Brought home my new Clubby and everything was fine.... Wife says let me take it for the day, sure have fun.

4 hours later she calls to say the car won't stay running, I go through all the starting procedures and she doing everything right so she calls mini roadside service.

I live 140 miles from Mini Scottsdale (the closest dealer) so Mini sends a flatbed to pick it up and take it in. Turns out the service guys said the ECU needed to be reset I said what did you do disconnect the battery??? yes was the answer but now it's fine and then he said I would call it a "computer hicup". Btw they picked it up friday at 3:30 and dropped it off yesterday at 3:00 (2.5 hour drive each way)

The car had 364 miles on it. Just thought I would pass it on.

Fire

 

wow is the dealership taking care of you? are they calling a towtruck for you and arranging for you to get into a avis rental while the car is being taken care of again? there are a few in tucson one in a sears complex i beleive.... I hate tucson so i dont go there often. they have always taken care of me actually bent over backwards a few times.

 

Guess what....

DEAD again.

same thing only this time I disconnected the battery and drove home then called road-assist.

Kinda pissed now, they sent it home without fixing the problem and now I'm without a car again.

Mini Scottsdale was so so on their customer service as I had to ask for a rental car and when I asked why they gave me the car back the last time without it being truely fixed he had no answer

I sure hope this isn't a trend with my mini, has anybody else had this issue?

Does the ECU just need to be replaced?

Fire

 

Damn I hope not. 1000 miles on my 2010 MCS, not a single problem yet.

 

WOW atleast you will know how to fix it. isnt it awesome though how the dealer takes care of you that they would even put you in a rental when your not in there area........

 

sounds like a fuel pump

 

SOUNDS LIKE BAD GAS

 

NTACTUALSIZE.... you work for Mini don't you???

Well the service manager called me and said "low pressure fuel pump" is seized then asked what brand fuel I use to my reply of "only Chevron" to which he said "more than likely the pump seized due to bad gas".... hahaha

I gave him the car the 1st time with 462 miles on it and today with 502ish (can't recall) I should be able to get 360-370 per tank, that means "his gas" the tank that came with the car which he says is "faultless" was fine while my 40-50 miles or 2-3 gallons of top tier Chevron is the reason my pump seized...really???

While Mini Scottsdale is working to fix my car and get it back to me I'm still pissed off cause they should NEVER have given me the car back with a diagnosis of "ECU Hiccup"

I don't like anyone making excuses for poor quality or engineering and I especially don't like bad customer service which them giving me a car back that was never fixed is BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE and they should make it right, I don't know how but I'm sure they can figure out a way.


rant rant rant

Fire

 

No but i have been through this "bad gas" senario before. they had my car for about 3 weeks before. said i picked up bad gas some where even though i only get gas at the cheveron in queen creek by my house. luckly they covered everything for me i had a high pressure pump go bad twice though and some issue with only 1 injector. wasnt much fun being stuck in a ford escape and commuting 80 miles round trip.

 

doe sit qualify under lemon law?

 

Who is your S.A. at Mini Scottsdale?

 

Sounds like Chevron gas may not be all that it's "cracked" up to be.

 

the thing that makes me laugh is that "bad gas" almost doesnt exist anymore with how strict regulations are. not only that but all the filters on the pumps and the advanced fuel management systems on cars. I have distilled my own fuel and added the additives to make a 93 octane fuel in a fuels class. We used the older processes to make fuel and had no troubles with anyone's fuel in the class. sorry but I do not accept "bad gas" as an excuse for car troubles anymore. I could go on and on but if they say bad gas call "BS"

sorry about the problems. hopefully you get this figured out.

 

Where is the Chevron in Queen Creek? I haven't seen one here, I usually stop in Gilbert and get gas. Can't wait for the new Mini dealership opening in Tempe. Same owner but a lot closer.

 

I couldn't agree more, bad gas doesn't exist not even in Mexico. The S.A. was Devon but now I'm dealing with John the service manager.

