Well , I was driving home in the JCW and the "brake" warning lit up and won't go off. At the same time I also got the "car on lift" symbol in red. The lift cleared but comes on when I turn the car off/ on. When starting the cycle over I also get "mls -10" on power up. And finally a ABS and triangle ! The owner manual says stop and service immediately. Have my obd scanner with me but it is not pulling a reading. Just flashes all 8's. So, do I call for a tow or am I ok to drive home?
I experienced very similar problems with my Mini about a month ago. Replaced the battery and all is fine. I think you're safe to drive home.
On the R53, if you are getting what is referred to as the trifechta, where you have the three lights going off, that is usually a speed sensor.... Not saying that is what you have but... If it seems to be running fine and oil and water temps stay good I'd drive it. But I also take no responsibility in your decision...lol
update OK so now for an update. I did call the dealer and the individual I spoke with was not familiar with the error code screen but felt that I was ok to drive. ...Continued to read the owner manual and kept cycling thru the messages on the tach via the turn signal. Finally, I must have hit the code correctly and after the red mini on lift screen I got the rear half and the brakes symbol. So I am now thinking that I am needing brakes. I guess my question is is the brake symbol a time/mileage countdown message or is it from the brake sensor?
Bingo you have rear brakes that need replacing. What has happened is that the brakes got down low enough to wear through the wear sensor triggering the light. The car on a lift picture is an indication of a needed service.
It's a R-56 speciality. Indicates a service requirement. It's a pictogram of a MINI on a lift and shows up on the screen of the Tachometer. It's an indication to get an appointment for repair.
I was told that when the light comes on for breaks, due to pad wear as Crash said, you have 500 miles left to get service. Jim
As they say your mileage may vary. I'm sure the light pops on just before the (brakes) are mental to mental. :crazy:
The light is activated when a small wire in the sensor is worn through and before the pads are completely gone. Nothing high tech here but it is simple and works. If you were metal to metal with your brakes, you wouldn't need a light to tell ya, they would be sounding off on their own...lol When the brake sensor activates it means to get it in for service very soon, not pull over and call the tow truck. 2cents
Also if you want to be rid of the brake nanny, simply solder the ends of the broken wires together. One dead NANNY yes!!! :devil:
Wow. they REALLY want you to know you need a brake job lol. Luckily I never got to that point, but my plan was to monitor the proximity to the wear sensors (front driver / rear pass side i think) and try and change pads before they hit. I certainly had the wheels off it enough.... On the plus side there are a LOT of good pad options out there, if they were not already upgraded!
The upside to doing the brakes before the light goes off, is that you don't have to replace the sensors........if you still use them. Lol
You are right there are options out there. I need to check with chkmini about the pads. I don't recall what he said about the brakes. We know he did a lot of driving, but I am not so sure that he did much braking :biggrin5:. For all I know, the car still has the original pads on it.
The actual JCW pads are not bad at all for everyday, some fun runs and possibly the one or two light track days, albeit the are a bit dusty. There is NO one pad that is great on the road and on the track. Anyone that tells you there is, walk away.
WOW. That has to be close to a record. The car has 82k miles on it now. I need to go to chkmini driving school.
Highway will do that for you! Mine looked very good at 53K when I got rid of it. Good news is you can upgrade to some EBC's or something!