Hi all,

I've got a 2009 Cooper S (Horizon blue w/ white roof, stripes and mirrors ).

My brakelight recently came on and as this will be my first time replacing them, I need some guidance. I've found videos and guides on how to do the replacement itself, but I need help identifying which pads are the issue.

The front pads look okay to me, but the back pads look like they're just about gone. It seems odd to me, since I know the front pads will wear faster (though I think they were more recently replaced).

Can anyone of you wise Cooper owners tell from the pictures? The first two are of the front left wheel and the last one is of the front right wheel. The 3rd and 4th pictures of of the left rear wheel.

Many thanks!

 

FYI your rear brakes will wear faster because engine braking helps slow the front wheels, thereby using the front brakes less.

 

that's a new one .....

if so, then why are front disks larger than rears? And when a car has a mixed brake system, why to they put the better system (disks) on the front and drums in the rear? Heck on my 79 the rears brakes are virtually useless with the disks up front ...

Fronts do most of the braking and will commonly wear faster. I usually will wear out two sets of front pads to one set of rears.

OP ... none of these pictures look critical ... but the rears MIGHT have set off the sensor

did you know that your 9 has 2 systems for monitoring brake wear? There are the physical sensors on the left front and the right rear, and if the sensor trips all you can do to clear the light is replace the sensor. There are ALSO simple 'counters' for miles driven ... one for front brakes and one for rears. These 'guess' wear by your driving habits and count down to zero. At zero a light triggers. First time mine went off for the rears on my 7 I estimate I had 50% of the pad remaining .. the physical sensor had NOT tripped.

SO I reset the counter, the light cleared, and I was good for many thousands of miles. If you try the reset and the light will not clear, the sensor is probably tripped (or failed)

How to reset the counters is in your owner's manual and done thru that lil wonder stalk on the left of the steering wheel.

Rule of thumb .... looking at your pictures: when pad material is thinner than the backing plate it is time to start thinking about new pads ... but you still have time.

{For Ign': wrt engine braking which is pretty much a 'manual tranny' thing ..... which would you rather replace, a clutch or a set of brake pads? If auto-tranny worse yet ... replace a worn tranny or a set of brake pads}}

 

Actually, they use a softer compound in the rear to prevent squealing. Since they do not do as much work, they do not heat up and tend to get glazed. Most European car makes have been using softer compounds in the rear for years.

As far as your light goes, have you checked the brake fluid level?

 

On most cars, the front brakes wear out first. However,from the research I've done and personal experience, the rears wear out before the front..

 

You should check your calipers you have a problem. No car I've seen normally wears the rears first. You might have binding in the calipers. I worked on a 2009
mini justa and the previous repair had the pads in reverse. I.e. Outside pad on inside. The calipers bind and the pads wear quickly. Also the wear sensor was not installed just wrapped around the parking cable.

 

New owner. Previous owner replaced the front not the rear. Now they're due. No biggie.

 

Since it's time to replace those rears, might check out our kits here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg1.htm#item0. They include about everything you'll need for the job, including fronts. However, when you add it to the cart you can delete out the front brake pads, rotors, and sensors. That way you only get the rear items needed currently. If you have any questions or need any help with the install please let me know.