I must be an "easy" driver... I have about 8000 miles now, and the OBC says I still have 11000 miles before my first full service. Phantom goes to the dealer Friday for the annual oil change (and some other minor adjustments).

 

I took Phantom to Cincinnati MINI for the 1 year oil change and check up. They kept the car for almost 4 hours. They changed the oil, changed all the wiper blades, checked fluid levels and tire pressure, and ran some computer diagnostics. I was told the latter would take about 2 hours running continuously, and if something happened during the 2 hour run, they would have to start over.

They also checked the sunroof. (I have had problems with it opening at times - the usual problem reported on NAM numerous times. It does seem that my problem is relatively minor compared to some.) They just adjusted the front and rear glass and lubricated the cassette.

The other problem I've had is that the window on the driver's side drops about an inch when I open the door. They could find no problem with the program that controls it, so I have to bring Phantom back in a couple weeks so that they can investigate further. My SA said they may have to replace the footwell module (whatever that is). Anyway, the process will probably take a couple of days. I'll get a loaner.

Loaner policy at Cinti MINI - they charge 15 cents a mile and you have to return the loaner within 12 business hours of when they have your car ready (but did say they were somewhat flexible about that depending on circumstances). I got a late model Cooper S when I was in Friday... only drove it a few miles, but it was fun. Funny thing... it was Pure Silver, like Phantom.

Anyway, no charge for anything they did.

And one really unusual thing... before the service, the OBC was saying I had 11,000 more miles before my first "real" service. Now the OBC says 7,000 miles. It dropped overnight. I guess I'm glad they did the computer diagnostics - I guess that must be what reset the counter.

Oh, and I lost all the settings controlled by my key fob. My radio stations were still set, but I had to reprogram both of my keys.

That's the report. How does this compare with your experience? I was treated very well by Cinti MINI. They are a good dealership.

 

I haven't been in for my service yet but looks like I finally have a reason. My gf noticed some condensation inside one of my taillights. Guess that'll need to be replaced.

 

Hi all! Happy 1st birthday to all our minis! I'm glad I checked on here today - I see some others are having the same problems I've been having. iPhone doesn't charge anymore - in fact, it drains the battery! And my sunroof doesn't open when it's hot which is all the time in DC in the summer. Sometimes I can give it a shove while I'm pressing the lever and it will finally open but most times not. None of my dealers around here are close by so I've been hesitating on bringing mine in even though I want that sunroof fixed. But otherwise, my car puts a smile on my face every time I drive it even when I'm going somewhere that I don't necessarily want to be going! And to add to another thread - I'm also a LONGTIME Mac user. I used to work for them back in the 80's and early '90's and am a fanatic mac person.

2008 Mini Coupe S Stick Shift Chili Red Born 8/7/08 Home in late August '08

 

I've had this happen a few times, but it's been because the rear sunroof was the one needing the help opening. Not sure if it'll help you, but worth a shot if you haven't tried.

 

 

Hello all,

Getting a bit chilly here in Ohio. High temperature today was about 65 degrees.

I had Phantom at the dealer this week to get the window problem fixed. They had to replace the footwell module - no cost to me. Another very pleasant experience with Cincinnati MINI. I had a loaner car for 2 days - unfortunately, they had no MINIs when I took Phantom in... so , I ended up with a Mazda 6. It was pretty nice, but I was so happy to get Phantom back. Windows are working perfectly now (the problem had been that the driver's window dropped too much when the door was opened).

One thing that has sort of bugged me, and I wonder if others have had this experience... both times when I've had Phantom at the dealer, when I got it back, I had to program my remotes again. They had lost their settings - things like door locking, time the interior lights stay on after removing the remote, turn signal settings, etc. I thought these were supposed to be saved. Anyway, it's a minor annoyance... and I'm getting pretty good at reprogramming a remote!

Best wishes to all Week 32ers!

 

My window setting was off....but after a while it returned back to normal. After reading all the issues with the sunroof, I'm pretty careful about not using it on hot days. In Houston the only days I use it are in the winter, late fall and early spring. I usually make sure I've conditioned the car for 5 to 10 minutes and she opens up nicely.

 

Had to take my car into the dealer today. The hood release broke a couple weeks ago when I was trying to open the hood. They supposedly did a TSB for the sunroof sticking and said I shouldn't see that happen again.

How's everyone else doing?

 

All's well in Ohio. Phantom passed 10,000 miles on the odometer today. I'm still loving being a MINI owner.

 

You aren't driving it enough. I'm over 17K miles.

 

Same here!

 

Hi! Everything's cool here!

 

Just got back from a road trip. The 12 Hours of Sebring. I'm now approaching 22K miles.

Here's the Aston Martin during Thursday practice last week.

 

That must have been quite the experience. Maybe someday I can attend something like that. I watched it on television, but that would hardly compare.

 

Sebring is a great event. This was our 4th year going (and our 10th ALMS race).

 

Hey all.

