Hi everyone,

I've posted my initial impressions in the Can't Wait for October Club thread, but I thought I'd collect them and post them here again so that more people gets to read it. Sorry for my poor writing style; I basically put down anything that came to my mind.

Impressions: I love it! enough said.
Other notable observations.... for those who have their 04s already, read your manual. It has the picture of the 3-spoke steering wheel, including the nitendo keypad. At first I thought those pics posted online were bad photoshop jobs, but as it turns out, they really are that way.
Stock shift **** popped off much easier than I was expecting.
TVA's armrest is pretty awesome for its price.

Now something more interesting..... I had sent my MA my preferences, but apparently options have changed for 04s. We spent about a half hour with the tech guys trying to program some of my options (The first thing I did at delivery was to check if my options were properly programmed, and the first item I checked was not). My car was sitting in the delivery bay in the show room, and the tech basically plug this receiver box into my OBDII port. He then goes back to the main machine in the back shop, and does the programming there. It is way cool. Now the interesting bits.... I have mentioned elsewhere that I HATE the auto-locking after 2 minute feature, and was delighted to find out that I could disable it. One feature I wanted was single button push to unlock all doors, but apparently they could not figure out how to program it for the 04s. Turning the key in the door once unlocks all doors, but pushing the remote once does not unlock all doors. Since the 04 software is so new, they said give them a few days to figure all these things out.

As for stumble/yoyo, I detected absolutely no stumble (yay!), but there was yoyo present.
Those wiper blades make A LOT of noise.

auto locking and unlocking - works as I expected. It unlocks when I switch the engine off. (I always use my hand brakes)
DRL looks really cool. Xenon is a bit low, but not too bad. It is so much better than the poor headlights on E36 3 series. High beam is almost useless with xenons.
no dead pixels in my Nav. (this was in response to rrypma's thread about dead pixels)
The nav is very easy to figure out. One thing I did not like was the fact that you have to turn the **** to the left to go down most menus. I think I would be more used to turning right to go down the menu. The only feature I had problems with was selecting north-up/track-up. I always prefer track-up, but couldn't figure out why sometimes that option is grayed out. I later read the manual and it says track-up only works for scales less than 1 mile. (1 mile meaning the whole display shows about 6 miles across and 4 miles top to bottom, or something like that.... maybe a bit more)
If you turn the monitor off, it still gives you voice guidance.
With the street spacing in the Boston area, the Nav would tell me to prepare to make a right turn when I am still 2 or 3 traffic lights from the turn. It can be quite confusing if I don't read the screen.
My shifter vibrates violently in 2nd gear and 5th gear...... This worries me a bit. (just called the dealership, and they said it is "normal&quot
The car sounds like an electric car at parking lot speeds because the electric pwr steering pump is so loud.
The car pulls to the left, severely. If I center the steering wheel, I'd be in the next lane within a second.
(but I also found out the road right in front of the dealership leans to the left, so I'm going to take it onto a stretch of MassPike where I know is flat to give it some more test)
I still don't have a good feel of "speed" yet in this car. I always surprise myself by going either too slow or too fast.

I hope this info would be helpful for everyone.

 

I'm guessing that you bought your car from Herb Chambers in Boston. If that's the case, don't take their word on anything being "normal," like vibration of the shifter. Seriously, they don't know the cars there, and even if they did, they have no interest in treating their customers with any respect (yes, I bought my car there...) Call 866-ASK-MINI if you want decent answers to your questions, although they can be kind of lame sometimes as well. If you bought your car at Peabody, never mind me - they seem to know what's up. Glad you like your car! Congrats -Chris

 

Yep, I'll just add to Chris's post by saying that I take my car to Peabody and also frequently drive the "road in front of the dealership" there (Rt 1)...and my car doesn't pull to the left. So, unless the road in front of Herb's is REALLY sloped (I don't think it is), then you may have a problem. Check your tire pressures, but assuming that's ok I'd take it in to Peabody pretty soon. Your vibrating shifter doesn't sound "normal" either.

