Yup

 

Perhaps I'm a typical modern car owner in the sense that I don't know a whole lot about how cars work. However, you don't need to know that much about the inner workings of a car in order to know how to take care of one. I've made sure to take the Mini in immediately for all regular maintenance and any questionable issues that arose, like overheating once before, knocking noises, and a variety of other issues. I've changed the oil at or before the recommended intervals, and every time the car has been in the shop Mini has said that they've inspected the car from top to bottom. I've always replaced wear and tear parts immediately as soon as they've shown the need. That still hadn't prevented an overdose of issues.

The dealer quoted me around 7000 for an engine including labor. I couldn't justify the price tag after everything else, and I lost any smidgen of remaining confidence in Mini. Because of this, the Countryman was also no longer on the table.

Also, to add a few more details to the story, I've put 82K miles on the car in 3.5 years. Yes, a lot of miles, but all highway and all accompanying regular maintenance. Even with 82K miles, that's still no excuse for a new engine on such a young car.

The flickering noise that I had mentioned when the battery died didn't seem come from the engine, although it was very brief to really notice the source. Instead it seemed to be related to the electronics. The dash lights had flickered as well as the LED light for my phone charger. That's when I turned off the car, only to find that it wouldn't start back up. The dealer explained the issue as a dead cell in the battery. I had asked him if I had too many gadgets plugged in or if I inadvertently did something wrong. His response was that I did nothing wrong; it's just the battery finally met its end and needed to be replaced. I thought it was odd, but I accepted it as just another Mini quirk.

As for the particular trip that caused the engine to catastrophically overheat, I didn't notice any fluids on the ground. I had driven 60 miles one way, and I had halfway completed the return trip when the light came on. If the source was leaked fluids, it may be possible that a leak could have occurred while I was driving, but this is the point where my lack of car knowledge kicks in. Not sure how or why the engine could overheat to this level.

On a side note, I mistakenly put this thread in the Gen 1 Minis. Is there a way to move the thread to Gen 2? Or, would I need to ask a moderator to help me move it?

 

I'm not sure how that much coolant leaks in a 90 mile trip without noticing a smell, however if it's a constant travel, such as on a highway, you'll not notice the normal coolant smell. I had a Mazda 3 that developed a pin sized hole in the coolant overflow tank that would only leak when the engine was hot and the tank fully pressurized, but I noticed it from a spot that had been forming on the ground after I pulled in to the driveway after driving.

As for the theory that the mechanic didn't fill the coolant up after the thermostat replacement, it's entirely possible. When I took my mom's R55 Clubman S in to have the aux fan replaced under recall, the tech didn't secure the hose leading from the turbo to the intercooler. I didn't notice it until my return trip home of three hours when the car didn't feel to be making full boost. Pulled off into a gas station, popped the hood, and sure enough I saw the hose had come undone and popped off the turbo. Tightened it up, and everything was back to normal. So mistakes do get made by MINI techs.

 

Still doesn't make sense that a 3.5 y.o. battery dies. My OEM went 8+ years.

You say the 'engine light' went on. SES or CEL? No engine temp light? I just can't imagine that if the issue was coolant that the car would implode without it overheating first. If it were coolant, you would smell it after it shut down, and there should be residue all over the place. And I can't imagine coolant loss would lead to 'melting the internals'. Which internals?
Sounds like you were on the highway. Was it flat, or uphill?

FWIW, to change forums, hit the ! triangle in the top right of your first post, and tell them you want to move the thread to the 2nd Gen forum.

 

Actually I can believe the battery died on it. Happened to both mine and my dad's. I've got an 08 and his is an 09. Both last year, so 3-3.5 years on our batteries.

 

Thank you for your post and follow ups. I'm sorry there has been so much "attitude" and "off-topic" banter, as this is a serious issue all MINI owners should be concerned about.

I would certainly consider "lawyering up" if I were you. The MINI failed at 80K, but related service had been performed at two dealerships shortly prior to failure. The first service may have been faulty, but the second service gave you an "A-OK" resulting in catastrophic failure, and then the dealer seemed to play hardball with you.

While not as severe as your problem, I recently had about $3,000 worth of work done under MINI's "extended" emissions warranty for the high pressure fuel pump and other items. The HPFP failure resulted in injector (not an extended warranty item) and catalytic converter failure. A carbon build-up intake cleaning at 32K was also performed, which MINI agreed to pay for. The car was one month out of warranty. My dealer (MINI of Austin) seemed to go to bat for me. Much appreciated.

Even though you have left the MINI world, please keep us posted on any further developments.

My opinions:

1) This is why I don't trust MINI's recommended service schedule. 15K between services is too long. Weekly checks of fluids and components is a good idea, monthly checks an absolute necessity. The kind of mileage the OP was putting on his car would have me getting about 4 oil changes a year, at least two of which would be done at the dealer for $70 in order to get a decent "inspection" (I look under my car, and under the hood, but I seldom crawl under it anymore).

2) This is also why I installed a ScanGauge II. I believe coolant temp observation is a requirement, and oil temp is a good idea. Shame on BMW.

 

Exactly why I went with a ScanGauge II. Simple plug and play, but gives me coolant temp, volts, intake temp, and mpg (for now). I'll be sending it for the upgrade to allow me to show oil temp too.

 

I just looked up the cost of a reman engine as per MINI's price sheets..

$7800.. not including labor and needed fluids.

New is $9700.. not including labor and fluids.

Something here does not add up... I'm thinking the dealership took the OP for a ride.

 

Thanks PMSummer for the advice. Sorry to hear about your issues, but I'm glad at least some dealerships bat for their customers.

