Hello all, I purchased my countryman less than a month ago and noticed a squeakie brake on the drivers side. I thought to myself, "It just needs to break in a bit"....Well, it continued even when I wasn't pressing on the brakes. Just kept getting worse... 2 wks later, I book a service appt. They took my car in and called me an hour later and said the front axle had to be replaced. Some kind of faulty pin in the drivers side axle.
Apparently, since the car is so new, the parts weren't available.
It's now 2 weeks later. I just got a call that the part came from Germany and was put on my car.
My questions:
1. Has anyone else had this problem?
2. Should I be concerned about the integrity of the replacement part/s?

I'm a little nervous and inexperienced with this sort of thing.

Please help...... if you can.
Thank you.

 

I wouldn't worry about the parts. Don't forget this is the first year model and there may be some glitches. When you hear a sound that doesn't belong and you don't know what it is you should take the car in to get checked. The service advisor could drive it and let you know if it is a problem.

This is my third MINI and I have had very little trouble overall. Also you have a pretty good warrantee looking out for you.

 

I wouldn't be worried, but this kind of thing is the reason I'm considering the warranty extension. Usually, I think those are more of a peace of mind thing rather than a great financial idea (after all, MINI wouldn't sell it if they didn't turn a profit on it).

However, in the case of the Countryman, I'm thinking of doing the full 6 years/100,000 miles, even though it's $3000. It's new enough that I'm considering taking the gamble that there could be long-term design problems that might cost more than $3000 total, especially with dealer service costs.

 

Thank you both for your input and suggestions. The dealership has been very accommodating. I really can't complain about the service, they gave me a free loaner and called me every 3 days.
I just want to be cautious, that's why I posted here on this board just in case someone else experienced the same issue. This is my third bmw mini and I've never really had any problems with the others. I'm picking up my countryman on Saturday at 10am. The dealership Director wants to meet and make sure I'm comfortable. Where else are you going to get that kind of service but BMW??

I look forward to posting more updates on my mini and I look forward to reading yours.

 

Have had my 2011 Countryman for less than nine months and took to dealer yesterday because the steering was off. They now say it is needs a front axle replacement at $3,700!!! It is very apparent that I did not hit anything as there is absolutely no damage to the front end in any way, but they say it could have been cause by a pot-hole?? My first Mini, but you are telling me this vehicle is not capable of surviving pot-holes??!!!

 

Hello JJT007
I would definitely bring up my case to them. They were very specific regarding the problem on my car. It was a manufacturers defect. All they told me is that the pin that provides support for the front axle was defect and that I would need the whole new front axle. It didn't even exist when I got the car. I've been over plenty of pot holes in California and haven't had a problem since.
I would escalate it to the Service Director if I were you. Say that you want to expect the damage yourself. Make them show you exactly what is wrong with car.
So sorry for your troubles. I've gotten used to the Brakes making the rubbing noise at this point. Its not all the time, but its loud.
Please let me know if I can be of any more help.

Good luck.

 

I'd actually recommend looking outside of MINI for the extended warranty. I thought I was going to be taken care of with the Certified Next™ car that I purchased with my second MCS... but MINI has been very careful to populate a database of things that they will not cover that is not explained in the documentation for the warranty. Things like shifter cables they considered wear items (the design makes them prone to getting water inside that can freeze... there is a service bulletin about the issue), and the boot handle went bad.. also apparently not covered by the warranty. The flywheel to the clutch was defective and disintegrated even though the actual clutch itself was rock solid - but the flywheel and clutch are a single catalog item and so.. a 'wear item'.. Essentially, as the dealership explained to me, it was just 'big' things like engine and transmission that they would agree to cover.

My husband and I have used other companies with much better (and clearer!) policies for what would be covered. The MINI warranty was a huge disappointment.