Heh, I wrote a long post a few weeks ago on here and my browser crashed before I could post it, so I forgot about it. Whoops.

Long story short, I had to take my car in for ice in the intake manifold a couple of months ago. It seems it's a common problem and they fixed it in a couple hours. Other than that things are great. Looking forward to warmer weather so I can get back to windows-down driving

 

Come down here it's already warm weather!

 

Checking in. How's everyone doing. My JCW is at around 34K miles on the odo, but we brought home a new beast today: a brand new 2011 Subaru WRX STI in Dark Gray Metallic.

 

Well, I liked my wife's STi so much, I went out today and bought one for myself. So my MINI JCW is now gone and in it's place is a 2011 WR Blue WRX Sti.

 

It seems like a million years ago we ordered our minis, found out what group we were in, then waited and obsessed for our cars to come.

I'm wondering how many still have their cars and are still going strong?

My mini has had a rough life I am afraid. It's first service the service guys ran it over something, then it was hit while parked in the parking lot at work and spent a week in the body shop, recently someone rear ended me but thankfully that time no damage was done. People stop trying to hurt my car! Then of course there was the recall which should have been fine except my dealer managed to "discover" $1300 worth of other things that needed to be done. About a month later the timing chain went out (apparently this is a common issue) and it spent a week at the dealer.

Now I am facing another weird issue and continued trouble with my local dealer, so I am thinking it may be time for myself and the Mini to part ways. It's not even 5 yet, has just over 20,000 miles (!) there is no reason I should be putting up with so many issues and not only is the dealer inconveniently located but untrustworthy. Unfortunately, there is only one person where I live who will work on Minis and he can't do everything, he already looked at it but can't figure out what is wrong so the dealer is my only option now. I love my mini, it was my dream car, I worked so hard to get it and I take good care of it so it really hurts me to have to admit it. But the relationship is turning one sided and I just dont have the money or time to spend fixing it every year.

 

Looks like I'm still subscribed.

I'm perfectly happy with my Subaru STi, and I definitely do not miss FWD. I liked my JCW except for the torque steer. That drove me nuts. Never again. I've had my STI for 18 months now and I have to say I think it's a much better car, and way more bang for the buck. I paid about as much for my STi as I did for my JCW. Now I feel kinda cheated for what I got with the MINI: looking back I think they are overpriced. But then BMWs have gone out of control with how overpriced they are, so I guess it stands to reason.

My wife and I think our next set of cars (i.e in 3 years or so) might be a Subaru Outback and a Porsche Cayman.

 

I'm still subscribed!

My JCW is still going strong. Mostly. I had to have my water pump and thermostat replaced a month or two ago after they sprung a leak. I also had it in a few times for the timing chain tensioner stuff, but MINI covered all of that.

Still loving every time I get behind the wheel.

 

When my timing chain went out I had like a month left of warranty. Phew. Having a good dealer is probably key to your experience. My dealer is friendly enough, though they have this new thing were they wont address problems over the weekends they only will do regular maintenance even if you schedule an appointment well ahead of time. But I know they've cheated me out of things and caused more issues along the way not including running my car over something.

So the issue ended up being my shift assembly, it no longer was registering when the car was in park. Yep on a car less than 5 with 21,000 miles on it. They quoted me 1400 but when they could tell I was considering saying no the price dropped to 1100. I got it fixed but I am planning on trading it in, this weekend or next. I am probably going to move up to a small suv, there are no sedans or hatchbacks I like and it would be nice to have a smoother ride. My loaner during this process was a 2013 Countryman and that really sealed the deal in me wanting something with a more relaxed ride where I didn't have to stress every bump in the road. The Countryman was great but my dealings with Mini have to end. It's funny I moved from a Mazda Protege (my first car) to this Mini and now it is likely I will end up with another Mazda (the new Cx-5 or a Toyota). I had my Protege 7 years though and never even changed the tires, eventually we replaced the break pads before I sold it but that was it.

I loved my mini and I will probably cry like a big baby when I get home with my new car. I feel like I am giving up a part of my personality and conforming, at 27 this was one of the few not so grown up things about me. I always thought I'd keep my Mini until I had kids and needed a bigger car, and then maybe keep it after that as a weekend or commuter car. But all this trouble has soured me and I am just not in a place in my life where I can deal with such a delicate car. I live alone and while I make good money I have a house payment and renovations, and I am busy. The money is one thing (a big one) but it is also the time and frustration I've had to put into this relationship. The only bright light now is the good resale value and that all the dealers have been super interested in trading in the Mini.

 

I feel your pain Lauren. My wife and I are also done with both BMW and MINI, due to high cost and low reliability. I now have 18K+ miles on my Subaru STi. Other than a minor switch adjustment that was done early on, both of our Subaru STIs have been rock solid reliable. Other than oil changes they have required no extra trips to the dealer or service.

I recommend looking at Subaru. These are great cars and big bang for the buck.