I just need to call BS on MINI . Wifes 2011 3.5 yrs old, 33K on the ODO and the car has been turning over lazy for a few months, then Monday it wouldn't start , just clicked. Wife took to MINI who diagnosed USER ERROR .

Some sort of battery nanny says it was used too much while not running or in motion BS. Have never seen any drain warnings etc I have heard about.

I know my 2013 has a little thing hooked to neg lead with about 2-3 wires but the wifes 2011 does not.

I tried charging the battery , I got a 100% reading on smart charger, 2 hours later it said 70% , so it's self discharging.

Since MINI wanted over $400 to change battery said no thanks, went to autozone and got a H5 Gold with 3yr replacement, 5 yr pro rated for $176 out the door . I may have it registered by a local ex-MINI guy, still not buying that BS either. The H5 is like 1" longer and 170 more cranking amps than the smaller 480 OEM excide.

I just can't believe that MINI would invest so much effort and time to come up with a battery nanny when they should have just said boot to bonnet warranty EXCEPT battery. Instead they aggravate a customer who bought 2 MINI's from them last year and I'll remember this BS.

Also asked SA when this supposed abuse occured since her car is CPO and was owned by them until Nov last year. I know in my world / job if you claim abuse you almost have had to see the customer doing it to prove it and SA can't tell me when USER ERROR occured just that MINI won't reimburse them if the code is there.

 

I've also heard of dealers denying warranty for too many short trips. Apparently, there is a record of how many miles, rpm, etc in the MINI. New cars, today, need long highway miles to charge the battery. I do alot of city driving; so, I keep a battery tender to charge it once a month. Mine is 2011 and low mileage

 

wifes commute is 20 miles hwy , speeds of atleast 93 according to trooper some times, can't be that.

 

Copied this out of cars.com'.
"Batteries: If it's not covered in the bumper-to-bumper policy, a car's conventional 12-volt battery sometimes may get its own warranty. Battery warranties usually range from two to three years; they cover defective batteries on a prorated basis, so you'll be compensated only for the remaining battery life you lost. Battery warranties rarely cover maintenance or misuse."
The battery mfg. may carry the warranty beyond the dealership. Also, look into the charging system. There could be something going on there that is not keeping the battery adequately charged.

 

A sad note for MINI engineering, at the same time my Triumph (UK built ) battery just started going as well, but it's a 2010 and the battery date code was June 2009 and it has a much smaller alternator and only does short commutes and lasted longer.

And the whole thing of developing hardware/software just for the sake of denying warranty claims is wasted effort. How about putting a sufficient alternator and or battery in the car. Or better yet, keeping the customer happy.

 

MINI dealership said it's the battery.

 

Well...things like auto-start are HARD on batteries, as are HUGE electrical loads (compared to the past)...that is WHY many cars are getting delivered with Spiral wound or gel batteries....ways of getting more life and power out of a battery....
Kinda says it all....
I remember MINI DID replace many gen1 batteries as part of a campaign cause they were failing at an abnormally high rate before the end of their expected 36 month life......MINI DID step in...but said they were doing as part of a recall/campaign at the expense of the battery maker....
If the car was UNDER 36 months old...I think you could be mad....
but over 36....I would forget it...

 

I have heard of batteries that died in under 3 years being replaced under PRE PAID MAINTENANCE ... but agree with MINI that the battery is not covered under WARRANTY.


For the record the last 60 month battery I bought (DURALAST ZGOLD) has 'free replacement' for the first 36 months only .... after that you get a partial rebate at best ... and only applies to replacing with another DURALAST ....


IMO the whole 'short trips' thing is a cop out by service types. My 07's battery was still OK after 7 years of Florida use and under 10 miles driven in an average day . . . 5 out to lunch or "work" and 5 back. I considered this unusual tho as it was the first time in a LONG time I'd gotten more than 5 years out of a battery, OPTIMA RedTop in my classic - 5 years and a few months 'til it would not hold a charge ... wife's FIT OE battery ... 5 years to the month ... I usually will change 'em at 5 years b4 they die but decided to see how long I could stretch the 7 MINI ... battery was showing signs of weakening when I sold the car, but it still started the car and no gremlins were popping up . .

 

I understand it's old, BUT they wasted my time by saying it's covered by the boot to bonnet warranty and made an appt and waited 2 hours to have them say I abused it.

And last time I checked battery was under the bonnet behind the motor.

It's not like I went to MINI with a " the car won't start " issue, I told them battery died and they said IT IS covered by 4/50 warranty so I brought it in.

If they said NO I would have just did what I did any way and been on my way , no harm no foul.

 

And explain why my 2013 r55 came with a 680cca and the 2011 r56 a tiny 480cca, seems like Mini figured out that 480 was too small or I just got unlucky and got a tiny battery

 

I wonder if my email to MINI USA got read cuz SA just called and said they would change battery under warranty. Or maybe the review my wife left on their FB page. Either way it seems the modern world has gotten smaller and individual powers have increased.

But day late and $176 short cuz I was not going to have my wife get stranded at 4AM when she goes to work . They did say they would register battery for her and make it right but not going to refund battery cost.

 

Well MINI USA called and said my under warranty CPO car should have been covered by dealership and is going to refund my cost for the battery.

 

Cool that they will cover it.

I too would be irritated if they said over the phone that it's covered then changed their tune after a 2 hour wait at the dealer.

 

All modern MINI's come equipped with "tattle tales". They keep track of lights left on or key left on among other things. MINI used to not pay for a battery claim if the energy diag says the car was used while stationary. Here's the issue, when your battery starts to die, the low voltage turns modules on and it simulates a "used while stationary" situation and sets the message. MINI knows that and they've stopped declining warranty claims for that message. Likely, your dealer got charged back for batteries in the past and are gun shy to cover a battery with that message.

 

Odd thing is after MINI USA said they would reimburse me the check came from my dealership.

Either way they made good