Brakes in space

[Chambolle@xxxxxxx]

One more interesting oddity regarding my recent M3 service.  About 100 miles 
ago, I suddenly started hearing a strange intermittent 
thudding/clunking/metallic noise emanating from someplace around the driver's 
side rear wheel.  It would happen when starting up from a standstill, on some 
turns, when slowing down, and sometimes just for no apparent reason.  

The dealer spent lots of time (like about $300 worth of time, to be exact) 
fumbling around with the suspension trying to locate the problem.  Someone 
finally thought to take a deep breath for two minutes and pull the wheel off. 
 Et voila... inside, they found a brake pad had separated completely from its 
two attachment points to the metal backing, and was just hanging around 
loose.  The pad was in one unbroken piece and still had plenty of life left 
in it.  No one advised me of any signs of an impact or other sudden stress 
that had caused the brake pad unit to fail, and I don't recall the problem 
appearing after a unique event of some kind.  It just started to make this 
thudding and clunking from time to time.

This doesn't sound like something that ought to happen.  Has anyone else seen 
this before?  Is there a BMW design or manufacturing quality (or lack or 
quality) issue I ought to know about?  I told the dealer I was more than a 
little miffed, particularly because someone in the repair department noted on 
my invoice that the brake had "failed due to abusive driving."  Right.  Sure 
thing.  This car goes back and forth to the grocery store on the little 
island I live on, and gets about 6,000 miles on it a year, much of it with my 
wife at the wheel.  It's always been serviced at the dealer on a regular 
schedule.  

If others have any experience or expertise regarding this issue, I'd like to 
hear it please.

DMJ
chambolle@domain.elided
'95 M3 bright red
'76 2002 verona, plates <<1976>>

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