I've read a number of posts for people suggesting that JCW parts are the way to go for mods to avoid having your MINI warranty voided (even with M-M protection). My question is how many people have had warranty problems? And if you can discuss it, what was the problem and what caused it? Even though the JCW stuff looks trick I'm still trying to justify the number of beer credits involved. Thanks for your help.

 

Check out whiteroof radio...they covered this very topic!

 

Don't be stupid...

 

Woofcast 39 to be exact. Just because you throw on an aftermarket pulley doesn't mean if your radio dies it will not be covered. For those of us that can't fork over the money for JCW, as craptastic as it is , you can still be comforted in knowing some sponsors here at NAM have their own warranties. I've ordered my stuff from Webbmotorsports and having one of his recommended installers, Detroit Tuned, install my pulley. I've yet to hear how this will affect me if there is a problem down the road but I have also yet to hear of anyone having problems with a correctly installed 15% pulley.

Check out the sponsors. Some have their own forums to ask about their warranty policy. If not, you can usually find them here on NAM.

I'm not saying don't go the route of JCW. It's a good product. If I could have tacked on an extra $6,000, I would have. But I couldn't.

 

dealer wont touch my car.


better for me, they never fix anything the first time or they break something while they fix another.

your better off fixing it yourself.

 

What kind of worthless comment is that!

 

hehehe "beer credits involved"

anyway -

Here is the thing. I don't know how new your car is, but if you're anything like me, you're going to easily blow through that 36k in a year or two. I'm at my first year of ownership and I'm nearing 25k.

I'd say look around for aftermarket mods that offer warranties on their parts. That way if you were to get a SC pully, and your supercharger blows, it's covered under the aftermarket warranty, and if your radio or steering goes, it's still covered under the M-M. (though some MINI dealerships may claim that your after market pulley cause an inaudible frequency signal to be transmitted to the far of planet of Chriosos which caused aliens to come and dismantle your steering bits... but I digress)

Just play it smart and play to your pocket book. If you can handle going stock for a year or two and then modding after your warranty... I'd say do that. If you need the power now, but don't want to chance warranty issues then go with the craptastic JCW.

Just a thought...

 

You need to post the dealers name to get a reasonable answer. There are some numb-skull dealers that abandon any prospect of return buisness or word of mouth to deny warranty claims.....But most dealers are pretty reasonable if your radio dies because you added a pulley they wont give you a problem. but if you make any electrical mod, dont count on electronic warranty coverage, if you make any mechanical mod dont count on mechanical warranty coverage

No but technically if you use a cellphone inside your car you void your warranty on any elictrical component. Don believe me? Just pop the hood and read the ridiculous warning label posted right behind the intake!

 

Warranty ,........Its been awhile

Nik

 

Amen!!! They will not be touching my car either. I would not trust them to change the oil. I know great mechanics out there; just not enough of them. When I bought my new truck in '01, the kid that was washing it had my radio up so loud he ruined a speaker. This is just the kind of thing I don't need to happen again.

 

I listened to this broadcast - it's the "Don't be stupid" show, Woofcast #39 ("Don't be stupid").

It was an interesting show. But, unfortunately, the guys didn't fully cover some of the most important questions. Here's an example: you put a 15% pulley and cold air intake on your car, and later the supercharger or a piston fails. Suppose the dealer claims, reasonably, that the mods caused the failure. The factory warranty on my '05 MCS would be void for that supercharger or piston in that case. MINI might be wrong about the cause of the failure (the factory part might have been defective) or they might be right.

The default situation is that MINI is the recognized, acknowledged authority on whether a mod has caused a factory part to fail. So, who will pay for the repair if MINI says that your pulley and CAI caused a factory part to fail? You will, unless the pulley and CAI came with a vendor warranty that will cover repair/replacement of the factory part. That's why a vendor warranty is so important.

I suggest to anyone who is considering a performance mod that they should consider the possible impacts of the mod to their factory parts, and at least check out vendors whose warranty will cover those impacts.

 

That is hilarious, because it's true!

 

Assume that you have no Magnussen-Moss Act Protection - well, because you don't. No one on this site has yet to have any success with a Magnussen-Moss action.......

If you go aftermarket, buy from a Vendor who fully warranties their work and be fully prepared to potentially lose your manufacturers warranty. It's as simple as that.

Search under M-M on this site if you need more info...............

 

Here's a link to a long discussion on this topic.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...hlight=lawsuit

 

Jolly, many thanks for the link. I searched the forums before posting, but I didn't think to search Magnussen-Moss. My bad. Thanks, everyone, for not flaming me.

