Well ill be there waiting . As long as you let the new guy know about the clutch situation with my car, and not just recent event with the new clutch, i mean everything else that has taken a crap on it before. Let me know if you kept the same cell number i have man, ill keep in touch.

 

Good luck to you Will !!

 

Yes I did have an '05 installed in an '02, but ApexinM3, let's get the facts straight:

1. The '05 was installed by a the same mechanic at Tate that did the initial diagnostics on the cruise control problem.
2. The cruise control worked fine for 3 months after the '05 trans was installed.
3. I, questioning the compatibility myself, mentioned the '05 installation to both the service advisor as well as the technical advisor at the time (yes, after the harness swap since I thought thay were already aware) and they did not feel that compatibility was the issue.
4. According to Ted_Leist, the '05 update that Randy Webb did, did not adversely affect the cruise control on the Webb Motorsports car.

If anyone can corroborate that their pre-'05 to '05 transmission upgrade actually resulted in the loss of cruise control I will be glad to acknowledge that the problem is with parts compatibility and that Tate can't be held responsible and my apologies and thanks to them. If this is the case, for my part, the loss of cruise is a small price to pay for the far superior performance of the close ratio box.

 

DrkSlvrMini,
Can you tell me the source of your information regarding the tranny swap? I would like to correct my statement regarding Tate if I have mispoken.

 

Its one of those things through the grape vine. But if yours worked after you had it installed then thats a different problem then it not working from the begining.

 

Was this the rubbing wire problem that was fixed as a recall earlier this year?

 

30 miles to a Dealership is a hardship? I have about 7 MINI dealerships within a 10-30 mile range here in Los Angeles, and prefer the one furthest from me, because they are good. I have friends in other states who drive 600 miles round-trip for MINI service at their nearest dealership.

I'm sorry about the SES problem, akitadog, but the 30-mile drive doesn't hit me as a true problem. Good luck with the refund. Let us know how it goes.

 

I think I may have created that grapevine myself last fall when I was trying to get to the bottom of this problem by soliciting info from others who had done the upgrade. Nobody stepped forward with the same problem.

 

i see, well just a kinda off topic question. i thought of doin this myself in my 03. did you have any other problems with this swap?

 

It's a real problem for all of us in the DC area. 3 surrounding dealers and all over 30 miles away. The problem isn't the 30 or 600 mile drive. It's the fact that most problems seem to take multiple days to diagnose and fix. If loaner cars were readily available, no sweat!

 

Oh, I agree with you, lhoboy, about the loaners and the difficulty in diagnosing issues! It is still not horrible, though, to be as close as 30 miles to a dealership. I wish akitadog well in his dealings with his dealership. I understand his frustration and agree that he'd better start the registered letters route...

 

None whatsoever. As I've said in another thread, it provides as much as or more performance enhancement than installing a JCW kit. The two combined make this an awesome car. The swap is certainly cheaper than trading into a newer model.

 

MINIclo, thanks for your wishes.

My issue with the dealership distance is two fold:
First, the distance. I don't want to have to travel 30 miles for simple issues like a clock that runs fast and a burnt-out light bulb, all for the sake of not voiding warranty (I do have these issues as well). Second, the dealer is located 30 miles away from the rest of my life. What I mean is, I have no reasons to go in that direction except to visit the dealer. It's completely inconvenient. Not to mention the money spent on gas (for a million loaners as well, can I at least get a full tank paid for by the dealer?). When you've traveled 30 miles to the dealer, 30 miles back, and 20 more miles to work in the opposite direction, SEVEN times in 4 months, it starts to wear on you. (EDIT: Make that 14 times in 4 months, to include both dropping off and picking up the car)

As an update, Tate says they are removing and looking at the supercharger, since my problems started after a new one went on. But I know what's going to happen. The supercharger will look fine, nothing new will be learned, I'll get the car back, and within a week, the light will be back on. This car MUST BE BOUGHT BACK BY TATE.

 

Not really; the wiring recall was for automatic MCS convertibles & coupes. What was found is that over prolonged use, the A/T wiring harness would chafe, causing funky problems. The issues I'm talking about had more to do with the CAN & BUS lines. The car is networked together, with each component sending coded signals through the Body Control Module, or BC1. In turn, the BC1 will send a signal through the CAN & BUS lines, which pass thru various components, until it reaches the component the signal was intended. It's exactly like a computer network in your home or office. The problem with these cars are that they are constantly being vibrated, subjected to hot & cold temperatures, humidity, etc. Imagine how often a normal computer network goes down, and now try to imagine how a network in a car is & what it has to be designed to do! Trust me when I say they are complicated.

The problems arise when either a component gives up the ghost & can cause problems down the way in the network (brake lights staying on at all times-even if the car is shut off, mirror motors that don't work because of faulty mirror heater grids), or if there is a break in the wiring somehwere. I spent a lot of time with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, & Volvo diagnosing network car problems, and believe me, they can suck.

If anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to answer them. Cheers to all!

 

[/quote]As an update, Tate says they are removing and looking at the supercharger, since my problems started after a new one went on. But I know what's going to happen. The supercharger will look fine, nothing new will be learned, I'll get the car back, and within a week, the light will be back on. This car MUST BE BOUGHT BACK BY TATE.[/quote]

David,
let me know how you make out & what they find. Since I spent a lot of time with this ordeal as well, I'm curious to find out what the problem is/was. Thanks!

 

Keep in mind that the Maryland Lemon Law (affecting the dealer) only applies to vehicles less than one year old. You will need to file within that timeframe, so don't let discussions with the dealer cause you to miss the deadline before you make a claim under that statute. Under the federal Moss-Magnuson Act (affecting the manufacturer) you have the full life of the factory warranty within which to file a claim, but there is no obligation for the manufacturer to buy back the car, only to provide equitable restitution for the uncorrectable or recurrent vehicle deficiencies.