The thing they didn't explain is if the pump seized due to bad gas then how can I disconnect the battery and the car runs?? I thought the pump was seized? I asked if the car threw any faults and he said no but he knew the pump was bad because while the tech was trying to start it he banged on the fuel tank and it started right up.

I seriously doubt Mini would make a fuel system component with such slim tolerances as it cannot handle anything but top tier fuel!! He told me that November is the month in AZ that the fuel stations clean their holding tanks of ethenol and there is an unusually high amount in the fuel at this time...BS wouldn't we be seeing dead Mini's all over AZ then? come on.

 

Sounds exactly what happens with the Plug n Play Unichip under the hood... Im sure you dont have one but, what it came down to with that was a crappy plug going to the ECU just to the right of the intake tube.... maybe they need to make sure those are tight....if not itll die.

try popping that cover off and then with the car running safely in the garage, lightly wiggle them... just to make sure. Never heard of it being a problem with stock stuff, but ya never know!

 

Several months ago during the gas price craze, there was a huge story here in Philadelphia. Apparently, someone sold watered down gas to some gas station in the city. Dozens of cars broke down as a result.

You can have all the epa regulations/strigent controls but until the gas storage tanks are locked down and sealed by the epa, the possibility of "bad gas" can and will always exist.

[NOTE:I'm not saying this is what this particular Chevron did.]

 

Well I spoke to John at Mini Scottsdale and he is firm that "bad gas" caused all the issues, he told me he would replace the pump under warranty this time.

So now it seems to be up to me to ensure that I don't get bad gas again or he "may not be able to replace the pump under warranty again" due to my putting in bad gas.... huh

I have been ensured that he has fixed all the problems with my car and the "ECU hiccup" they diagnosed last week was an error on their part that shouldn't have occured.

I hope I have a dependable Mini, but for now my wife refuses to drive it and possibly be stranded again. SUCKS

Fire

 

Get it in writing. PPM of what exactly what was is in the gas that's bad. If they don't know, then they can't refuse warrentee work. IF they provide it, which i don't think they can/will, take that along with your (credit card hopefully) receipt to the gas station's owner threatening a lawsuit unless he provides documentation on the gas in his tanks. One of these shisters is lying. Also, slip in there that you'll take this up with the media....bad gas or bad cars?! Its a very slow news period... you should get a lot of play. If its bad gas, i'm sure you're doing alot of people a favor. If its a bad car, ditto!

Don't just roll over and play dead! You just bought a very expensive car. good luck!

 

Bad gas still happens - check this thread about a Chevron in Vegas a couple of years ago.....

 

I had my Clubbie only 2000 miles and had to have the High Pressure Fuel pump replaced - this is not unusual if you search the postings...and DON'T let them tell you bad gas - it is the Fuel Pump!

 

I don't see how "bad gas" would cause a pump to fail; I could see shot valves, spark plugs, that type of stuff but a fuel pump? The gas would have to be complete crap full of rust, metals, and other debris... Just don't see it......

 

True - It appears that there may be a problem w/ the fuel pumps on some of the Clubs, which sucks. I agree bad gas shouldn't (can't) cause a pump to fail. I was just pointing out that there is still bad gas....

 

like SmokeM said. if they say bad gas simply say I would like to see the fuel test results and if they cannot provide those then ask for the service manager and explain to him what is happening. You shouldnt have any problems after that. just make sure to be kind about it and try not to start drama. Basically explain to the manager that you were given a diagnosis that has no grounds for proof and the problem appears to not be fixed. Ask the manager for the results make sure to say "if there are any" giving a little push always helps. Most of the time if they are honest they will take care of your problem without question and just make sure to talk to a different SA next time.

I had a similar situation with my car the first time I went to the local dealer for some warranty work and ended up e-mailing the service manager asking him why I should even care about a warranty on my expensive little MINI if they wont even honor it? after that statement I havent had a problem since.

good luck and press hard. just smother them with politeness and they cant get mad at you for calling them crooks

 

Oh I agree, I've some bad engine knocking due to bad gas but it seems like Mini hides behind the "bad gas" excuse for lots of things...