So here goes, My wife and I were driving on I-70 coming down from Evergreen and at about 6th Ave. I start to hear this little "rattle" it sounds like the car has a loose heat sheild or something. I want to point out that the car never hit WOT the entire drive or even got above 4500rpm. By Ward road the rattle has become much more serious. So I exit on kipling pull off to a parking lot and let the engine idle.

Upon reving the engine up to about 2000rpm you can hear the rattle coming from inside the block. I shut the engine off and had it towed to Ralph Schomp immedately. The initial diagnosis is a spun rod bearing, and they want to replace the whole engine!!!!

The worst part is they are planning to deny my warranty because I have the pulley. Here is where I need the help.

The Mod's
Madness Intake
Magnaflow
Alta Pulley
NO ECU MODS

1. Thee way I figure it these mods still don't give me the horsepower a stock Mini would have at sea level, so it should not be a Overpower failure.

2. The engine was 3 quarts low on oil. I kept asking to get service for it (I have the phone records) and they told me it was normal to go through some oil and not to worry, just bring it in at the 12,000 mile service and it will be fine. I called for service at 3000, 6000, and 9000. I even brought it down at 6000 miles and they told me to go home until I hit 12k. I even added oil at 3000, and 6000 miles.
:evil:

3. This is my wifes car, I have put maybe 1k of the 10k miles on it, she shifts well before redline and generally drives "Sane". The car has not been abused, dirven with spirit but not abused.

4. I always run 91 octane or better, I have access to 100 and occasionally put a gallon in just to keep things happy.

Do I have a foot to stand on or am I screwed? Randy at from the company formerly known as mini-motorsport has offered to come in and witness the teardown of the engine to be sure that it was not pulley related. I know about the Magnusson-Moss act, what should I do????????

 

P.S. sorry about the eternal post here. I am just really freaked out.

 

Go back to the dealership. Tell them you want the engine replaced under warranty and you have phone records and service records to prove they turned you away for an oil change when you inquired about the service. If they don't budge, tell them your attorney will be in touch. If this does not work, take the pulley off, replace the pulley with stock and take it to another dealership and have the work done. Even if you have to have it towed to another dealership for the work, it's cheaper than paying to replace the engine. I understand the dealerships keep a central network of records, but you may find a dealership who is not so concerned about the pulley, and KNOWS it had nothing to do with the engine failure.

Cabbage

 

3 quarts low! The oil consumption sounds high (unacceptable) for any low milage car but to let it run that low was most likely the cause. Not the mods.

Sorry for your distress.

 

>> If this does not work, take the pulley off, replace the pulley with stock and take it to another dealership and have the work done. Even if you have to have it towed to another dealership for the work, it's cheaper than paying to replace the engine.

>>Cabbage

Bad, bad idea. Regardless of the dealer trying to say the fault is aftermarket pulley related this is as dishonest and unethical as it gets.
Anyone remember the famous WRX blown engine where the guy put the stock parts back on and went from dealership to dealership trying to lie his way thru? He is a marked man.

 

>>Bad, bad idea. Regardless of the dealer trying to say the fault is aftermarket pulley related this is as dishonest and unethical as it gets.


OK, Take it to another dealership WITH the pulley still on. I'm not trying to beat the system, I just think it is ridiculous that the dealership is trying to say the pulley caused his engine to have problems.

Cabbage

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Once Randy witnesses the tear-down, you have your expert to counter their argument that the defect was caused by the pulley. Then proceed with calls to Mini advising them that you have an expert and the problem will not go away. If they still won't budge, have an attorney draft a letter to Mini advising that you will file a lawsuit for Mini's bad faith failure to honor the warranty and state that you will seek attys fees and punitive damages.
Good luck
Jim

 

Would like to know why did you let your engine get so low on oil. Being that you added oil at 3,000 and 6,000 miles should be saying loud and clear your oil consumption was not normal. Take the car to another dealer, tell them your dealer would not respond to repeated requests for service and you will not let them service the car for that reason. Good luck.

Charles :???:

P.S. If you email MINIUSA don't use your AOL email address.

_________________
My MCS wants a JCW Kit. Help the cause, buy my 1997 M3.

 

I think the low oil could've been a large factor. The pulley should have no real effect on reliability, and certainly not at the low miles you had. It's a good idea to drag Randy to the engine teardown session, however, just to try to maintain your warranty.

I think others have given great advice so far; another dealership, contact attorney/threaten legal action.

