Hello All
While on a "mini" vacation(pun intended) this weekend my airbag warning light came on, has anyone else had this problem?? It happened around 10pm on our way back to the motel, the light just came on. I called roadside assistance and they dispatched a flatbed truck to pick up my car in about an hour. The people who picked up my car had never seen one before so I stayed around outside to make sure it was loaded with no problem. Roadside assistance advised me my car would be taken to Century Mini in Greenville SC, which I really didn't care for but oh well. The reason I was not very pleased about this was my dealer was only about an additional 20 to 30 miles further away than the dealership they were taking the Mini to for repair, plus I've never been to this dealer so I have no idea where its located. Anyway has anyone else had to use the roadside assitance?? I dont mean to complain and I love my car, but they had a hard time advising me on what to do--they weren't sure about the rental car, they didn't know how I would get my car back, etc... They advised me I could call 866 ask mini on monday and get more info but this was Saturday night and close to 1am before the car was loaded and taken from the motel parking lot. The wrecker service had me call them again, to find out if there was anyone at Century Mini who could let them in before Monday to drop off my car?? Is it just me or should road side assistance give more info to the people they subcontract out to?? Maybe I just had a poorly informed wrecker service but I was a little displeased. Does anyone here have any experience with Century Mini?? Any advise would be appreciated, and if anyone has had to have their car transported anywhere before how did you get it back??
Thanks!

 

My MINI did the same thing a couple of weeks ago. I made an appointment to bring it in to have the light checked out. The service adviser at MINI of Murray told me that the light just informs you that the smart airbag system sees a fault and goes into a default mode. This means that if you had an accident all the airbags would deploy not just the ones needed. So, basically it is just telling you that your smart airbag isn't smart anymore. When they interrogated my MINI it told them that it saw an open in the passenger side airbag sensor. The tech found the connector loose under the passenger seat. He re-connected the sensor and the light went out. Problem solved!
Hope this helps.

 

Oh Scott!

I'm soooo sorry to hear you had to leave your MINI behind this weekend. At least it sounds from the above post that you should be reunited soon. I'm not sure what your chances are of getting a rental car paid for by MINI, it seems to be a dealer option and there is no official MINI policy on that. I know that at Flow MINI in Winston-Salem they told me they had "good rates" on rentals if my car came in for service, but I haven't deciphered exactly what that means. I also think I was told that if my car gets picked up by flatbed, then it will be delivered back to me the same way, so hopefully that will hold true for you. Keep us all posted!

 

I had to use roadside assistance last weekend when my shifter became stuck in the 1st to 2nd segment of the shift pattern. I was only a couple of miles from home at the time so I returned home in 2nd gear and called from there. Their contracted tow was unable to come until the next morning, no big deal in this situation, but instead of taking it to my dealer in Latham NY about two hours away, Roadside assistance said that Presitge MINI in Mahwah, NJ was the nearest dealer and that my dealer was outside of the authorized towing distance. Like you, I didn't know where the dealer was or if I would have to retrive it myself or if it would be towed back to me. I also was directed to call on Monday to get details.
As it turned out the problem was a walnut wedged in the shift linkage either placed their by a squirrel or kicked up from the road, and because it was non recall related I had to retrieve the car myself. I took a neighbor to drive my other vehicle back and as it turned out Prestige MINI was over a three hour drive and much further than it would have been to my own dealer in Latham, NY.
I have advised my dealer of the inaccuracy in MINI Roadside assistances mileage from my zip code and he said they advised him it would be corrected.


_________________
Pepper White Cooper,
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Sport Seats, Fog Lights,
8 Spoke wheels, Cruise

 

Motor On!!

 

>>I had to use roadside assistance last weekend when my shifter became stuck in the 1st to 2nd segment of the shift pattern. I was only a couple of miles from home at the time so I returned home in 2nd gear and called from there. Their contracted tow was unable to come until the next morning, no big deal in this situation, but instead of taking it to my dealer in Latham NY about two hours away, Roadside assistance said that Presitge MINI in Mahwah, NJ was the nearest dealer and that my dealer was outside of the authorized towing distance. Like you, I didn't know where the dealer was or if I would have to retrive it myself or if it would be towed back to me. I also was directed to call on Monday to get details.
>> As it turned out the problem was a walnut wedged in the shift linkage either placed their by a squirrel or kicked up from the road, and because it was non recall related I had to retrieve the car myself. I took a neighbor to drive my other vehicle back and as it turned out Prestige MINI was over a three hour drive and much further than it would have been to my own dealer in Latham, NY.
>> I have advised my dealer of the inaccuracy in MINI Roadside assistances mileage from my zip code and he said they advised him it would be corrected.

Did they show you the walnut?

 

Yeah they showed me the walnut, the service advisor handed it to me when I walked in the door, it is now sitting on the bookcase in my office next to pictures of my MINI.

 

The airbag warning light just came on in my wife's MC. The Service Engine Soon light has been coming on and off the last few days along with the EML light. I was truly hoping that her MINI would not have any problems. Oh well . . . another long trip to the MINI dealer.

 

I've had the service engine light come on one particuarly damp day, but all I had to do was turn the car off and on again and it went away. I wish cars were more mechanical than computerized, I'm not all about relying on computers. The scariest development is brake-by-wire. NO THANKS!

 

>>Hello All
>>While on a "mini" vacation(pun intended) this weekend my airbag warning light came on, has anyone else had this problem?? It happened around 10pm on our way back to the motel, the light just came on. I called roadside assistance and they dispatched a flatbed truck to pick up my car in about an hour. The people who picked up my car had never seen one before so I stayed around outside to make sure it was loaded with no problem. Roadside assistance advised me my car would be taken to Century Mini in Greenville SC, which I really didn't care for but oh well. The reason I was not very pleased about this was my dealer was only about an additional 20 to 30 miles further away than the dealership they were taking the Mini to for repair, plus I've never been to this dealer so I have no idea where its located. Anyway has anyone else had to use the roadside assitance?? I dont mean to complain and I love my car, but they had a hard time advising me on what to do--they weren't sure about the rental car, they didn't know how I would get my car back, etc... They advised me I could call 866 ask mini on monday and get more info but this was Saturday night and close to 1am before the car was loaded and taken from the motel parking lot. The wrecker service had me call them again, to find out if there was anyone at Century Mini who could let them in before Monday to drop off my car?? Is it just me or should road side assistance give more info to the people they subcontract out to?? Maybe I just had a poorly informed wrecker service but I was a little displeased. Does anyone here have any experience with Century Mini?? Any advise would be appreciated, and if anyone has had to have their car transported anywhere before how did you get it back??
>>Thanks! :smile: :smile: :smile: