Morning all,
I have an 06 mini cooper s, I want to get a little more power but i dont want to be refused warranty service.
How far can you go (stages i guess) without being refused warranty?
I hope this makes sense to some?
I have had cars before that i worked on and it took quite a bit of tweaking before the dealer said they couldnt cover certain parts due to the work i had done.It was worth it though 458 bhp on a twin turbo supra.
I guess i am looking for a little over 200hp on the mini.
Thanks
Neil

 

JCW kit. Anything else has the potential to void your warranty, depending on your dealer. Some are mod friendly, some aren't.

 

The dealer can't void your warranty unless they can prove the mod you did DIRECTLY caused whatever problem you are having.

I also have a few packages that won't void warranties in any way.

 

Depends on your dealer. Some are very mod friendly, to the point of installing pulleys and other aftermarket gear. Some lock the door when they see you coming if you use non-OEM gasoline.
As 3cocinas said, the warranty safe path is JCW, but it's a pricey path, especially if you didn't order it from the factory.
So make an anonymous call to your SA, disguise your voice, and ask what mods they find objectionable.
Waylen is technically correct, but in practice they can and do avoid warranty claims due to aftermarket parts. Just do a search on 'denied warranty' for examples. Sometimes you can strong arm them, other times even lawyers have a tough time (they have lawyers, too, and more money than you.) See here for an example.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't mod your car, just be aware of the risks, and mitigate them at your own comfort level.

 

In theory, yes. And that is the way consumer protection laws are written as well. HOWEVER, all it takes is for the dealer to say no, and you are left holding the bag. Want to fight it, get ready to spend more than the cost of repair on attorneys. Sux, but it happens. See Eric's link.

 

Yep - it's all pretty much common sense, although you are subject to the whims of the dealer. Look at a common example, the reduced-diameter supercharger pulley.

If you install a 15% pulley, and a while later, your windshield wipers stop working, I don't think any dealer could deny a warranty claim on the wipers with a straight face.

If, after installing the pulley, you develop leaks in the head gasket, you're now on shakier ground. The aftermarket pulley increases boost and dynamic cylinder pressure, so it *could* have caused the gasket leaks, and it might be hard to prove otherwise. But, since a 15% pulley is almost identical to the pulley in the JCW package, a more-liberal dealer might argue that the gasket must have been faulty, since they're designed to work with the extra pressure from the JCW pulley, and therefore the gasket should have been fine with your 15% aftermarket pulley as well.

Now, if your 15% pulley loosens up on the supercharger shaft, starts spinning relative to the shaft, and buggers up the shaft, then you're out of luck. There's no way short of fraud that a dealer could justify replacing the supercharger input shaft under warranty.

If you want something *really* scary, look at the part in the warranty booklet where it says that the ENTIRE warranty is voided if the car is ever used in a competitive event. Pretty vague, I know. That could cover anything from drag racing to autocross, or even things like timed rallies and poker runs that are conducted on city streets at normal driving speeds. I don't know if that particular clause has ever been challenged in court. If it were, I suspect that it would fall under the "over-reaching" or "unconscionable" categories of contract law, depending on the claim that was being denied.

 

I spoke to my SA yesterday and he stated that the 14.3% JCW pulley isn't available unless you upgrade the supercharger and that if I added an aftermarket 15% pulley it would not only void my supercharger warranty but also the engine warranty. He said he would be happy to install the JCW intake, for a nice round $850.

 

Nonetheless, if you have to have the performance upgrades, they are available to you. It's now just a matter of how much $ you'll have to part with. On one hand MINI dealers have a racket going on, but on the other hand, you can literally mod the heck out of your car via MINI and it will still be under FULL warranty.