Not to scare you, but you really should get these bugs ironed out quickly so that you can enjoy your new MINI flaw-free! And do try to avoid Herb for service...those folks are careless at best and criminals at worst.

 

Herb Chambers will never ever get my money. I learned that lesson long ago (but not soon enough, so they still took a lot of my money).

Alright let's get back on topic; too many people got burned by Herb that this could quickly turn into another Herb Chambers bashing thread.

Peabody guys were very upfront about everything with me. I'm completely satisfied with them.

 

Katana,


Herb Chambers Mini is a joke. I live a 3minute walk from Herb Chambers but I'd rather drive the 20Miles to Peabody. Oh btw, don't even dare go to Herb Chambers for service.. They quoted me $110 for an Oil change. Peabody, 1/2 the price!

The last time I took my MC in for service at Peabody, they let me test drive an S for a while. That test drive convinced me to trade in my Cooper for an S.

I have a question about your DRL, Katana, Are they xenon powered? are the High beams Xenon as well?

Enjoy your Cooper! Plenty of fun driving a Mini around boston! :smile:

 

>>Peabody guys were very upfront about everything with me. I'm completely satisfied with them.
>>

OK then. So you're saying that you think that a slope in the road in front of Peabody might be making your car pull? I don't think so. Get the guys at Peabody to check it out.

 

Went for a drive on the Mass Pike; drove the "free" section between exits 17 and 16. Even when the road is curving slightly to the left, my steering wheel never even gets to center. It is definitely off, and I have my car booked in for Monday morning at Peabody.

DRL is high beam running at reduced power, so it gives a cool soft glow, just bright enough to be noticed but not bright enough to be annoying to other drivers. Xenon is only for the low beam; high beam is halogen.

 

Did you get the Mini alarm? I am suppose to pick my car up Monday and apparently the 04s have a different set up for the alarm and require a new part number. My dealer was unaware until my 04 and one other came in last week.

 

Katana:

Today I put about 110 miles on my new '04 MCS and I can tell you that the car's steering wheel is center dead on and the car tracks straight and true in the highway. This is the first thing I checked when I got in I-95 earlier this morning.

Also I have not detected any vibration in the stick shift while in 2nd or 5th gears. Actually I think the gearbox is pretty smooth for being so new but there is a bit of notchiness when engaging reverse and when going from 5th to 6th gears, but easily solved when you get the hand of it.

Other than that I am pretty pleased with the build quality as I have not heard any unpleasant rattles or squeaks so the car definetely feels more solid than our '02 Cooper.


The new suspension is superb. It does absorb bumps and other road imperfections much better than ever before. The same razor sharp handling remains and the car seems to ride more smoothly than our '02 Cooper with the standard suspension and 15" tires.

The rear hatch mechanism has also been greatly improved. Gone are the "Toy gun" noises when opening the boot's hatch and the somewhat hard closing. I noticed that MINI has added 2 additional rubber stops at the bottom of the hatch opening to improve the quality of closing and also to eliminate any rattles from ever developing around the hatch lock mechanism area. The hatch closes so softly its almost unperceptible. In the '02 you have to add a bit more effort to close the hatch, not so in the '04. The hatch rim is now plated versus the metal color one fitted in the '02's.


In all and all the car feels very tightly build and MINI seems to be improving the quality control process in this car. I love the digital speed readout now offered as std functionality of the Trip Computer (OBC) option.

Will continue reporting on more impressions about the car.

 

From reading all your complaints about the car, how can you say you love it??!! Plus is sounds like the dealership (Peabody) offers terrible service and doesn't know much. I really want to like this car, but I read so many bad problems with it. Yet many seem to just overlook them and still say they like the car. It makes no sense. I will probably buy a quality Acura TSX instead due to the poor mini quality. Oh, did I mention all those cracked windshields too?

>>Hi everyone,
>>
>>Impressions: I love it! enough said.
>> but there was yoyo present.
>>Those wiper blades make A LOT of noise.
>>
High beam is almost useless with xenons.
>>My shifter vibrates violently in 2nd gear and 5th gear...... This worries me a bit. (just called the dealership, and they said it is "normal&quot
>>The car sounds like an electric car at parking lot speeds because the electric pwr steering pump is so loud.
>>The car pulls to the left, severely. If I center the steering wheel, I'd be in the next lane within a second.

