FINAL UPDATE: MINI says it is what it is. No sign that they are much concerned with brand loyalty. Will get car probably Saturday, get it back to OK, then start the selling process. I'd really hoped MINI was more customer-centric than the American manufacturers but I'm not seeing that. And still, nobody wants to say what caused this major engine failure. "Bad gas" being the only suggestion. My advice to new owners, as silly as it may seem: save every gas receipt and even take a snapshot with your phone of the pump to prove you never - not once - put anything but big brand top gasoline in your car. All in all, a very disheartening experience.

UPDATE 3-17-11: Spoke with mini rep a few days ago. First tier of customer service simply said they had no technical training and that the dealer decided the amount MINI would pay. Deal, er, of course, previously told me that MINI decides and the dealer's hand are tied. Second tier of customer service asked me specifically what I wanted, and I said a larger cost contribution from MINI. 3-5 business days, so should be hearing back soon. My car ready tomorrow, so debating on holding off until MINI responds to me.

Long story summarized:

My 2008 MCS had the loose timing chain issue that finally warranted a tow-in and repair at my OK dealer under warranty. After the repair my car just wasn't running right. There was a miss, a roughness that I didn't feel before. I took my mini back to the dealer. They inspected it and declared it all good. This was around 38k miles.

Three weeks ago my engine light came on. My girlfriend took my mini in to her dealer (IL). This is at 54k miles. The dealer got mini to pay $2k to pull the head (pix below). After 2 1/2 weeks I get a call today saying that mini will pay half of an additional $4k bill.

Two ways to look at this, I suppose. First being that they picked up half the extra. Second being that the diagnosis was bad fuel injectors. The head gasket was blown out as well. I'm that guy who only uses premium non-ethanol fuel. And it seems likely to me, at least, that the damage was ongoing prior to my 50k warranty limit. At no point did the dealer even suggest any wrong-doing on my part, nor was there. Almost all the miles are highway miles. The dealer did explain that last year mini did away with their program of cutting the dealers any slack on post-warranty repairs. Apparently, having gained initial market share, mini feels comfortable reverting to more traditional auto manufacturer view of customers being expendable.

So I'm out. Not many choices but to pay, given that my mini is spread all over the dealer's garage. But this experience seriously failed my heartfelt excitement of being a mini owner (https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ort-group.html). Yes, I understand warranties. No, I don't ever buy a car figuring it has a 50k shelf-life. WTS/T 2008 MCS.

 

Contact MINI direct, you might be able to get a good-will coverage. Don't take the stealership's word as gospel on what MINI will or won't cover.....

 

I'm seeing web forms for contact, is there a number that folks have successfully used?

 

Certified Letter.

 

In my experience of having owned multiple brand dealerships, all manufacturers make warranty adjustments past the time and or mileage period. The criteria for making these adjustment can be varied. Is the problem a normal one found in a number of vehicles? What is the service history of the vehicle that can be documented at same brand authorized repair stations? Is there anything the consumer could have done to prevent the problem? What is the overall condition and appearance of the vehicle reflecting care on the owner's part? Is the customer a repeat buyer or own multiple vehicles of the same brand?

Normally, in cases where some sort of split is offered of a repair bill, it can be negotiable. I would gather any information supporting the criteria I listed and meet with the dealership's representative. You can start with the Service Manager and then elevate it to the General Manager in most cases. Often, a manufacturers representative will agree to meet with you at the dealership if you request that action. Unfortunately though, not always.

It is like a job. Present enough favorable supporting documentation in a polite but persistent manner, and often you will be "paid" in the form of a larger participation by the manufacturer. Remember that it is ultimately not the dealership's decision to make but if they are on your side they can influence the eventual decision. In the worst case scenario you can often reduce the fifty per-cent participation to some lower percentage. In reality, some participation is not out of line when you are in excess of the warranty limits.

 

As jallen4 stated, make your case with as much supporting evidence as possible. There were many a time when a customer at the dealer I worked for would have something like this happen. If they had really taken care of the vehicle and had most or all the services done at a dealership then we would go to bat for them with the company.

