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Does anyone know if any (nm, dinan, etc.) of the power modules sold do not affect the warranty or are endorsed for use by mini?
If not, has anyone had any bad experiences with one and a dealer?
Thanks for the help. Understand you can remove them quickly, just weighing pros and cons with regards to warranty.
Yes they will affect the warranty if you have problems that can be traced back to the module.
Much will depend on your dealership's Service supervisor if a problem occurs.
If Dinan offers an elite version of their tune (as they do for BMW - there is a "sport" - which is a few hundred $, and an Elite which runs about $1400. The Elite is covered by a Dinan Warranty that piggybacks on the BMW warranty...so Dinan will cover any engine damage etc. that may be associated with the tune if BMW denies).
If you want a tune, suggest you look at the JCW as it is authorized by Mini. Expensive, yes..but eliminates and future headaches.
Read Power Up in JCW Garage section for more info on these products.
We have yet to read a report of someone being denied warranty coverage due to a sport tuning box. There have been reports of faulty sensors replaced under warranty on cars that have the boxes installed. The box was not determined to be the problem. There have been a few instances with defective boxes which, when replaced by the box manufacturer, resolved issues.
There are some MINI dealers (a few) who are authorized Dinan dealers and, if one wished to use an abundance of caution, that would be one way to get a bit more reassurance that, in the event of an issue, there would be the possibility of recourse through the installing dealer -- maybe.
If there were an issue, the question would be how to determine if an add-on tuning box was the cause of the issue. Could get complicated.
But adding a sport tuning box does not, in itself, void the car's warranty.
Only correction to above is that the Dinan Elite is $900 on the MINI, $1400 is for the BMW'ers. They apparently can stomach the additional $500 for the probably same product.
yep Dinan has released an ELITE tuning box that has their factory matching warranty coverage on it. if the warranty is important to you in the case of a newer car, then that would be my recommendation
For what it is worth, I have had the JB4 Beta, Dinansport and the RaceChip Ultimate. I have not had any issues with the dealerships. I always removed the module whenever I brought my car in for service. I have had multiple F56 from a Justa to a convertible to my current JCW. Just had my JCW in for its first maintenance visit and no issues with the delearship. I have the RaceChip Ultimate for the JCW.
So far I've yet to come across anyone posting about a warranty problem due to a tune or a box. My Stage 1 tune was only $500 and it does quite a bit more than the add-on boxes, including improving the exhaust sound (which the tuner didn't tell me about).
Yes, you will be fine, Dinan backs there's up with a MINI matching factory warranty on the elite and all the other ones we carry like NM, aFe has not been an issue.
If I already have the JCW tuning kit, will the Elite still net me more then the Sport? Or will both still provide the advertised "up to" amounts regardless of the JCW kit. Thanks!
Its should be a smaller gain because the JCW tuning is a new mapping and does turn up the boost a bit. I will check with Dinan and get back as this is very new to the market.
Somebody pays for the engine failures with the unauthorized boxes/tunes. I suggest it's ultimately the consumer base.
While we all understand that with add-ons, it's always buyer beware, I'm not aware of any reported engine failures due to tuning boxes. VelvetFoot, do you know something?
If I already have the JCW tuning kit, will the Elite still net me more then the Sport? Or will both still provide the advertised "up to" amounts regardless of the JCW kit. Thanks!
You should have similar gain as the Stock JCW since you have the JCW tune. I believe the True JCW do have a slightly bigger turbo!
While we all understand that with add-ons, it's always buyer beware, I'm not aware of any reported engine failures due to tuning boxes. VelvetFoot, do you know something?
I have not read anything about an engine failure w/ any of the popular tuning boxes. However, there have been threads citing CEL's and "limp modes" occurring.
While not major, unless you are tech savvy or a "tinkerer", you may have to rely on others to resolve the problem. For me, the idea of driving my car w/ some spirit and have a CEL and/or limp mode occur would really upset me. Then trying to resolve the issue, I'd likely junk the box and go a different route w/ some factory or dealer support.
When I bought my 2017 S, I considered the NM and the Burger. NM seemed to have fewer issues that others, but hated the thought of taking the box on and off each time I visited the dealer. Mini offered a JCW tune for plenty of $ more, but also had full factory coverage and full dealer support. So I went that route and am quite happy with the result.
W/ Dinan Elite now available and piggyback warranty and support, for less than 1/2 the $ of the JCW tune, I will, on my next S, go that route.
My 2017 M240i had the Dinan Stage 1 installed by my dealership and has been flawless in its operation. i also have the peace of mind knowing that should I throw a CEL, My dealer and Dinan will resolve the issue at no cost to me for the next 4 years.
It comes to down to your comfort level and pocketbook.
Just do some homework and find the option you are most comfortable with.
I have not read anything about an engine failure w/ any of the popular tuning boxes. However, there have been threads citing CEL's and "limp modes" occurring.
While not major, unless you are tech savvy or a "tinkerer", you may have to rely on others to resolve the problem. For me, the idea of driving my car w/ some spirit and have a CEL and/or limp mode occur would really upset me. Then trying to resolve the issue, I'd likely junk the box and go a different route w/ some factory or dealer support.
When I bought my 2017 S, I considered the NM and the Burger. NM seemed to have fewer issues that others, but hated the thought of taking the box on and off each time I visited the dealer. Mini offered a JCW tune for plenty of $ more, but also had full factory coverage and full dealer support. So I went that route and am quite happy with the result.
W/ Dinan Elite now available and piggyback warranty and support, for less than 1/2 the $ of the JCW tune, I will, on my next S, go that route.
My 2017 M240i had the Dinan Stage 1 installed by my dealership and has been flawless in its operation. i also have the peace of mind knowing that should I throw a CEL, My dealer and Dinan will resolve the issue at no cost to me for the next 4 years.
It comes to down to your comfort level and pocketbook.
Just do some homework and find the option you are most comfortable with.
