Many people seem to be worried about "voiding" their warranty.

I'd like to know how many times ppl have in been in for Warranty work ... Dont care what it was ...

In many years, and in many cars, I've had warranty work done ONCE (not recalls either) (except for that miserable Fix-it-all the Time FIAT).

So whats the REAL scoop for the people who have had their MINIs for some time???

 

Had my drivers side window replaced today: at 43642 miles.
Imagine my embarrassment going thru a drive through yesterday, cuz I had forgotten!

I'm not the original owner of the car, but the previous owners had it in for various things, all fixed under warranty.
-Steering wheel replaced (leather pealing)
-Both windows weren't working at 40929 miles, needed to have the center switch assembly replaced.
-Had some "plastic debris causght inside the blower motor fan area"
-"Crash collapsing mechanism in steering column" replaced, was rattling :impatient
-A/C not working, blower replaced
-Windsheild replaced, gasket pealing loose
-Alternator drive belt replaced at 15604mi

 

2003 Cooper owned from Feb 2003 to Feb 2005 warranty repairs:
Sunroof rattle
Drivers side window motor failure
AC blower failure

2005 CooperS owned since Feb 2005 warranty repairs:
Slave cylinder failure. Caused clutch failure, both replaced.
HK buzz.
Sirius antenna failure
Passenger door mechanism failure (cable snapped)
Trim piece on passenger side wiper departed vehicle
Keyless remote on 1 key dead (hasn't been brought to dealer yet for resolution)

 

Clutch prob on an 05? Wow

 

You really want the whole list?

2003 Cooper, from the first week of the 2003 builds... here's what I remember off the top of my head:

transmission replaced x2 (cold weather seal issue)
windshield replaced x? (at least one a year, so let's say 3 times)
passenger's seat rails replaced (seat stuck in the sliders)
driver's seat rails replaced (seat stuck in the sliders)
center instrument panel replaced (temp gauge flaked out)
airbag light due to seat airbag wiring
sunroof rattle (never really fixed, the wind deflector rattles against the glass in the cold with the sunroof closed. I gave up and just stuff a sunglasses cleaning cloth between the deflector and the sunroof once it gets cold)

There are probably some more things I cannot remember right now.

I hear the newer cars are put togther much better.

 

I have been in multiple times with my early 03 Cooper.
Airbag Light #1 had seatbelt tensioner replaced.
Airbag Light #2 had wires running to seats replaced.
Aribag Light # 3 had airbag inside passenger seat replaced.
New Transmission at 30,000 miles.
New sunrrof cassette.
New drivers side window regulator.
Colling fan wouldnt turn off when car did. Had 2 fans replaced.
New steering rack.
Windows and Sunroof opening on thier own, BCM replaced.
Rear rotors warped or something all new rear pads and rotors put on.
Wires to 1 parking light broke, had replaced.
Thats all I can think of off the top of my head right now. Probably almost everything. After all of that I havent had any troubles in nearly 10,000 miles. Even with all the issues I still LOVE my MINI. Its hard to let it go for a new one, but my new 06 is ordered. YAY!

 

No, the number of times in the shop would have been fine but thanks for the list anyway!

 

05 MCS, got it in Jan.

- Squealing fan belt replaced - it was put on backwards (12,000)
- Dash rattle attempt #1 (12,000)
- Dash rattle attempt #2 (both failed) (18,000)

Funny thing about the dash rattle - to fix it they tried to put "grommets" in between the dash and the windshield to secure it. Yest. when detailing the car i found that one of them was loose and making the rattle even worse.

mb

 

2005 MCS- owned from April until August....
three trips with roadside in about 3 months
my drivers side door (interior handle) stopped working and locking
windows would squeak or not open with the remote
alarm wouldnt set
my underglow kept falling off
died while driving (luckily i was in a residental neighborhood)
dead batteries (and we dont know why- last idea- could be that my alternator wouldnt charge enough)
ems reader wouldnt read the key (meaning the car wouldnt start)
transmission problems (when in park she would read reverse, and my reverse lights would stay on sometimes, taken in 3 times and still not fixed)
needed a new tire and rim (seperatly)
and more that i cant think of. she would go into the shop, stay a few days and id get about 100 miles with her before id have to return her (and i had a 60 mile commute to school)
and in the end... she spent about half her time in the dealership, and half with me.....

 

03 MC, have a little over 60k miles on it in 27 months of ownership.

New glovebox, door would not stay shut
New brake computer, was not sending signal to passenger side brake light
New outside door handles, cold weather issue, replaced with newer 04 handles
Bonnet vents, foam fell apart, replaced with 04 vents
Hatch rattle, new latch and stricker
New tranny, cold weather seal problem.
Door rattles, fixed

Biggest hassle was the door handles, but the tranny issue was not fun either.

 

I assume you got rid of this car?

What do you mean by "underglow" falling off? What is that?