 

Had a long talk with the Service Manager, who also told me that I wasn't allowed to contact the regional MINI rep. They are replacing 4 intake valves and all injectors, total cost around $3,600 of which I'm to pay half.

When I asked him how this happened/how to avoid a future re-occurrence he waffled a fair bit before suggesting "bad gas". I told him (truthfully) that my car has never had anything but Premuim from Shell or Conoco, and that I avoid the ethanol. He really didn't have an answer other than to suggest that even one or two tanks of "bad gas" could have caused this.

I asked him how, if my MINI was running so critically lean, it wasn't picked up by my dealer here in OK. He said that it wouldn't have thrown an error code and that's not something they ordinarily check for. It only shows when damages occurs, he said.

Car done maybe around Thursday, making this almost a month of my car at the dealership. Beware if the dealer says MINI will pay for the diagnostics. That only covers tearing the engine down. The service manager was really taken aback when I asked him what would have happened if I said "dont' fix it, put it back together the way it was". My point being that the diagnostics should pay for that, so my "split" should only cover the actual parts and repair work. But no, my split is half of the total.

Monday starts with me contacting MINI. I'll present my facts as suggested in this thread (thanks!) and see what they say.

 

Good luck! Sounds like a red flag that he said you aren't allowed to contact the local MINI Rep. Also that Bad Gas line is a load. Hope MINI USA helps you out.

 

I have just taken my mini apart, it had the chain problem. On my car the loose chain broke the slide rail which fell down into the crank sprocket. Evidently when the rail fell into the spocket and chain it caused one of the cam sprockets to move, therefore the timing was off. If the timing is off it can cause valve problems. My car also blew the headgasket between cylinders 3 and 4. This could very likely be the cause of your problem, not the fuel.

I can't imagine them blaming bad fuel as the cause of this problem.

 

This right here is a total line of malarkey by the service manager. You're absolutely allowed to contact anybody you want at corporate if you feel your concerns aren't being addressed by the dealership. That's what corporate is there for. It sounds to me more like a dealership that's had a history of complaints or issues trying to keep from ruffling someone's feathers up at corporate, again.

 

I also think the bad gas excuse is just exactly that - an excuse - I'm not buying it either. The failed tensioner did the damage if anything did........

This will come back to bite them eventually.

I had my tensioner changed on my '09 at 3K, the first time I heard the noise, and haven't heard it since, but I wonder about those folks who just aren't knowledgable and don't know what that noise is or how bad it is for their car - they will be buying engines at some point, just because of a small failed part.

OTOH, MINI is stepping up to pay at least 1/2 of your bill when you are out of warranty, something to be said for that. If it were Ford or Hyundai, you'd be paying for all of it after 50,000.1 miles....

I think if I owned an out of warranty '07 or '08 I'd buy a new tensioner and install it, just in case. That won't fix damage already done, but if someone has one that hasn't failed yet, it might save them an engine - and the tensioner and labor just isn't that much, it's when you go to change the chains and guides that it gets real spendy.

BTW, what's wrong with those intake valves? Are they burnt? Bent? What exactly? As to the blown head gasket, bad gas doesn't do that either. Has the car ever overheated? Why do they think the head gasket went bad, cause the tensioner wouldn't have caused a bad head gasket either. Something's not adding up here....

 

first look at your emissions warranty. Those can run 7/70 or 8/80 in various cases as I recall. Catalytic converters are a classic that often gets covered by them. Since the root cause is the injectors, it could be those are covered, particularly if FSI. I'm in CA; CA emissions rules cover much of Northeast too for other readers. In turn, those rules provide extended warranties on fuel and ignition parts that weren't in common use at a certain point in time. Fuel injection arguably was, but not FSI on non-diesels (excepting oddities like the classic Mercedes Gullwing). Warranties are very specific, so you would have to check.

