I've got just 14,000 miles on my 14' Cooper S hardtop and the front tires are almost down to the wear markers already.

anyone know if that's covered under the "boot to bonnet 3 year 36k mile" maintenance warranty?

it says it covers all routine maintenance, tires to me are one of those routine things you have to change.

also is 14k normal for the sport tires that come with the new mini. My motorcycle front tire lasts longer than 14K!

 

unfortunately tires i believe are a wear item, highly doubt they would cover them. 14k is bad but not unheard of.

 

Generally you can get 20-25K miles on sport tire normal driving (no lighting them up, autocross type driving or tracking the car).

Would be an interesting question on Boot to Bonnet coverage (they do replace wiper blades which are wear item). Guessing there is a tire exclusion written somewhere (otherwise every MINI would likely get at least one new set of tires during the warranty period).

Of course at its price point and dealer retail pricing positions, a free set would almost be warranted.

 

Tires are NOT covered under the warranty. It would have been covered if you would have purchased the package offered to you by BMW/MINI upon signing. It is called the tire and wheel package, which would have costed you about $50 deductible for three years I think. I opted not to get it because it was expensive and really would cost more than a new set of tires. Hope this helps? Any other questions you have I may be able to answer.

 

Thanks for the answer clintmeister..I was going to ask at my next service but figured brakes, spark plugs and wipers wear out and they replace them why not the tires....again, it's a BS "fineprint" deal I suppose. If you read the warranty it says "boot to bonnet" and everything in between...pretty sure the tires are in between. If they didn't want to pay for them then put tires that don't wear out in 36k miles (or 15K in my case).

and no I don't autocross it, have never done a burnout, just everyday driving. actually mostly highway mileage. Fronts have 5/32 and rears have 10/32 treat left. I'm going to rotate them (even though my dealer said not to) in order to get maximum mileage out of this set.

 

Here's a follow up question,

after I rotate the tires, will the TPMS recognize the new tire positions?

 

Honestly, I suggest tire rotation every 5k miles. That may sound excessive but run flats aren't very economical when it comes to getting the most miles out of them. I'm currently on my third MCS (2015), and I've gotten around 35-40k miles on the run flats. However, I've noticed MINI is always switching brands. I've always had Dunlops come on my car and good god Dunlop is ridiculously expensive. I don't recommend them. Kumho and Pirelli make nice yet cheap run flats. The TPMS has always had to be reset in the past, but this is very easy to do under vehicle settings. I don't know about the new third gen models. Mine only has about 3k miles on it so I'll be able to let you know in a couple thousand miles. Any other questions?

 

Also,
Did you purchase the extended maintenance or extended boot to bonnet warranties? If not, I recommend oil changes between the cars recommended intervals only if it's an excessive number of miles. My 2011 MCS would recommend oil changes every 16k miles. This resulted in sludge build up and damage to the turbos around the time the warranty ran out. Therefore pay for oil changes between the free ones, and KEEP your receipts for proof. Hopefully, MINI has resolved this issue. Turbos aren't cheap. These cars are efficient, but one must remember they are very high performance engines and ultimately a BMW with a MINI logo.

 

Currently my MINI is saying oil change at 8k miles which is very realistic for a small efficient engine with synthetic oil. So hopefully this issue has been resolved.

 

I've got a set of Hancook tires on it now. Through a little trial and and error I found if you don't do the reset the numbers do not follow the tires but a quick press of the reset on the TPMS page fixes it right up.

I agree with tire rotations to ensure maximum tire life but I didn't do it despite my own knowledge based on Mini's recommendation...since they aren't directional tires doing a standard rotation is pretty easy. Hardest part for me was the fact that my floor jack barely fit under the car (I used to drive a jeep...ground clearance was a bit different) I've always done it at the oil changes for all my cars. Mini with it's computerized maintenance schedule has kinda screwed me up a bit. 10k to 12k miles to an oil change just doesn't seem right.

Thanks for your input.

Mike

 

No problem Mike. Remember, MINI is anticipating selling you tires and maintenance services! However, I don't like anyone doing maintenance on my baby except MINI!

 

Pretty crazy maintenance schedule if you ask me. Going to get oil/filter and tires rotated every 5K.

I have a BMW dealer much closer to me than the MINi dealership. Since we are talking a BMW motor in the MINI, they (BMW) should be able to do the (in-between) maintenance I'm planning and saving me the drive to the MINI dealership.

Full synthetic oil should last 7500 miles normally, but if MINI is doing free (well not free, I paid for them when I bought the car) @10K miles, I may as well split the difference @ 5K miles.

Tire should not be uni-directional ( and same size across the platform, so the normal diagonal pattern change should be done.

C7 can only be done side to to side due to wheel size differences.

 

Tire wear us not covered under any manfucture policy

 

Did YOU read it? Go read the actual Service and Warranty Information Booklet that comes with the car.

 

Two questions: What's your application [twisty roads, Auto-X, track-days], and what's the UTQG of the tire?

To put it simply, the treadwear rating on the tires' UTQG nomenclature indicates typical wear from new to wear-bars where 100 = 7,200 miles. Multiply accordingly to get expected tread life for "average" use.

Assuming you have the Pirelli P7's in 205/45-17, they have a treadwear of 260, which equates to (2.6 * 7,200 = ) about 18,720 with granny at the helm. Obviously if you're driving spiritedly and/or going to the track, tires will wear out significantly quicker. To answer your original question, NO, tires are an obvious wear item (just like the clutch), not a maintenance item. Frankly I find it amazing MINI even considers covering brakes under their maintenance coverage.

 

Also depends on the tires...some summer tires only have a 160 tread wear which means every 10k or so unless you drive it like Miss Daisy...a lot of the wear is driver based.

 

Found it.

 

The no rotate MINI recommendation is a profit center for MINI dealers. If your car has the same tires front to back, rotation front to back every 5000 miles will save you a bunch. It will probably double your tire life.

 

Our store recommends this. I have 11k on mine just did the third rotate on my Dunlop SS Summers and still have 75% left and I drive it like I stole it daily.

 

Yup, we rotate our tires every 5K. My wife and I take a Saturday and make it a Mini day. We clean the wheels very good at the rotation point and do all the other things that don't get done from a detail point of view. In this way the cars keep that pristine look. It's fun.