 

lhoboy,

Mine was a May 29th (or 30th, not sure) delivery. Believe me, I'm not gonna let the clock run out on this one.

 

Akitadog,
Best of luck to you. I know how frustrating it can be to have a great performing car that is in the shop much of the time.

 

Update:
Picked up my MCS today from Tate. Bill tells me that his people are almost certain that the SES light is coming on due to the oxygenated gas blend that is sold during winter. The extra oxygen in the gas is what makes the sensors say, "Too much O2!" They ran the car on mid-grade gas and the light doesn't come on. They put in premium and the light comes on. Their solution? Use mid-grade gas.

Of course, this is no solution at all. They say the problem is the gas. NO. Otherwise, every other MCS in the area would be having the same problem. The problem is with the car's inability to run OK on oxygenated premium winter blend, NOT with the fuel itself. So, now that they know that the car sensors are messing up with oxygenated premium, why wouldn't they then look at the parts responsible for measuring the O2 in the fuel? All they're saying is "Use mid-grade". On top of all that, Bill didn't have the paperwork for me to sign when I picked up my car. He said he'd mail it to me. It better say the same thing on the work order that Bill told me this morning.

This really burns me up. I have already contacted a lawyer and will be dealing with BMW of NA under the Lemon Law. However, the problem may not be reproducible in the months to come, when the winter blend leaves the market. Waiting out the winter is not a solution to this problem. It would only return when it gets cold again. I need to know that I still have a case, because likely, everything will play out in the spring.

 

Beware when they say "the paperwork is in the mail!" Sit down and write down exactly what he told you, the date, etc., to keep a log for your attorney's use. I'm so sorry about this situation. I agree that if it were simply the fuel, they'd have a HUGE number of folks inundating them with the same problem that you are experiencing. That is simply unacceptable for them to blow it off that way.

Good luck with it all.

 

MINIclo,

I said as much this morning. Their solution is unacceptable, and is only a band-aid to a bigger problem. In the morning, I will be calling Tate and asking that they fax me the paperwork ASAP. The work orders were ALWAYS on time for pickup before. Now I can't help but smell something fishy.

I will also be contacting my attorney for an update on this situation.

 

David,
A sticky situation, indeed. I spoke with the techs about this problem and after reviewing the readings they got as well as all technical data available currently, its IS possible that what they say is true. Logic would dictate that if this were the case then all MCSs would be showing up at the dealer door steps with SES lights on, but such is not the case. In my experience with BMW, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, and to a lesser extent, Porsche, it is possible that the DME has learned an adaptation that doesn't coincide with normal readings-even after being reset. Oxygenated fuel sucks-it kills fuel economy, losses power, and generally runs like crap, all in the name of treehuggers everywhere praisning good fuel economy (I say God killed the dinosaurs so we could burn them up, but that is just me). Anyways, the DME has programming certain coding programmed into it that cannot be changed, no matter what. Software updates help, but all they do is allow the DME to adapt to conditions, i.e. fuel/air mixtures, knock sensing, temperature sensing, and ignition curves.

Could the engine be trying to adapt itself with oxygenated fuel & be thrown for a curve? Yes. How can you find out? Good question-travel south, have the light reset & drive around with non-oxygenated fuel for a week. That is pretty much all that can be done at this point. The car is doing everything right, but if it doesn't have a good baseline to go off of, things are gonna be out of synch. Frankly, I don't know how to correct your problem. I'm not convinced yet that there isn't a vacuum leak somewhere, yet in all the attempts to find one when I was there proved otherwise. Believe me, those guys WANT TO FIX YOUR CAR because they are just as curious as you are. Not to mention they have MINI USA breathing down their backs, who have been completely useless in diagnosing the problem. They don't have a clue (MINI USA), and are guessing now. Mechanically, your car is fine-it is a programing error somewhere in the car (which as hard as it is for me to believe, it is true).

As for the paperwork-a whole nother story. 5 months of turning that place around seem to be going into the crapper, but that is a topic for another thread elsewhere on this forum-don't even get me started on that one here!

I really do hope this works out, you have a nice car & it's a shame you are going through this. And rest assured, the guys in the shop are getting feedback thru me-even if I'm not there anymore, so believe me when I say that concerns are being passed onto them. The front, on the otherhand...

Good luck, I'll be watching this one closely!

 

It may not be as easy as just saying "you haven't fixed my car, I want a refund." The Maryland law states "Any one problem that substantially impairs the use and market value of the vehicle that was not corrected in four repair attempts". It might be argued that an SES light and no other observable symptoms does not meet this criteria. I feel your pain, but it looks like there may be an escape clause for the manufacturer.

 

1. The use is impaired in that should I resign myself to driving the car with the light on (because it keeps coming on so much), if something else actually happens to the car that would trigger the SES light, I wouldn't know about it until the problem is severe, possibly ruining mechanical or electrical parts (and we know how random MINIs can be in terms of parts failures).

2. The market value is impaired in that, should I choose to sell the car, I am legally liable if I do not disclose any ongoing issues with the vehicle. Disclosing the fact that the SES light will not stay off could keep me from getting market value for an otherwise OK car and could lead a potential buyer to worry about #1 (above), possibly refusing to buy at all. What good is a car that I can't sell?

3. The solution to use mid-grade gasoline worries me in that continuous use could degrade the engine over time. I don't know that for sure, but I'm not willing to take that chance simply because the dealership can't think of anything better to do.

4. The car has been out of service for at least 30 days.

 

Actually, in modern cars the SES light means there is a problem that could effect emmisions. If you can't pass the emmisions standard you can't get your car registered which would severly limit use and obviously affect the market value.