Then, the quasi nuclear option is to then connect the dots from the service advisor's statements. If running lean, then the car would likely be out of compliance for smog over extended periods. Lean running tends to jack up nitrogen oxides, the hardest component to regulate, and I don't think oxygen sensors pick up Nox (only CO in terms of how they look at oxygen levels as far as I know). In turn, that means the CEL would NOT turn on (anticipating Mini's first possible retort). Net, if this were to turn into a state level complaint (in CA, CARB), or federal level complaint (EPA) about faulty emissions, MINI could be in a world of hurt and eventual recalls if it gets investigated. And, if they blow it off, I suppose could be fines too for evasion, particularly if you document it in writing and the paper is now in their files too. You decide, but bringing in the emissions police might not be their idea of something they want to deal with.

 

How in the world does MINI, through their dealers, get by with continuously singing this "bad gas" song? Here we have a very minor, in terms of volume, manufacturer blaming every failure known to man on fuel and in some cases actually insisting they are going to deny warranty claims because of "bad gas". If you use their recommended sources, they claim you either did not or you were the one unfortunate person who received a bad tank-full from that source. If you don't use their recommended source, they act as if any problem from the engine blowing up to the radio not working was caused by your indiscretion.

If fuel is such a problem in this country, why are there not vehicles of all types littering the roadways in every major city that died from poor fuel choices? Or, is it only MINI that is engineering and building such a poorly designed car that it won't function on the same fuel that every other vehicle seems to thrive upon?

I love my MINI. On the other hand, I have owned dozens of cars I was fond of in my life. I spent forty-two years as an automobile dealer selling and servicing a number of different make vehicles. In what exceeded a million different service events, I can count on one hand the number of times fuel was an issue that we could either prove or even bring up. So far, every time my MINI has been to a dealership in eighteen months of ownership, fuel has been discussed. Yet, it has never had a drop of anything but Shell Premium. It is a problem for MINI owners and will continue to be as long as we stand by and accept their propaganda.

 

Warranty or no warranty Mini is flat out not backing their cars. Sure, they have to fix 'em under warranty - after that? Well too bad bucko.
I am soon to be with op as well with my ongoing issues and I am still under warranty...

 

The service bill you get regarding these "fixes" apparently varies from one dealership to another.

And it's not MINIUSA in general to blame here, it just depends on which dealership you take it to......

If firewalled by an SA, first contact their manager. If no satisfaction there, move up the ladder before contacting MINI HQ. Saves you some time and you may just be surprised by the results.

Good luck!

 

Personally, SCREW MINI. Period. My kids 07 MCS with 80K miles needed a motor. Had a miss, Orlando MINI wanted to do a carbon cleaning. So they did, miss still there. 90% leakdown on cyl #2. Really think they should have done a leakdown test first, but whatever. So then they wanted to pull the head and basically do a valve job. Oh, and the mention the stretched timing chain. So after a possible 4 grand repair bill, I call MINI customer service. Now this MINI has oil changes every 5K miles. The kid had the car at college, so to make sure it got good gas, I got him a Exxon & a Bp gas card that I pay for. The girl at MINI customer service basically told us "too bad" it's all on US to fix the car! They won't pay a dime.

So my question is "what did I do to cause this?" I maintain the car better than the car tells me to. It gets good gas and, while being driven spiritedly, its far from abused. The gal at customer service was the adamant that MINI wasn't at fault. I asked how it was my fault I have a car with a 80K life expectancy, she had no answer.

So remember the 4 grand price tag? And the mention of the stretched timing chain? I just know it would go back together and viola, needs a timing chain now. So, we decided to go with a MINI long block for 7 grand which also gets us a 2 year, unlimited mileage warranty. So I spent a lot of money on a car I spent a lot of money buying. Even worse, I spent even more for the extended warranty on my 09 Clubman S. Since it gets the same treatment, I can only imagine how long it'll be before it's motor goes down the tubes.

Anyone else see a class action law suit in the making?

 

You didn't happen to use Patrick MINI in Schaumberg, IL? I noticed you said your gf was in IL. I had a horrible experience with them and the timing chain issue also.

 

Call MINI USA!!! The number is in the trunk, the road side service number.

Why is this $4k? How much are the injectors? Are they also doing the timing chain again?

My MINI also has 54kmi, & we just had MINI USA cover a new timing chain, we only paid $260 for an oil service, & alt belt.