My R55 with 89k miles on it has started to become unreliable, and has been in the dealership service shop a few times in the last year. Last week, driving around town, the overheating warning light came on, yellow. I noticed it immediately, thought "must pull into next garage", and before I got to one about 2 miles later warning light went red. Pulled into first garage, filled coolant tank, which was very low. Obviously a coolant leak. Total drive that day about 5miles, urban. Next day, drive about another 5 miles, saw light come on again, again topped off coolant and this time oil too as that was a little low. Made appointment with dealership (Mini Universal City, Los Angeles), filled coolant tank and drove there. When service inspected it, fresh coolant running out on floor. A week later they call me and tell me engine is damaged, I drove 139 miles since warning light showed up, and because of that the best they could do would be an engine replacement for $6000. Obviously I'm not only horrified, but totally disagree with their mileage assessment. I figure I couldn't possibly have driven more than maybe 10-15 miles since warning light first showed, including a quart of coolant and a quart of oil. What the hell do I do? Obviously I'm going to try to go to manager at dealership and also corporate, but how can I prove that if they're right, the warning light didn't show?

 

I assume you are out of warranty so I don't understand why it matters how many miles you drove after a warning light.

Find an indy mechanic who works on MINIs and get a second opinion on what is needed.

 

Agree with both of the above, do you have some type of aftermarket warranty that the mileage matters?

And on the mileage after overheating, would think the ECU would reflect the overheating and the mileage that it occured.

 

Thanks to both for your responses. They are trying to suggest that I drove 139 miles after coolant warning light came on and damaged the engine. It's simply not possible that I drove that - outside guess is 20 miles, including coolant and oil topping off within that to get me home, and then to dealership. I bought the car used (49k miles) from CarMax and have a MaxCare extended warranty until 125k miles.

 

OK so you have an extended warranty so what is the fine print relative to what your responsibilities are and whether 20 miles was too much?

 

It doesn't appear to be explicitly stated in the MaxCare warranty - it's typically vague legalese under the "Not covered" section described as "damage caused by contamination, overheating from lack of coolant or lubricants" and under the "Your Responsibilities" section of "you are responsible for making sure oil warning light and temp warning light are functioning before driving your vehicle".

I acted almost immediately once I saw the warning light came on. If the ECU shows shows 139 miles of driving since the warning light event, my argument is that the warning light did NOT come on when the records show it did - I certainly saw no such thing. But I am aware that comes down to he said/she said, and unclear how to proceed with that approach since I have no real way of proving my point. And if that's what the insurance claim is going to be based on, I'm screwed...

In short, how do I make an argument against the ECU?

 

If the ECU shows 139 miles, they should be able to print out the log with that information. Absent that information, they really don't have the proof of that. Ask them to prove it.

If they won't do that you might need to get involved with attorney. Or social media blasting of them is often a good way to see some action. "CarMax doesn't abide by the warranty and lies about it" or similar. With facts to back it up.

 

Sorry, but I don't think at matters if you drove 139 miles or 5 miles, when that overheating light comes on, that's when you should pull over turn the engine off and let it cool down, then get it towed to where you need to get it tested. At the very least, pull over, let it cool down before you put some coolant in to get to the next garage or home.

 

the ecu logs the miles when the overheat error came on, and any error for that matter.

 

Yes indeed, but what does one do when one's own experience is so different than what the ECU is saying? There's a huge difference between 20 miles with constant topups and 139 miles with none?

 

What do doctors and lawyers have in common? They both "practice" their respective trade.

Your ECU says one thing and IMO unless you can find anything that reflects the BMW ECU has a track record of improper recording of data you are barking up the wrong tree. Sorry I don't recall ever reading anything here about an issue such as this but what I have read allot about is how aftermarket car warranties are in many instances not worth the paper they are printed on.

The yellow overheating light appears to be the warranty's "Get out of Jail Free" card.

 

Put a used engine in it and have an independent mechanic do it, if that is more wrenching than you want to do. You can find a low miles engine and check the compression and timing chain slack before you buy it.

 

either way the warranty should cover it, I would take it to another shop that has worked with that warranty company before

 

He has a Carmax warranty, are they accepted anyplace else other than Carmax?

And once Carmax has it in their computer will they honor a request from another shop if they do work with other independents?

 

From what you've reported, the dealer said: "the engine is damaged, $6,000 please".
What does "damaged" mean?
I think I'd get an independent assessment before I did anything else.

 

IF you need an independent assessment, MiniCorsa in North Hollywood. Danny is talented, reputable and reasonably priced.

 

my whole car was only $8000 with 90k miles. I would consider, if worse comes to worst, finding a solid engine from a wrecked mini.

 

you can find salvaged engines for about $2500... Indie shop can swap it out for a resonable price.

BUT ... what was the cause of the overheating... I got $5.00 on your Fan Resister failed ... a $25.00 part costing huge $$$.

Best of luck with whatever you do.

Motor On!

 

on an r55 I would bet either the water pump failed or the plastic thermostat & return pipe failed, once they start to over heat that return pipe will melt and dump all the coolant out

 

Wanted to close out this story. You are right, the plastic thermostat and return failed and also oil got into the coolant. In the end, Carmax's MaxCare warranty people said it wasn't that drastic and approved head gasket replacement, timing chain replacement and a bunch of other work. Net cost to them? $5600. Parts were about a grand-ish, it was all labour. Cost to me? $300. Boy am I glad I bought that extended warranty.

 

Lol...glad it worked out with the warranty co.
I am a Finance guy with a large dealer and offer the warranty for the cars...and believe in that, some of you may not...
Ben