Example: if you had the JCW kit, your rod-bearing (or whatever it is) would've crapped out anyway. The difference is the dealership would be on their knees kissing your feet fixing it. hmmmm

Well, best of luck and legal butt-kicking,
Ryan

 

Thanks for all of the great responses, I believe that if they do deny the warranty, I will bring that whole "Lawsuit" thing into play. I just don't like lawyers, they cost more than a whole new engine. I plan to write a letter specifically outlining the dates of my requests for service. I never pushed for it, I just went along with the service writer.

They have not "denyed" anything yet, however they said that they will not touch the car without a "Service Rep" there. Not a standard mechanic but the person that they specifically bring in to "deny" warranties. They are not going to touch the car until Wednesday when the service rep gets here. They have 3 cars sitting in the lot with blown engines...all with ECU and Pulleys. The Service Reps have been denying ALL warranties it the car has had a pulley and ECU tuning.

I kept calling and asking for service, I was concerned by the consupmtion of oil, I added 1/2 a quart at 3000mi and another 1/2 at 6000mi of mobil 1 10w30 syntetic. This is my wifes car and she now commutes 70 miles per day, the miles got a bit ahead of me bucause I had planned to check again at 9000mi. Aparently whatever the problem was had gotten worse, but I never saw the car blow even a whiff of smoke additionally, I never recieved a CEL, even when the rod bearing went out.

On another note I have a 300+ Hp WRX. I have left all of the mods on and gotten my transmission rebuilt and a brand new clutch put in. I have over 200 13sec 1/4 mile passes at the drag strip and have had no problems getting warranty stuff taken care of. My friend Harvey is on his 4th clutch, under warranty, and he is running 12.5 sec qtr's on N2O...Hmmmmm and Subaru is supposed to be tough to deal with.

 

OMG now I'm scared to add a pully to my MCS.... Uh Oh.

Someone please tell me different.

 

Before you threaten a lawsuit, I'd suggest having your attorney review your warranty with you and make sure that you understand it in its entirity.

Here is a little excerpt from my warranty book:

This warranty does not apply to the following:

Modification of the vehicle or installation of any performance accessories or components attached to the vehicle which alters the original engineering and/or operating specifications or which result in damage to the other components . . . .

I've always interpreted that to mean "If I modify the engine to increase performance, I am giving up my warranty if I blow it up in the process. Even if it isn't really the fault of my pully, they still aren't going to cover a blown modified engine, and as much as it sucks, you gotta be willing to pay if you're gonna play."

I know it sucks, and I feel for you, but fighting BMW over a blown modified engine is going to be a long and expensive uphill battle. My experience with VW/Audi and my modified 1.8t taught me to consider my warranty void for engine work if I modify the engine.

Best thing to do would be to start looking for a low mileage engine from a totaled MCS. Switch them out and put your pulley on the new engine.

 

>>>>
>>OMG now I'm scared to add a pully to my MCS.... Uh Oh.
>>
>>Someone please tell me different.

Could they be blowing smoke to scare you away from fighting the denial of warranty?

I find it hard to believe that they have 3 cars with blown engines due to pulley/ECU mods. Wouldn't we have heard about this if it was so common? If the pulley/ECU were causing engine failures, would Randy still be in business?

The engine was burning 1/2 quart of oil every 3K miles, but then used 3 qts in 4K miles! Yikes! Sounds like that engine had some issues from the get go.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with YuccaPatrol. You mod the engine, you roll the dice as far as warranty work goes.

Seems a bit hasty to be recommending a engine replacement before even tearing it down to see what's going on in there. Isn't it possible the engine is repairable for less than the price of a new one?

Sorry to hear about your engine. Good luck!

 

I also find it hard to believe that three other cars with pulleys are on the lot. I think we all know that this is oil related, not pulley related, and since Tim had consistently asked for oil changes during the course of this, I believe he will have a good leg to stand on. I have done over 170 pulleys, and this is the first issue I have had with a car, period. If there really were three other cars there, I think I would have heard about it from the customers, eh?

Don't fret yet - they may do right by Tim without having to get into the lawyer thing. A pulley has nothing to do with a blown rod, especaially at our altitude where the pulley merely brings the boost levels back into the stock realm.

I'll be sure to keep all advised, and pursue this dogedly with BMW.

Randy

_________________

CLICK THE SIG PIC!

This ain't no Disco

 

>>>>
>>OMG now I'm scared to add a pully to my MCS.... Uh Oh.
>>
>>Someone please tell me different.