 

>>From reading all your complaints about the car, how can you say you love it??!! Plus is sounds like the dealership (Peabody) offers terrible service and doesn't know much.


Sorry, meant to single out Herb Chambers as a weak dealership. Sounds like Peabody is good to deal with. Sorry for the confusion.

 

Haha, since you could not get a new MINI for $500 discount, you have no other choice but to opt for a "boring to tears" Acura.


Nice try. If you come here to bash the MINI, then what are you exactly doing here?

We have 2 MINIs now and these cars have met our expectations. You don't even own one, so what do you know? Hearsay??


Adios.

 

>>>>From reading all your complaints about the car, how can you say you love it??!! Plus is sounds like the dealership (Peabody) offers terrible service and doesn't know much.
>>
>>
Hi tomskilv,
You certainly raised a very good question, and allow me to explain.
Let me state that I learned to drive in a Honda Accord. I also drive my friends Honda regularly (01 Civic, then 03 CRV). I have as much experience with Hondas as with BMWs, so I think I am entitled to voice my opinion here.

I have also looked at the TSX. I think it is a very good car, and I recommend that car to my friends, if it fits their needs.

I feel that BMW/MINIs and Acura/Hondas tend to attract different buyers. Honda makes some exciting cars, but most of their buyers buy Honda because they need reliable transportation. Honda buyers are not fanatics like most of us here are. They tend not to nit pick like we do here. It is in my opinion - and my opinion only, based on my experience with 3 Hondas and 2 BMW products, that Hondas have as much problem as BMWs. Our Accord was so disappointing that my dad said he will never buy another Accord again. My friend's Civic was so badly put together she couldn't wait to get rid of it. (Visit the current generation Civic forums sometime..... It will open your eyes.) Her CRV was much better, but the initial gripe list was twice as long as my MINI. It is my opinion that due to the fact that we are fanatics and we nit pick, we tend to report a lot more problems than Honda owners.

Hondas are good cars. They provide reliable transportation to a lot of people who don't mind their seats rocking, their pedals vibrating when wipers move, and constant pulling to the right, or mis-aligned seat back, or mis-aligned window seals. The problems are all there; Honda buyers just don't complain as much.

Again, this is my opinion, and my opinion only, based on my personal experience with 3 Hondas and 2 BMWs. I looked at the TSX; it is a very nice Accord. I looked, I decided, and I have a MINI in my garage. I nit-pick, but I am very satisfied with the MINI. Now please excuse me I am going to take my car out for another spin.

I have never had the urge to take any of the Hondas out for a spin. If I take the Honda out for a spin without going anywhere, it has always been because I have been asked to check out problems with the car.

 

 

>>
>>The new suspension is superb. It does absorb bumps and other road imperfections much better than ever before. The same razor sharp handling remains and the car seems to ride more smoothly than our '02 Cooper with the standard suspension and 15" tires.
>>

Hi, can you specify what you're running on your new car? The 16" or 17" runflats? Sounds like most people prefer the 16"...

 

can u post pics of the TVA armrest??

 

>>
>>>>
>>>>The new suspension is superb. It does absorb bumps and other road imperfections much better than ever before. The same razor sharp handling remains and the car seems to ride more smoothly than our '02 Cooper with the standard suspension and 15" tires.
>>>>
>>
>>Hi, can you specify what you're running on your new car? The 16" or 17" runflats? Sounds like most people prefer the 16"...


I have the standard Dunlop Runflats mounted on the 16" V-spokes wheels. Like I said I am very please with the suspension tuning on the new car.

 

>>can u post pics of the TVA armrest??

I don't have a pic handy, but check out this thread.
It looks exactly like that.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...c=16793&19

 

Katanapilot, please let us know what the dealer tells you about the pulling to the left problem and the vibrating shifter. Fortunately I have none of the problems you are experiencing but would like to learn what they find out about it.