 

The clutch failed specifically because the slave cylinder when out...

There's the big "trifecta" of issues with the 05's, and I had all three..

Slave cylinder failure
door handle failure
HK buzz (but that's been an issue for a while)

 

What are the three "trifecta" issues may I ask??


**Add Edit**:
Opps, Just saw it down there. (Sorry..thought it was part of your specs.)

 

I had the passenger side door handle cable replaced already.

No clutch problems

I don't have H/K, but I still have a speaker rattle in the passenger side door

 

I guess they kinda are... they just aren't specs I ever actually wanted!

 

05MSC, one year old, 20K. Nothing gone wrong, absolutely nothing. I changed the oil after 3K just because I felt the first recommended change was too long. I love this MINI

 

2005 MCS since January, O2 sensor was replaced, and I will have to take it to service sometimes this week, because my fan button on the Climate control is not working properly, that is it, been a reliable car so far, 14K.

 

My 05 MCS JCW was built Nov04 and I took delivery on 12/9/05:

My warranty repair list:

3/14/05: Clutch master cylinder gave out immediately after installation of JCW kit. Though unrelated, it could have somehow gotten damaged by the installing dealership.

7/8/05: Driver's door interior silver trim cracking. Replaced door card.

9/23/05: Adjust driver's door window glass to eliminate a rattle. The dealership also replaced the window lift regulator.

9/23/05: Replace emergency brake handgrip due to flaking finish.

10/25/05: Replace interior dome light assembly that fell apart when turning on the dome light.

Additionally, I've had the car looked at 3 times for the rough idle during initial start-up, but it's still not cured. During the last time, the dealership installed new fuel rail, JCW injectors, fuel pressure regulator, and T-Map sensor (which was wet with fuel for an unknown reason). The rough idle went away for about 5 days then returned.

 

Don't get me wrong, the car is reliable, never left me stranded, even with the tranny issue.

And I have gone almost a year, and over 20k miles with no problems, well except it gets dirty when we go play on the gravel backroads

 

Lot ... and you got probably the most inhospital driving conditions of everyone. Good for you!!!

 

10/03 build. Just coming up on 60k miles.

Warranty Issues:
Broken dipstick.
Faulty wheel speed sensor.
Total time in shop: 1.5 hours.
Plus no "Yo-Yo", stumble or any other driveability issues.
I got a good one!
Jim

 

This would make an excellent reference for warranty work problems. so far we got:

1 Steering wheel
1 center switch assembly
1 "plastic debris causght inside the blower motor fan area"
1 "Crash collapsing mechanism in steering column"
2 A/C blower
4 Windshield
2 Alternator drive belt
1 Slave cylinder failure.
1 HK buzz.
1 Sirius antenna failure
2 Passenger door mechanism
1 Trim piece on passenger side wiper departed vehicle
1 Keyless remote on 1 key dead
4 transmission replaced
1 passenger's seat rails replaced
1 driver's seat rails replaced
1 center instrument panel replaced
1 airbag light due to seat airbag wiring
2 sunroof rattle
1 Drivers side window motor failure
1 seatbelt tensioner
1 Airbag Light #2 had wires running to seats
1 airbag inside passenger seat
1 sunroof cassette.
1 drivers side window regulator.
2 Cooling fan
1 steering rack.
1 Windows and Sunroof opening on thier own, BCM replaced.
1 rear pads and rotors
1 Wires to parking light
2 dash rattle
2 drivers side door mechanism
1 windows would squeak or not open with the remote
1 alarm wouldnt set
1 underglow kept falling off
1 dead batteries
1 ems reader wouldnt read the key
1 transmission problems
1 new tire and rim
1 glovebox
1 brake computer
1 outside door handles
1 Bonnet vents
1 Hatch rattle, new latch and striker
1 O2 sensor

Interesting that with everyone so worried about modded cars, there's really nothing here related to that

 

I have been considering a MINI but man I'd be hard pressed to make all those dealer visits. [img]images/smilies/eek.gif[/img] No dealers close to where I work.

Maybe I need to find work closer to a MINI dealer

 

Dont be discouraged. The car is worth it! Anyone here will tell you that.

The interesting thing is that there is nothing mod related here, all normal things that can happen to any car

 

1) I think i will pick up some door cables NOW in anticipation of when they snap in the future. So far so good.

2) To Chow's point about modded cars, remember you asked for warranty work done, and not "failures related to mods, which were refused warranty coverage by a dealer"... I believe most modify sensibly, since it's all about their own money, but with where MINIs are in the "product lifecycle", there really hasn't been time to develop trends about failures caused by mods, etc. If MINI Inc. knows anything on this subject, why would they tell, ya know? From their point of view, it's strictly a matter of CYA. Common sense "exclusion phrases" boilerplate words in a warranty.

My $.02 (good thing i got a lot of pennies in my pocket tonight,
Tatt