Have any of you had a wheel alignment done under warranty?
Ditto brake work?
Our 06 MC (~4500 miles) has had a pull to the left since delivery; slight but noticable at first, getting worse. Brakes are getting grabby and starting to squeal.
Had it in for these issues the other day and was told that it needs an alignment*, not covered under warranty, and they kindly offered to do one for $205.00. They blamed the brake problems on us for not keeping the brake dust cleaned out.
I love driving this car, but if the brakes and suspension are so fragile that they can't handle normal driving, and start to fail with less than 5000 miles, I'm thinking seriously about bailing.
Am I alone in this? Anyone else having same/ similar problems?

* Got 2 different stories on this; first was that the "tight sport suspension" was more likely to react to road crown. I kindly pointed out that road crown, in the US, would cause a pull to the right, not left. Second was that it must be our fault, since they had no way of knowing what we did to the car.

 

Dealer bs

 

Agree. The MINI Center in San Antonio replaced my brakes at 25k. And I know several others in this area who have had the brakes replaced. The maintenance contract should cover all normal wear and tear except tires, as I understand it. I have even had them replace the wiper blades a few times under the maintenance contract. And, an alignment should last greater than 4500 miles for sure.

 

Actually wear and tear doesn't cover brakes as they have no idea how you drive the car.

 

Are they insane??

 

They want to hit you up for brake service,which is one way to charge you for something that they dont want to fix under maintenance or regular warranty.Some suggest doing a few high speed stops which will fix the problem for you.Try that if you have big parking lot somewhere.

 

[quote=3cocinas]Have any of you had a wheel alignment done under warranty?
Ditto brake work?
Our 06 MC (~4500 miles) has had a pull to the left since delivery; slight but noticable at first, getting worse. Brakes are getting grabby and starting to squeal.
Had it in for these issues the other day and was told that it needs an alignment*, not covered under warranty, and they kindly offered to do one for $205.00. They blamed the brake problems on us for not keeping the brake dust cleaned out.
I love driving this car, but if the brakes and suspension are so fragile that they can't handle normal driving, and start to fail with less than 5000 miles, I'm thinking seriously about bailing.
Am I alone in this? Anyone else having same/ similar problems?

supposed to be able to tell if you drove over some deepish pot holes, bumps or curbs? How is anyone supposed to be able to tell if you ride your brakes? The dealer can't tell either so it's not warranteed. I've got 8000 miles on my Cooper and so far the brakes and alignment are the same as when I bought it. They aren't any more fragile than most other cars in my experience. While there may indeed be a fault in your front end and brakes it isn't as likely as you having some bad driving habits. Since alignment and brake wear depend on driving conditions and habits they aren't usually warranteed.

So what you're looking for here are folks with the same driving habits and thus be able to show your dealer that others have the same problems and hope to get it warranteed. My suggestion, as harsh as it seems, is to suck it up and get it fixed. Then pay attention to the road and avoid stomping on the brakes. Not what you want to hear, but nevertheless a distinct possibility. Still I hope you can get it warranteed. I just doubt it'll happen and if that drives you to another auto purchase all I can say is...so. Very few people are honest in self judgement. Much easier to blame someone else and I see you have plenty of people who feel as you do. Misery loves company.

 

I was specifically told it did indeed cover brakes upon asking and that tires were the only thing not covered

 

Brakes are covered under the 36 month/36K mile free scheduled maintenance. This includes pads and rotors. You MUST ask your dealer service advisor at the time you drop the car for service. Don't expect the dealer to offer it to you on their own initiative.

Aligments. The policy of most dealers is that they will correct any aligment issues as long as they are reported within 2K miles from the time the car was first delivered. If you wait after that, they will not cover the cost of an aligment. This is why I tell people to quickly act on any noted problems with the aligment right after they take delivery of the car. It seems to me a pretty fair policy.... Why? Becuase anyone could be driving over crater sized potholes or driving over curbs (Read---> ABUSE) and still claim an aligment problem due to operator error as a warrantiable item. That is not fair for the rest of us.

 

Mini has the WORST service dealers EVER... breakdust causing problems? thats just ignorant. If I were you I would walk back into the dealer ask to speak with the Service Director and say hey either fix my car or take it back at the same price yoou sold it to me have all keys and everything. @ 5000miles no car should have a break problem I dont care HOW bad you ride you breaks, something is wrong.

-Josh

 

Not so fast......

As long as the brake wear shows normal wear patterns (Not abuse, etc) or there is evidence of defective parts, MINI will cover at no additional cost the cost of replacing your pads and rotors. I speak from my own experience as the pads and rotors were replaced for free on our '02 MC CVT when it had 25K miles.

 

Tires are not covered by MINI or any other car manufacturer for that manner. Tires have their own warranty provided by the manufacturer of the rubber.

 

Second that.

If your 06 is just delivered, I think they should have the responsibility fixing it. However, if you have custom wheels on, remove them and put the stock wheels on before bring in again. They can blame your custom wheels introduce the problem.

Try another dealer, if there is one close by.

Good luck.

 

If you got your brakes replaced during the prepaid maintenance then good for you. Ditto for a new battery. Once out of that period tho they are a consumable - as are wiper blades etc. Warranty and prepaid maint' are not the same thing.

If there was an alignment issue when you bought it you probably needed to bring it up right then. Cuz 5 miles down the road you could have whacked a pot hole and then it is your problem, not a maintenance issue. No more reason for MINI to cover that than is a scratch in the paint - or a cracked windshield (THAT should bring some flames :impatient ) If someone is getting free alignments under maintenance then more power to them...I'd never consider or expect it unless the loss of alignment was traced to some failed suspension component. (zero deductable comp' will replace a windscreen, but won't buy an alignment)

 

I doubt the dealer will suck up the cost of providing a "free" aligment on a car that already has 4,500 miles. This I am afraid, 3 cocinas will have no choice but to pay the $75 for a full 4 wheel aligment and learn the lesson.