I've just been contacted by Mini and I'll be giving them an earful. It's good to hear that other people have installed temperature gauges. I wish I had thought of that at the time. Seems like a really good idea.

 

Where is the car, right now, and who owns it?

 

Did you ever get the benefit of a 2nd opinion? Hate to think that the dealer told you the engine was toast, forcing you to give it up at a huge loss, when it fact it could have been fixed.

 

Did your conversation with MINI yield anything useful?

 

Definitely a sucky situation....my wife and I just ordered our first Mini because she particularly loves the brand and has always wanted one.

We are getting a JCW and I ordered the auxilliary guages which includes a temp gauge, based on readings from the forums like this one.

Also, when we take delivery, I am going to get the 8 year 100k extended Mini factory-backed warranty....It's a shame to have to do this. I never bought an extended warranty on the numerous Hondas and Toyotas we have owned over the years as their quality records are incredibly good. Almost impossible to believe in our experience(never a trip to a dealer for anything other then routine maintenance on the 5 Hondas and 3 Toyotas we have owned including a 2002 Tundra pickup with over 200k miles on the clock)

But with Mini, I am seeing too many motor issues out of warranty to make me feel secure at all about this car

I am looking at it like I did my Z06....in that case, it was a Chevrolet, so I just assumed it would be in service bays numerous times during it's life. But that's what I wanted, so I went in with my standards lowered so I would not be dissapointed.....I'm taking the same approach here.....hopefully time will prove me pleasantly surprised.

 

The N18 engine is proving to be much more reliable than the N14. I wouldn't worry or hesitate to buy one. Welcome and hope you get to enjoy the Mini too.

 

ha, well, i may have to backtrack on my cavalier statement of buying the extended warranty....talked to the dealer today....$3,795 for 7 years, 100k miles(which is actually 2 years 50k miles).

wow, we just can't swing that! What bothers me is that price means one of two things:
1.Mini knows there is a higher than normal incidence of high dollar repairs after the 4/50k standard warranty and they are pricing accordingly, or
2.they just want to make a massive profit on the warranty..

 

I thought scan gauge 2 was causing weird electrical issues for some people?

 

Just bought a used mini that had 60k on it and wouldn't have bought it without the included warranty (3yr/ 36k on all mechanical, 5yr, 50k on engine and all internally lubed parts).
Bought a 2012 ford explorer last year, certified pre-owned and the extended warranty/all maintenance package was only 2250. Well worth it for me.

 

Supposedly they were revised to correct this issue.

 

cool, think I will look into it. I too, was suprised at the lack of gauges in my mini.

 

I don't remember reading anything about that. The Ultragauge, however, was causing the car to "wake up" after an hour of being off, which was draining the battery overnight. I believe that has been corrected.

Definitely contact the manufacturer of whichever one(s) you are thinking of getting, though.

No issues with my SG II, BTW.

 

We had the exact same situation (wife wanted a Mini and I had serious concerns over their reliability/dealer support) so I ended up opting for a base Mini Coupe with less that 3K miles/3 1/2 years warranty left.
The reason for going with the base model is obvious as the "S" models have the problems with carbon build up and timing chain failures.
As a condition of purchasing this mini, I also insisted that the dealership certify it as a CPO car.
This, in effect, gave us an additional 2year/50K warranty on top of the remaining 3 1/2 years.
I still have one very serious concern over the warranty coverage of this car.
We live over 100 miles from the dealership and to bring it in for maintenance service is barely feasible with the free maintenance program and certainly not feasible when it is no longer free.
Our concern is whether the dealership/Mini USA will accept our records and reciepts we will keep on service we perform after their free maintenance runs out if warranty work would be required.
At present I don't feel too warm and fuzzy that they will not try to deny warranty coverage because we were performing our own maintenance even though good records/reciepts were kept.
So it may not just be the huge cost of the extended warranty they may be after, but also the cost of their extended maintenance aggreement (even though it may not even be feasible for those who live any distance from the dealership).

 

yes, my feelings exactly! I know there are various legal statutes that require car companies to accept proof that proper maintenance has been done on a vehicle for the purposes of a warranty claim. BUT that does not help you when you are standing in a service bay 100 miles from home and the manager is saying that whatever problem you are having is due to improper maintenance....you may need a courtroom, lawyer, and judge, and that does not happen immediately.

My service reminders will always be done by the Mini dealer as long as the factory vehicle warranty is in force, assuming I decide to not purchase the extended service plan....I would have to pay for maintance between the 3/36k service gap and the 4/50k warranty expiration...basically, Mini has me on the hook for maintenance until the warranty is out. I don't want anybody anywhere giving me static about not covering a failure under warranty.

That is another downside of the brand-dealerships are typically few and far between, so there is virtually no price competition, and you just have to hope that the service at your closest dealer is acceptable.

It may seem as though I am bashing Mini and we don't even have our car yet, but there are real pitfalls that you can step into with this company, that can leave you on the hook for thousands of dollars in some cases. Types of problems I have never had to think about with any other car brand I have owned..

 

couple of people reported weird problems with electrical, comfort access that were resolved by disconnecting it. After reading up on Scangauge, I'm sure if there are problems, they would be on top of trying to fix it.

 

We only have one Mini Dealership in the state of Oklahoma, it is the closest dealership to us and it is over 200 miles from us round trip and one hell of a drive just to get the oil changed.
You would think that in such situations the Mini Cooper dealership would be willing to recognize someone local ( Take Ten for oil changes, etc.) as an authorized service center rather than expect the Mini owner to drive such distances.
It's just not reasonable on the dealerships part.