 

On my yet to be delivered '06 MCSCa, I am wanting to do a pulley asap but I also do not want to take any chance of warranty issues. Is the JCW pulley the only warrantied pulley? Is the JCW pulley of a lower quality than the other 15% 'ers? Is there any quality difference among the different 15% pulleys? Can any qualified shop install the JCW pulley and then not affect my warranty? Is the only source for the JCW pulley the dealer?

 

Check here https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...light=warranty

Long, long list .... mostly minor stuff, some major

No squeak or rattle stuff, too many to mention list before the thread ran out of steam Since then, there have been several new engines (MDSbrain) ... blown gaskets, etc.

3 Steering wheel
2 Engine
1 Shift ****
1 Cat
5 Steering column
1 Windshield molding
1 Dash down tubes
1 boot glass repair
1 Ash Tray
1 ECU emissions reflash
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
1 Climate control Module
3 Belt
1 Clutch
1 Flywheel
1 Belt tensioner
1 Slave cylinder failure.
1 HK buzz.
1 Sirius antenna failure
4 Passenger door mechanism
1 Drivers Door release cable
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
3 Drivers door side mechanism
1 seatbelt tensioner
1 Airbag Light #2 had wires running to seats
1 airbag inside passenger seat
1 sunroof cassette.
2 Cooling fan
1 Windows and Sunroof opening on thier own, BCM replaced.
1 rear pads and rotors
1 Wires to parking light
2 drivers side door mechanism
1 windows would squeak or not open with the remote
1 alarm wouldnt set
1 underglow kept falling off
2 batteries
1 ems reader wouldnt read the key
1 Brake Rotors/Pads
1 transmission problems
1 new tire and rim
1 glovebox
1 brake computer
1 outside door handles
1 Bonnet vents
2 Boot latch and striker
2 O2 sensor
2 Coolant expansion tank
1 Seat fabric
2 power steering fans

 

Don't you just love this car...
Mine has a similar list though yours is more extensive...

 

This is not "my list". This was the running total of all those who posted

 

JCW refers to an entire package offered through MINI from John Cooper Works. They don't sell a pulley per se - the kit includes a supercharger with a smaller pulley that's around 15% smaller than the stock one.

The JCW kit used to be dealer installed but I believe it's now factory installed. It's around $6000 and (sadly for me and you) it's not available on automatic transmission cars.

I have a 17% Alta pulley on my 2005 MCS auto and I love it. I don't think there's a huge difference between the different pulley manufacturers, but I was already getting an Alta intake so it made sense for me to get the pulley from the same vendor.

Hope this helps -

/gary

 

Just a minor correction or addition: Now the JCW is available as a factory installed kit, but you can still get the dealer installed JCW kit. The factory JCW does come with extra stuff (JCW brakes, I think).

 

At Bill Jacobs Mini, my MA told me that a guy had a supercharger pulley (didnt disclose what %) but he had continuos trouble with the car and MINI decided to buy back his car (knowing he had an aftermarket pulley). I think that is a prety nice gesture. and it turns out that the dealer took off the pulley and replaced it with a stock unit, and it ran fine. My guess is he had maybe a 19% with no supporting mods. but still!

 

One note of caution about the vendor warranties. If you put a pully on and your supercharger and a piston go bang as someone hypothosized, the vendor might warrant the pulley and (maybe)the supercharger, but my guess is that they won't pay for the piston.....I could be wrong, but make sure you read the fine print.

 

There are two different kinds of warranties, one from MINI and the other from anyone else (e.g., an aftermarket vendor). All pulleys will carry some kind of warranty. But the warranties are a lot different in their conditions, e.g., in what they cover, and in how they are activated. Sometimes, to activate a part warranty the part has to be installed by someone the part seller specifies, e.g., an "authorized installer." Only a few vendors provide pulley warranties that cover repair or replacement at no charge to the owner of MINI factory parts that are damaged by the pulley. How could a pulley damage a factory part? Well, a smaller pulley will spin the SC faster than the factory pulley would. The important thing to know is, if a MINI factory part, the supercharger for example, fails on your car after you install the pulley, and MINI USA says that the pulley caused the failure, will your pulley warranty cover the repair or replacement of the damaged factory parts.

To make the point clearer, probably you will want to put on the pulley and cover yourself with a combination of the two kinds of warranties so that in a case where the factory warranty doesn't apply the other one will.

The details of the MINI factory warranty will be in one of the manuals that MINI will give you with the car. Knowing what I know now, I would have asked my sales rep for a copy of the exact warranty before my car arrived and any aftermarket parts were installed.

You can get the details of any vendor's pulley warranty by contacting the vendor (usually just by checking the vendor's web site).