Hi all,

After buying my 2006 R53 a couple of weeks ago, I decided to check whether my closest mini dealer would reprogram my customization options (locking/unlocking etc.). I dropped in on a Monday morning (no appointment) and asked whether this would be possible. They quoted me a price of $65, and I balked (I thought this would be a 5 minute freebie sort of thing).

They were able to do another quickie fix for me under warranty, and a few minutes later said they thought they might be able to reprogram the customizations for me too. I was thrilled, of course. I gave them a sheet listing the various customizations with checkmarks next to the options I wanted. I stressed the main thing I wanted was one button unlock all-around (driver, passenger, boot).

When I got home, I noticed that one of my favorite pre-dealership-visit features (unlock doors when you stop) was changed so that I now have to go through the two-pull open process. In addition, my one-button unlock - the one feature I really wanted - was not enabled. I thought it might have worked in the dealership parking lot, but it definitely wasn't that way when I got home. So not only did I not get the customization I wanted, but it was worse (for my tastes) than when I handed them the keys.

But, it was free -- a service for which they might normally charge $65 for.

What should I do - give them a 3 rating on their feedback card? If I had paid for the reprogram, it would definitely be a 1 or 2, since it was absolutely not what I wanted. But the other work they did for me was great (and also free of charge).

Any opinions? I don't want to seem ungrateful...

 

If it was me I would contact the dealership ask them! Left them know you are unhappy and they made a mistake. Even though it was free I am sure they would want to make it right for you. I do know that most dealers take the review scoring very serious, so before you give them a 3 see what they have to say about it!

 

My car needs the double pull to open the doors. I like it cause it's always been that way. I even double pull in other cars.

At anyrate, just call them up and tell em it was done wrong.

 

Absurd, give them the opportunity to correct it. Everyone makes mistakes.

 

I'd go back and let them fix it. If you give them a bad mark on something like this it might come back to bite you when you really need their help. I could imagine a situation where your SA goes into your file and sees the 3 you gave them and decides that your after-market rear sway bar caused your clutch failure...

 

Thanks for the replies. I'll give them a call to see if they will stand by their work, free or not.

itburns, I hardly think it is "absurd" to ask the question of what to do in this forum - I was clearly ambivalent about whether to give them neutral feedback for their mistake since it was free. This is my first mini, so I was unsure of the protocol & how they use the feedback ratings.

 

Dude - i think your dealership is cheap!
those things should be free and under warranty and you have 2006 R53 too.

 

OK, so they mis-read your check sheet. Let them have the opportunity to correct before giving them a low rating. Oh, BTW, the reprogram should always be free (per TSB), and the one-touch open is no longer available at all.

 

dominos,

In their defense, they did give it to me free. I have no idea whether this is their normal practice, or if they were actually doing me a favor.

They claimed that it's only supposed to be free for the first owner (and within 30 days of delivery).

 

There isn't a TSB reference number available for the always-free reprogram is there?

That's interesting about the one-touch open. I think the thread I read may have been based on a 2004 model year. When did they make that change? At the very least, they should have notified me that the one-touch open was no longer an option.

Also, I did leave a message for my service advisor about 2.5 hours ago. No reply yet. Coincidentally, Mini called to ask me to rate my service. I said that I would like to delay my response until after the dealer has a chance to answer my inquiries.

 

A website used to post TSBs online, but now they only make them available through a paid subscription. I didn't save a copy of this particular TSB, but actually it only suggested to dealers that they should offer free reprogramming as a matter of customer goodwill. There is no set policy about it, and in the end it is up to the discretion of each dealer.

 

I agree - it should be free.
However, as discussed in other threads, it appears most dealers do not do this for free after the original programing when you first get the car.
I think in Charlotte they charge $25. . . but it might be more.

 

Have any of you guys worked for a MINI dealership? If a customer walks in and asks them to program the convenience features it definitely should cost the customer something. The only time it shouldn't is before you pick the car up when it is new or possibly if you brought it in for something warranty related and they did it as good will. Having those options programmed takes a technicians time and ties up one of their machines.

It sounds like some of you are confusing programming those options with reprogramming the engine control unit. Reprogramming the engine control unit should be covered under warranty if there is an update available and the car isn't driving as it should.

Taking it a step further and giving them a 3 out of 5 on the survey would not be appropriate. Granted they did not program what you wanted, but you did not pay for it either. I figure those cancel each other out.

 

If you do get "one click unlocks everything" working on your 2006, please post back here to let us know.

My wife and I have two 2006 MINIs, and our dealer told me in October of 2006 that the feature was no longer available. (Around the same time, they changed the maximum time delay for the "Pathway Lighting" from two minutes to 40 seconds).

I don't know if the difference is in the cars themselves, or if the change was in the computer that the dealer uses to program the options, but I don't think you're going to be able to get one-touch unlocking on your car.

 

Communicate!
Call the SA and tell him you want to give them a 5 - IF they make the reprogram right.

 

Difference is in the car -- my 05 was programmed with that feature in 07.

 

Maybe the feature is still available, but the dealer has been advised not to turn it on? Or maybe some dealers don't know about it? As far as I know, it hasn't been specifically mentioned in the owners manual of 04, 05, or 06.


bonmot

 

They did you a favor. Yep they screwed up, but I bet if you give them another chance they will get it right. If you give them a bad report card for this don't expect anymore favors from them.

 

Well, that's a good point. I don't want to generate any bad will with the service department.

By the way, I left a voice mail on my SA's phone system at 10:30AM yesterday. By 5PM yesterday, I still hadn't received a call back. That's 6.5 hours. That's too long. He may have left a message after that, but my cellphone VM is acting up. Before that, though, I was with my phone at all times.

In retrospect, it would almost have been worth the $65 to have it done right in the first place, or at least to have been called back in a timely manner.
bonmot

 

If you bash your dealership, don't think that all will be forgiven upon your next service visit. Dealers always do whatever they can to satisfy every customer. Unfortunately sometimes things go wrong. Give them the oppertunity to fix the problem. You will find that keeping a positive relationship alive will make your life MUCH easier.

 

I wanted to report that I have a (mostly) positive resolution of my gratis programming problem at the dealer. This was regarding the customization/key programming for my 2006 MCS.

Bottom line:

• They were able to program everything the way I wanted it except for the one click unlock everything (driver, passenger, boot). Service advisor #2 said that they found the setting, but that when they tried to enable it 3 separate times, it wouldn't "take."

Positives:

• Second service advisor was less dismissive of me than the previous one
• They didn't charge me for the second attempt to get me my desired settings
• They fixed a problem with a dangling trim piece by installing a couple of clips they had laying around the service area. Again, no charge.

There are enough positives here that I'll give them 5's on their ratings this time around.

Negatives:

• First service advisor waited about six hours to return my call regarding this issue
• Despite having an appointment, I was told it would be 1.5 to 2 hours before my car could get looked at (this was on a saturday afternoon). This time estimate was given to me after SA#2 consulted with SA#1. Perhaps a coincidence... I ultimately received a loaner to use until monday AM.

As a gesture of goodwill, I brought in some cookies for the service techs and service advisor #2 when I picked up my car. I really do appreciate their efforts.

Am I mollified? For the most part, I am. I think most of the people there genuinely want to make their customers happy. Unfortunately, SA#1 has been there a while, and his dismissive attitude could possibly taint the opinions of others there.

bonmot