While you are at it, this will be a good time to get your 4 tires rotated/balanced as wheel.

 

Thank some of you <coughFREDcough> for assuming that I abuse my MINI. As I stated, this has happened since delivery. It is just getting worse. We live 100 miles from the dealership, and have LIVES, so running up there on a whim is not in the cards. The MINI is used as a commuter car, not a race car. I originally attributed the problem to tire pressure, so no need to go running off to the dealer for that. I tried making an appointment in mid-December, got no call back from the dealership, and then Life got in the way again.
So, back to the issue at hand. The fact that the problem is getting worse would lead me to believe that something is loose, not merely pushed out of adjustment (pothole).
I am not bangin' on the Marque here, just looking for help and guidance.
Should the dealer inspect the suspension (under warranty) to see if something is possibly amiss, or just throw it on me to pay for an alignment?
$205.00? You've got to be kidding!

 

I would bring the car to be looked by an independent mechanic. You don't certainly have to pay $205 for an aligment to the dealer.. Any reputable shop with a computarized aligment machine can quickly diagnose and correct any problems (If any) in the suspension

 

I agee if you go to an independent and he finds the reason or finds a problem that should be warranty then at least you have an independent opinion and something in writing.Next if it is a problem thats not from abuse or impact call BMW and get them involved that will wake the dealer up.Previous poster is right though if it is impact damage they wont cover.

 

I think that the assumption is that if you are on this board you are likely an enthusiast, and drive in a less conservative way. I didn't notice if you have a MC or MCS. I use my MSC as a daily commuter, but also drive hard sometimes. I expect to wear out tires and brakes etc.

Unfortunitally with MINI's dealer network so thin, it's hard to really take advantage of the maintinance and warrenty services. I happen to live less then 10 miles from MINI of Sterling. If I hadn't had a dealer close I probably wouldn't have bought the car. My last car dealer HBL Audi in Tyson's corner was a nightmare to get to because of traffic, distance etc (and when I did actually go it was terrible service!). It was one of the reasons that I decided to go with a close brand. Lucky for me I also have a great local shop that is more qualified then most dealers to do any work. That might be your only option for reliable service.

Anyway, I certainly think that your dealer should at least cut you a deal on the alignment (perhaps they have coupons?)

 

Seems your dealer is really not a good one and neither professional, no call back for an appointment.

Here I have called and left messager for appt before to a local dealer, usually return within a day or two max. Also, I did see the MA here him/herself took customer's car, went for a test drive to make sure (s)he knows what the reported problem is and addressed to the mechanics. Now, that is called professional. So, I think you should make sure your MA does no less than that.

 

My April delivery 04 MCS pulled to the left from day 1 as well.

Initially I also thought it was tire pressure since the left front was at 25 psi whereas the other three were at 32.

Car seemed to drive fine....

And then it reintroduced itself not long afterwards...

If you can believe it, after 31,000 miles, I still haven't been able to muster up the motivation to bring it and get aligned.

Dealer (not where I bought car) offered to do it for $150....But I will take it to a friend of mine who owes me a BIG favor.......Once I muster up the motivation, that is....

I'm pretty sure it's the alignment......(your case and mine).

 

ME ME ME! I was told that I had to pay for all my own alignments... $400 at one dealership, a little less at the second... sigh. and mine never last more tha a few thousand miles... and almost none are twisty! oh well...

 

I always insist on an alignment as part of pre-delivery on all new cars I buy, most cars come from the factory way out of spec. It does not have to pull to be out of alignment.

Steve

 

Next question: can a dealer refuse a request for service under warranty? Or, maybe not refuse, but just ignore repeated requests? Given MINI's widespread dealer network, a lot of us do not have the option of going to another dealer. Next closest dealer to me is 550 miles away.
I am trying to get the car back in, so that I can attempt to force them to prove that these defects are owner-caused, and am getting no response from the dealer. (I did not word the service request that way).
If the dealer will not look at the car, what are my options?

 

no, not chapter and verse

I think Pooch1's reply of 1-19 is your best bet. Find a decent alignmet shop close to home, suck it up and get it aligned. Tell him what the problem is and ask him to look for any problems.

If he is able to solve the problem with a simple (4 wheel) align job, then I don't think you have an issue with MINI or the dealer. OTOH if he does find something wrong, have him stop and document the problem. Now you have cause to go to the dealer and warranty - maybe....cuz there is always the possibility that what's wrong is something caused by a pot hole etc. It depends on what's wrong. But maybe you have an issue and if the dealer won't at least look at it, then I'd bump up to MINI USA.

And, if an alignment fixes it, but just for a lil' while, go back to the alignment shop and ask for another look (some places will sell life time alignments)....why isn't the alignment 'sticking'. But again, the problem could be you drive on ruff roads....don't know.

I don't understand how you say they are ignoring your request for service. Call and SPEAK TO the service manager. Make an appointment...is he refusing to get on the phone? If so, ask for the general manager, or hate to say it - go to another dealer. Dealers make too much money on service to blow off customers. If the service manager thinks that's possible the GM may be very interested to know that....

p.s. a 'bad tire' can cause a pull - and it isn't just low pres' that can do it....and it may be a long time b4 wear indicates a problem. Have you rotated? Better yet have access to another set of shoes? When I burned thru the first set of tires on my Miata, I replaced with good stuff but the car began to pull. I aligned, had wheels rebalanced, check for true round .... kept pulling. After 10 K I replaced two front tires...no more pull. I should have pursued a defective tire issue (note tires are NOT a dealer warranty issue) but I was so happy the problem was gone I just went for a drive!