I've seen others post about MiniE problems, but I thought I'd ask if people know a specific set of people in the MiniE group that I should contact to help out with my problem.

Sadly, #152 is down for the count. I've had my Mini-E for the six weeks whipping it around the highways and mountain roads of Southern California. Except for some Battery Temperature Anxiety, it's been wonderful. Until 3 days ago: driving along about 30MPH on a small Pasadena street and CAPUT! it goes into Neutral and dies on me. Pulled it over immediately. After many restart cycles it wouldn't start. Two hours waiting and a flatbed towtruck takes it to Mini Monrovia where the car is left to collect dust. Woe is me! I miss it so much already. Worse - the service department experience has been awful. No loaner car, no communication, nothing. The only way I can find anything out is by taking the BUS to the dealership and asking them. The service department never picks up the phone. I can't believe I have to make payment in a few days and with NO CAR! Disappointing to say the least.

Any suggestions on who I should contact folks? Have other people had problems like this before? Thanks for letting me whine a bit there.

 

Call MINI USA directly - (866) ASK MINI

 

Thanks trico.
Repeated calls to the dealer have failed so I did just as you suggested. At least I got a human ... at first. Eventually forwarded to a case manager's voicemail. Let's see if that does something.

 

You'll get a call when you don't pay the lease payment.

 

Does the video below show what you experienced when your car shifted into Neutral? In my case they replaced the gold box and I was told this was a known issue. Hopefully the MINI Flying Doctor will have you back on the road soon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDEQrWGr2LE

 

I've had to have my Mini E towed to Monrovia twice. Both times the turn-around was just a few days as the 'flying doctor' repaired it on site, the second time with a new gold box. Since then it has been running great.

I didn't have the communication problems you mentioned so I don't know what's going on. They reluctantly gave me a loaner the first time but they made it known to me that loaners weren't a guaranteed part of the program. I didn't go in with my car the second time it was towed so I didn't need one. I think that because Monrovia had so many Mini E's (66), and so many have needed service that they probably don't have enough loaners to go around. It seems the other dealers are more willing to give them out.

Hopefully you will be back on the road and enjoying your E soon! Like Jethro said, a new gold box seems to be the standard fix, then all is well again. Let us know what happens.

 

OK, here's an update for those that are interested:

Wed August 5th
MiniE dies, towed to MiniMonrovia, taken in by salesrep

Thu Aug 6th
Repeated calls to direct service line go straight to voicemail. No response.

Fri Aug 7
No word yet from dealer, contacted MiniUSA with voicemail.
Repeated calls to direct service line go straight to voicemail. No response.
Same day took bus over to dealer, they said PEU (goldbox) replaced.
All functioning. However, I mentioned to them my passenger window was not working (opens randomly for no reason at times) which they said required a different flying doctor to come out and reprogram next week (Tuesday). (Again) Gave every service rep my mobile number so they could call me.

Tue Aug 11
Repeated calls to direct service line go straight to voicemail. No response.
No word from dealer. Took bus over again. Complained to them about their lack of communication. Window still busted, they will try again to reprogram tomorrow. (Again) Gave every service rep my mobile number so they could call me.

Wed Aug 12
Finally got a call from service rep saying car fixed but will be ready tomorrow after a wash and charge.

Thu Aug 13
Received my first call back from MiniUSA. Kinda shocked it took them six days to respond to my complaint (or case as they called it). I gave them my take on this experience (see below). Picked up car. Works great. Window still busted but at this point I don't really care (still goes down randomly at times).

Basically, I think it's a great car and I understand there will be kinks. I just think their service department in Monrovia needs to communicate better which by the end of the experience they seem to be doing. All my service experiences in the past with dealers who service alternative-fuel vehicles (Toyota for Camry CNG, Honda for Civic GX-CNG) have been much more positive -- but maybe that's cause I had to pay for those services while this one was completely free? All I can say is that I hope it doesn't go down again. It doesn't seem fair that one should pay an entire month's lease when the car is out of commission for 8-9 days, but that's what we signed up for I guess.

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles WG2345. A positive dealer experience can go a long ways towards a positive MINI E experience. They both go hand in hand.

While I've had problems and currently our E is in Oxnard, I've got nothing but positive things to say about Long Beach MINI. Jennifer, my service advisor, has been great about keeping me updated and getting the car back as quickly as possible. She's been the point person for all three issues that required an unexpected service visit.

Current problem was a first for the Flying Doctors in Oxnard. While our car was in for it's first scheduled service visit they ran some tests on the batteries. The results weren't available until a week after I got the car back. By that time, I'd drove another 400+ miles. They discovered there are two bad modules. Although I hadn't had any symptoms, was told that if they weren't fixed/replaced I would start to notice a decrease in range. Unfortunately, to replace these modules involves taking the battery pack apart and dismantling the back of the car. Since this is the first replacement they've done, they aren't sure how long it will take to fix. Car was dropped off Thursday at 7am. Hope to have back Tuesday if all goes well. Currently driving a S loaner that while fun to drive doesn't have the smoothness of the E. Thankful for the loaner, as I see others have had trouble getting one.

Regarding the days out of service, I believe that at the end of our lease an adjustment or extension will be made to reflect the out of service days during the one year term. I've sent e-mail about this and have no doubt MINI USA will take care of us.

Loving the MINI E and can't wait to get it back!

 

#224 is back from a week at the Bob Smith Spa in Calabasas. From day 1 the MINI E had a subtle "clunk" in the front end when going over bumps. After some "spirited driving" (to be detailed in a future post) last week the clunk turned into something sounding like the gold box was about to abandon ship. Turned out to be a loose lower sway bar link, which was replaced and had nothing to do with the electronics. The dealer provided me with a 3 series BMW during repairs and handled everything professionally with a smile.

Thanks...