 

I was just about ready to start a post noting that I have not seen any Blown motors as a result of pulley or other mods posted on mco or mini2... now this... I agree that this blow-up most likely not related to pulley/ecu mods. Trick is going are you going to beable to make that case stick with BMW that already has a bad reputation regarding honoring warrantys. Glad to see you back Randy, Congratulations on new addition.

 

I just talked to Schomp Mini yesterday about the ritual pain of waiting to order my '04 S (Jan. delivery?) and asked about some performance options he might recommend. The first thing that he suggested was the pulley at about $400 installed. When I asked about warranty concerns he says that while it was a sort of "grey area" he thought there wouldn't normally be a problem. He must have known about the about Mini's with engine problems on their lot. I quickly jotted that down on my list of probable performance accessories. Now I am a bit cautious and will await anxiously Big Tim's report on the decision. Randy's post was reassuring but I will still keep checking back for updates.

Is there a recommend medication to take to alleviate the Mini Pre-order Anxiety Disorder?

 

I would also assume that your engine problems are associated with low oil. I had a '79 BMW 320i that unbeknownst to me, ran VERY low on oil. The end result was my engine exploding on the freeway on July 4th (go figure, fireworks etc...) The whole thing happened as a result of my oil level. I agree with everyone else as to what you should do about it.

Good luck

 

I've always taken it that a contract or agreement cannot override or not comply with the law. This means no matter what MINI USA makes you sign when you buy the car, they have to comply with the law. That's why mostly all contracts that state "If any part of this contract shall be determined to be un-enforceable, all other articles and subsections shall not be null and void" or something to that effect. If a bunch of handicap people say it's okay not to put a ramp in a certain store, the store still has too, because its the law.

 

Yes, I did actually see 2 of the cars with blown engines (the 3rd is speculative.) They had the whole front end off of two cars at the lot.

1. Blew because of too much timing advance on the ECU and a custom reduction pulley. Could not really tell how small the pulley was but it was definitley smaller than the Alta.

2. Blew because of a bad tank of gas as well as ECU and Pulley mods. The guy was running 85 octane. I would call him stupid, however I was letting my wife drive around 3 quarts of oil low.

In both cases Detonation was the culprit. The pistons were smashed up and the heads were pretty ugly.

I don't think I am in either category. Sort of a grey area...such as the pulley is. I have already heard from the dealer which I bought the car from and they offered to fix it under warranty...however it is in Utah...Shipping is cheaper than a new engine...Right?

 

If you original dealer will fix it, I would DEFINITELY pay to ship it to them.

That is great news for you!

 

I know of another MINI owner here in Phoenix who told me they almost blew their engine. Now I don;t remember all the details, but I know something tipped them off about the car.
They had it towed into the dealer and they realized it was out of oil! Yep, bone dry. The MINI had less than 5000 miles on it. I believe there was a leak somewhere....I don't remember. Is it possible that some cars have a leaking problem or some sort of oil usage problem.

Has anyone else had an oil level problem?

 

I have a similar oil problem right now. i have a very slow leak at the oil cooler. It leaks about 1/2 quart every 250 miles. I just check it every day or 2 until I can get it to the dealer next week. I've had it to a local BMW dealership who inspected it but of course was not allowed to fix a rather simple leaky connection.

If you are leaking oil quickly, your MINI's rear end will soon be coated in greasy dusty gunk. If you notice your rear windshield getting unusualy dirty, it is a good idea to check the oil immediately. And always a good idea to keep an extra quart or 2 in the boot.

 

Just show them a copy of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. It states all manufacturers warranties (if one is issued) must not condition the use of aftermarket products. Thus you have absoiluely nothing to worry about as far as the use of any aftermarket item.

So, it is a myth that these toys will void any warranty! Now, they can void it if the part causes the damage but they first must provide evidence that the item "pulley" was the cause for the damage..

Chances are you don't have anything to worry about.

.......While the Magnuson-Moss Act does not require manufacturers to provide a written warranty, it provides specific rules when one is provided. Among those provisions, FTC regulations state: “(c) No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer’s using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade, or corporate name; except that the prohibition of this subsection may be waived by the Commission if – ((1)the warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will function properly only if the article or service so identified is used in connection with the warranted product, and (2) the Commission finds that such a waiver is in the public interest.” ((42 U.S.C.2302(C))



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<a href="http://www.syntheticwarehouse.com">AMSOIL - Official Synthetic for MCO and Team MCO

 

^^hmm, now that sounds very promising!^^

Thanks for posting that Zappa!