I took my 2019 Clubman in to the Plano TX Mini dealer today, which in actuality is a BMW dealership that sells Minis. There is no designated Mini building or salesmen. I dont know if that matters to my issue. I did not buy my car at this dealership, but that shouldnt really matter, it was just that they didnt have what I wanted, but the salesman went on the computer and found what I was looking for and sent me to that location. I called him, Jeff, to let him know I had bought the car and he mentioned that one had a recall on it that didnt look like it had been taken care of. I asked for what and he had said some programming issue. He booked me a service appointment for the recall and a brake fluid service that was showing due. I showed up for my appointment today and was assisted by a service advisor, Jake. I asked him what the recall was for and he said a programming issue. I told him yes, I am aware, but for what? He said "I dont know, I am not a programmer, I dont write code" I responded, well obviously. I have 2 (or more) issues. 1. Dude, how rude was that! Answer the damned question and if you dont know then go find out. Shouldnt he know the answer since my car is hardly the first one to come in with that issue. Then he had also said the programming would take 2 - 4 hours. Really????? 2. I had a 2pm appointment and now I am without my car til tomorrow. I received a text from Jake after turning over my car and 2 hours later I texted him to check on progress. I got very little info and it was like pulling teeth til he finally said it will be ready tomorrow, and thats it.

2 questions, does anyone know what the programming recall is actually about? And should it take that long to get the brake fluid flush, recall and new wipers done? I dunno, silly me thought if I made a 2pm appointment, they would start working on it, and it wouldnt take a whole stinking day.

Maybe my expectations are too high.

 

I did my brake fluid, took about an hour with the motiv power bleeder. We did a flush on a r53 without bleeder and it took us about an hour and half, a lot of pumping the brake pedal. Wipers just snap on and off, like a couple of minutes at most. As for the flashing I can’t answer that one for ya, but I can’t see that taking longer than an hour.

 

Sounds like a real d-bag. Sometimes I feel like the bastard stepchild on the BMW side of my dealer too, but doesn’t excuse the rudeness. I bet they were happy to take your money.

I had a recall on my 2017 S. The dealer said that there was a recall that needed to be performed on the F5x & F60 to program the control unit. I have no idea why they didn’t call me about it. The code on the invoice was (BDC) 0034500200-M348220. The car felt smoother (start up, acceleration, transmission).

It took a while to be honest, but I got a loaner. I normally do my appointments first thing in the am.

 

Part 1: the folks handling the service desk do just that; they are not usually mechanics. They can tell you what the computer says, and they don't have time to interrupt a mechanic to get a technical explanation most customers wouldn't understand anyway. Try Google.

Part 2: cars are complex. If you're not a programmer AND a mechanic, ease up on demands for quicker service, because you don't know what's involved.

Schedule your service for a time when you can get a loaner, and move on.

 

It’s probably the crankshaft sensor firmware recall which says can cause the engine to stall. You can run your VIN at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls or https://www.miniusa.com/owners/tools...rt/recall.html for info on your specific car.

 

wow, you might as well have said not to worry my pretty little head about it.

part 1. You don’t have to be a mechanic to look up the recall and tell me what it’s about and not be rude about it. That is very specifically his job. At pick up I spoke with the service manager and he apologized for Jake’s responses, he should have known the answer or if not, where to get it. The service manager looked it up in the system and told me what it said and I fully understood it. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I don’t know anything about cars or computers. My husband builds hot rods and I work with computers all day and have been modding and working on my own cars since the 80’s. I do get the concept of coding/programming and just like using BimmerCode, I am sure there was already a program written to run the coding quickly since it was a recall.

part 2. I do demand good service and an explanation for why I am being told something takes 2-4 hrs when it’s a job the pays a half hour. I did get a loaner which is why I scheduled it. Though I ended up with a crappy rental instead of a Mini which took 24 hours.

 

That reply implies I intended something gender-specific in my response; I did not. If you're looking for a canned response, it's more along the lines of the movie Stripes - "Lighten up, Francis."

I don't take what you provided as the employee's words as rude; it sounded honest to me, and I (and you) have no idea what kind of a day he was having to influence his comments. Was he slammed and busy? Did he have issues outside of work? I don't know, but there are many more important things to worry about at the moment than whether the guy at the counter "disrespected" you. And your list of experience, rather than strengthening your case, weakens it. Hot rod engines are nothing like a 2019 BMW engine, and I would expect you know that, but refuse to acknowledge it in this instance. And if you're familiar with code, or for that matter have ever updated a computer or cell phone, you know things go wrong, and even when they go right, sometimes they take longer than expected or planned.

 

Dude, you literally told me cars are complicated, as if I couldn’t possibly understand cars. I don’t understand why you are so dead set on defending a guy with crappy customer service skills even when the service manager disputed his claims of a 4 hour job and said this situation will be used as a training opportunity for him. Wait, is your name Jake? I am the customer, what kind of personal problems he has is not my concern.

why can’t I come on here, say I had a crappy experience and ask if anyone has any recall info without being told to move on or get over it?

 

And THAT is the crux of the problem. Customer, technician, server, manager, beggar, king - we are all people, each with our own problems and challenges, without the need for others to create more, especially in the current environment.

Your words indicate you felt being a customer made you more important than the employee.
You state you became offended when the employee didn't serve you to your satisfaction.
You not only requested to speak to a manager, but you broadcast your displeasure here, including to someone who thinks you may be out of line.

Time to look up "Karen."

 

No. Absolutely not. I didn’t think I was more important than the employee. He and his attitude was treating me as if I were less than him. And yes, people in service should be polite. That is the entire purpose of their job. If my husband treated a customer like crap or No. Absolutely not. I didn’t think I was more important than the employee. He and his attitude was treating me as if I were less than him. And yes, people in service should be polite. That is the entire purpose of their job. To ensure I have a satisfactory experience in bring my vehicle for service. If my husband treated a customer like crap or if I did, that is wrong. Period.

Complaining about poor service is not being a Karen. Demanding something beyond the scope of normal is. I did not ask for anything the advisor should have simply provided.

That’s ok, you can move on now. I see the problem.

 

I had to have the ECU totally "updated" on my 2014 JCW Coupe before the guy put a "tune" on it (not at a dealership of course), and it took about 90 minutes. There was no "recall" involved. Now the Mini dealership I bought my 2020 JCW Coupe called and wants me to have a "software recall" update. I don't live in Phoenix so I said I'd wait til it needed service they said fine.