Well, my car was in for the emissions recall service on 12/1, and I know that it's been over 3 weeks since, but MINI of Sterling's service department deserves a good word. I've had less than satisfactory experiences there before, but this time around, they definitely earned their 5!

I scheduled a trip in to MINI of Sterling after getting the recall notice in the mail, and based on some other owners' comments regarding the effects of the reflash, I was quite apprehensive. I waited to post this note until I had a chance to put a good bit of milage on the car under various conditions, and I am happy to report that the car runs well, and the yo-yo is now almost completely gone. The only unusual engine condition now left from the original group (stumble, yo-yo, bog...) is the occasional rough idle. A blip of the loud pedal, and it clears. I grown used to it, and laugh about it now. It took some clever engineering to get a modern powertrain control system simulate SU's loading up at tick-over! I'll miss it if MINI ever manages to eliminate it.

Now, to the service visit itself: I originally scheduled to have two items done: the v.39 recall, and swap out the summer runflats for winter rubber I bought last year. (gotta get a second set of wheels this spring!) I had a few other service concerns, but since I could not consistently reproduce them, I did not include these on the initial call.

When I dropped the car off, I had planned to wait for it, since I figured the reflash (the only warranty-related item originally scheduled for fixing) would only take about an hour or so. As the service advisor was reviewing the ticket, I mentioned the other concerns- intermittent hatch rattle, a rattle from the center of the dash in cold weather, and a squealing noise from the RH window regulator on hot sunny days.

I told the service advisor I certainly did not expect these to be addressed that day, since I had given them no advance notice of the concerns, and that I was only interested in documenting them so that they could be planned for on my next scheduled maintenance visit. This was especially true of the window, since I could not demonstrate the symptom without benefit of a warm day- which was lacking that morning.

Here's where surprise #1 comes in. Without missing a beat, the service advisor smiled, replied that the window noise was a known condition, and added all of the additional items to the service ticket. He then offered to put me in a loaner car again, even though I had already stated I had the day off from work and planned to wait. Wow! This was certainly above my expectations.

After the in-dealership Enterpise put me in a Chevy Cavalier (again, per my request: I always make a point to ask them for the smallest car they have on hand!) I made the most of it. The first 150 miles on the loaner are free. I brought it back with 149.5 or so clocked, at about the time the service advisor told me to expect my car to be ready. It took the tech a bit longer than expected, but I didn't mind the wait- especially since I got a lot of errands done in the loaner. I took advantage of the extra time to pick up a few odds and ends at the parts counter.

Surprise #2 came at the cashier's counter. The service advisor apologized for the extra wait, even though I hadn't complained, and discounted the tire mounting and balancing to reinforce his words. Wow again!

I left the cashier's desk, with a pair of complimentary carnations, and a big grin on my face. Then I drove out of the lot. No rattles. No yo-yo! And the yo-yo hasn't come back yet. This time, the car's not re-learning bad habits!

The flowers stayed fresh for over a full week in the vase on my coffee table. :smile:

I read here earlier that MINI of Sterling has acknowleged that their service department needed to improve. If my latest experience is any indicator, I am happy to report that they are following through on that commitment!

Happy holidays everyone!

 

You had some good luck there. Did you make sure there wasn't oil and grease covering your front seat. If you picked it up late its to dark to see the inside clearly.

 

What was their fix for the dash rattle?

 

Strategically placed velcro tape. BMW offically refers to it as "anti-rattle tape," but the service advisor told me it's just velcro.

I thought my sun load sensor was rattling in the dash top, but the dealer said it was actually the joint between the two top sections of the dash. I'd elaborate further, but right this moment I'm getting yelled at by the wife to turn off the 'puter!

 

Hopefully that will work. I can tell you it did not in ours.
It was fine for the summer but once the weather got cold the rattle was back and louder than ever. Towson removed the dash to fix the rattle. I also had a bad sunroof rattle. Towson also used that tape of the sunroof. That didn't go anything. They replaced the sun roof.

 

I also just visited Sterling MINI just two weeks ago for the emissions recall with version 39 installed, along with a one year service checkup (as I only had 6400 miles). My experience was great, just like I have come to expect and appreciate from them. (I had an oil change there at 1200 miles and they were great then too.) They also installed a silver CVT MINI shift ****. While there, it's always fun to check out the new MINIs and BMWs too, and buy a few things, i.e., MINI shirts. I just love visiting them. I arrived early (7:45 AM) and only waited 2 hours for all this. They had 3 tv's going with 2 playing Chirstmas movies and the other with CNN news. They're great! :smile: