, which means it has all the matching groves that the disc has. The new pads won't have got that yet and are just touching the peaks and until they bed in fully they might as well be made of wood. The other thing is brake pad compound/make of pads. Not sure what you got but they may not be the same as you took off. Give it a few miles to bed in and see if they come up to your expectations.
There could be air trapped in the system but if the mechanic is competent then he would have bled the brakes when fitting the new callipers. It might be worth getting in touch with the mechanic and ask him to check them over just for your own piece of mind.
No affraid simply putting in more fluid in the reservoir will not fix the issue..
In easiest terms to explain the air trapped rises to the highest point.. (Top of the caliber) so the mechanic needs to open a bleed nipple(to bleed the air out) this will mean a solid flow of fluid in the pipes,caliber,reservoir etc. the fluid can not easily be compressed(unlike air) and the system should be normal again....
Should take a competent mechanic no more than ten minutes...
Good luck hope the above explains alittle easier...
Cheers brian
And if there was a leak needs to be sorted ASAP.. Brake fluid can ruin paintwork and wheels.....
I guess that the system was indeed bled at that time .
I noticed this morning ...before starting the engine.... that the brake pedal was solid and hard (as pre-service).
On starting the engine, the pedal became fairly 'soft' and the pedal travel increased and remained that way throughout a short journey.
(I am not sure if this indicates something!
I found the ability to slow down/stop was good although not as immediate as before.
The main difference is that I am now pressing much harder on the pedal.
....thanks everyone for helping me think this problem through.
If your brakes don't feel right then I'd seriously have them checked out before you do more driving with it. The hard pedal before start up is normal and indicates that your servo is ok. Have you checked the fluid level to see if its lost any? If the mechanic didn't renew the brake fluid then I'd probably have this done just as a matter of precaution
The reason the pedal is hard at first, then more travel once you start is that the vacuum servo comes into operation, that is normal... if the pedal is rock hard when the engine is off leads me to think all is well, but as said earlier for your own piece of mind no harm taking back just for a quick check over.
Yay, that's a good result. I have done a few complete brake pads and disc replacements and I nearly always forget how feeble they are when I come to brake for the junction at the end of the road :-(
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