Countryman FAQs Countryman Common Questions & Answers Unrelated to Repairs !

Asking for input

  #1  
Old 12-30-2017, 03:52 PM
Whine not Walnuts's Avatar
Whine not Walnuts
Whine not Walnuts is offline
OVERDRIVE
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Fuquay Varina, NC
Posts: 5,490
Received 625 Likes on 554 Posts
Asking for input

If you check out the Gen1, 2 and 3 areas will note that some good information is in place for both Newbies and Oldies on their respective cars. What are some good questions that you had when you first bought your Countryman and then some others as the cars aged?
 
The following users liked this post:
ghent96 (02-01-2021)
  #2  
Old 01-08-2018, 08:59 AM
pinkah's Avatar
pinkah
pinkah is offline
1st Gear
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
r53coop,
I got my 2014 Countryman in October and had no idea where the battery was and more importantly, how to access it. I think this is something that should be on the top of the list of the first things to find out. Found a video on youtube how to access it and remove it.
Its easy to get to once you know how to do it, but can be intimidating at first.
Thanks
 
  #3  
Old 01-12-2018, 03:50 PM
Whine not Walnuts's Avatar
Whine not Walnuts
Whine not Walnuts is offline
OVERDRIVE
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Fuquay Varina, NC
Posts: 5,490
Received 625 Likes on 554 Posts
Post the link?
 
  #4  
Old 05-10-2018, 08:37 PM
MrGrumpy's Avatar
MrGrumpy
MrGrumpy is offline
6th Gear
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Washington state
Posts: 1,361
Received 241 Likes on 207 Posts
The battery is a good one, I found mine in our ‘12 S ALL4 by pure accident. After getting it, I wanted to familiarize myself with the location of the dipstick and other essentials. While looking my son pointed and said “what’s that little compartment thingy” while pointing at it. I decided to find out, and there was the battery.....was really surprised by the placement of it.
Another is the importance of keeping the oil level topped up, along with regular oil changes, because of the VANOS and other reasons why it’s essential.
 
  #5  
Old 06-10-2018, 12:16 PM
MrGrumpy's Avatar
MrGrumpy
MrGrumpy is offline
6th Gear
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Washington state
Posts: 1,361
Received 241 Likes on 207 Posts
I think sometimes people get frightened away a little bit by reading about the some of these issues. If I had read some of these before I bought my Countryman I may very well never have bought it. I think there is a bit of fear about reliability for a lot of folks. The repair costs are another issue with these. The labor charges for some of the stuff is definitely prohibitive. But now I also know that once you get a little bit more familiar with them, you realize that a lot of the maintenance can be done yourself by somebody that is mechanically inclined. And the other users on this sight are a phenomenal resource for educating yourself and learning how to do some of the work yourself. I have found that most are happy to help and lend you their knowledge and experience.
TLDR: Don’t be scared away by the negative reports, these are fantastically fun cars and maintenance isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be.
 
  #6  
Old 12-29-2019, 06:09 PM
SunBird's Avatar
SunBird
SunBird is offline
3rd Gear
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: ca
Posts: 210
Received 9 Likes on 8 Posts
Some perspective... not just about spark plugs but "vehicle servicing" and how its changed over the last 40 years.... including inflation...
 
  #7  
Old 12-28-2022, 02:26 AM
Quarky42's Avatar
Quarky42
Quarky42 is offline
Neutral
Join Date: Dec 2022
Location: NM
Posts: 6
Received 3 Likes on 2 Posts
I'm interested in learning more about vehicle programming. The R60 thread has a bunch of dead links in it. I've found a version of software and a recent spdatens. Figured out that I need to use the R56 one, but since the guide links are dead, seems like there is a lot of really great info that has kind of fallen by the wayside.

I'm working my way through figuring out the map updates on my 2011. Looks like I need to get the FSC and that's sent me back to the vehicle programming path as I should be able to get the FSC that way if the little "easy" script way doesn't work. Sure wish I could see all that GDrive info that is no longer there. I'm not clueless when it comes to vehicle programming, so having that kind of howto info spelled out sure would be nice.

A few videos I found useful for my R60:
(There was a second place where I found a bit more info, but can't recall it right now.)
Mini Countryman Front Brakes DIY
MINI R60 R61 Remove Stereo Headunit Speedo

or this one:

though there were many more. Some/many weren't Countryman specific though.
 
The following 2 users liked this post by Quarky42:
adricm (03-19-2024), Buff (12-29-2022)
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Dr_Romulus
Navigation & Audio
15
02-21-2020 06:32 AM
AC_MINI
R50/R53 :: Hatch Talk (2002-2006)
21
10-06-2003 12:10 PM
skinnybonedog
Tires, Wheels, & Brakes
17
09-29-2003 05:24 PM


Thread Tools
Search this Thread
Quick Reply: Asking for input



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 12:30 PM.