I am sure your pulling problem can be corrected with a 4 wheel aligment that perhaps was not rectified or checked by the dealer during pre-delivery prep.

Good luck.

 

Just got back from the dealer.
The tech took the car out, and acknowledged that the steering wheel is offset to the right.
He did not do a full alignment I don't think; he just adjusted the toe angles and went out for another test drive. At first I thought the car was still pulling, but after coming back home and driving on my "test" section of the highway near my house, the car now tracks hands off, with the steering wheel at dead center. The car does feel a bit more "twitchy" though; we'll see.

The shift-**** vibrating got the usual "could not duplicate". It was vibrating when I pulled out of the dealership. I think they've seen shift ***** vibrating a lot more severely than mine, and didn't think mine was vibrating that badly.

Follow-me-home lights - at first I thoguht they didn't program it. As it turned out, since I only had access to the 2003 online edition manual while waiting for my car, the method I tried to activate my follow-me-home lights was the 2003 method. It has been changed for the 2004, and I did not know about it. I think this is another stupid change though. Previously, if you shut the engine off with the low beams on, the low beams remain on once you turn the light switch off. Now, when you shut off the engine with low beams on, low beams go off. You have to turn the light switch to off, then flick the stalk to activate the follow-me-home lights. Why is this stupid? I have xenon lights. Xenon light life is determined by how many "cycles" it gets activated. With the old activation method, the xenon light would remain on, saving another cycle. WIth the new activation method, the xenon would go off, only to come on again, wasting a cycle. I really don't know why MINI would change this.

Single-button press to unlock both doors - 04s are not capable of doing so.
rain sensor sensitivity - I've read somewhere that it is adjustable, but the tech couldn't find out how. Oh well I guess I'm stuck with rain sensor that doesn't wipe often enough. I'll test it out again when it rains next time to see if I can get used to it.

 

Yeah, I alluded to that necessity of the follow me home lights in an earlier post, as I thought the same thing at first. I hope they figured out how to program auto-unlock at ignition shut-off. This may be a change for 04 too, but according to the manual, not only does the key need to be removed, but also the handbrake needs to be applied before auto-unlock is activated. Maybe this not new...someone can comment?

 

>>Yeah, I alluded to that necessity of the follow me home lights in an earlier post, as I thought the same thing at first. I hope they figured out how to program auto-unlock at ignition shut-off. This may be a change for 04 too, but according to the manual, not only does the key need to be removed, but also the handbrake needs to be applied before auto-unlock is activated. Maybe this not new...someone can comment?

auto-unlock at ignition shut-off works in my car. I always apply my handbrake, and when I turn the engine off the door unlocks. Chances are when I turn the engine off I am taking my key out, so I can't tell you whether taking the key out is necessary or not for auto-unlock. I will experiment with it later tonight.

btw has anyone gotten their dealer to program one button remote unlock of both doors? My dealer's service guys couldn't figure it out.

 

auto-unlock happens when the key is turned to position 0; I don't have to take the key out.

 

My remotes for our 2004 MINI also don't work, has anyone gotten this to work yet? My dealer ordered new keys, but i'm unsure if that is the problem...

Also, how long does it take to get new keys usually? It's been almost 3 weeks and still no words on the keys...

--Andrew

 

I want to add a point about my experience with stumble/yoyo/bog.....

As I mentioned here and elsewhere before, my car does not have the stumble, but it does have the yoyo.
However today I experienced "bog", and well, it was quite scary. Basically I pulled out of a parking lot, onto a busy street, gave it gas, and the car just sits there. It was in 1st gear, so it could not be because I was in the wrong gear. The car just sits there, moving slowly. Once I completed the turn, after straightening out my steering wheel (and seeing the car approaching rapidly from behind), the power all of a sudden kicks back in and jerks the car forward. I experienced this with the demo car I test drove, but this was the 1st time I experienced it with my own car. I usually leave plenty of room, so it was okay. However I can certainly see it become a very dangerous situation very quickly.

Just when I thought my software is good, this happens......
What are other 04 owners' experiences!?