I'm driving home, took the exit off the highway, all of the sudden I hear this clunk noise, when I have the throttle at like 10%, I push harder to see if it's still there, no, it isn't. I shift to the next gear(3rd) and the same sound, oh well, I have 500m home so I drive carefully and park the car, then I call MINI Road assistance. They sent a flatbed and then a service car with a mechanic. He proceeds to look at the car and trying to listen where it's coming from, after a while he says he thinks it's the oilpump, alright then, check the oil.

Checks oil, wow, no oil, well, let it cool down maybe it will show more. Cools down, still, no oil. Ok, add oil. He adds oil, not enough, add a little more, repeat 2-3times then we see oil on the stick. Start it up, try again, sound is still there, oh well, flatbed it to the dealer, friday evening. They start looking at it today, Monday and I call them about 2pm and they go like, yeah, they looked at it, seems like the engine is gone. I go oh well then, it's warranty, right. He proceeds telling me that they aren't going to replace it, they tried with goodwill but it didn't get accepted. By now I am like :wtf:.

I shout a little, then proceed to tell him I'll have my brother call him back, my brother calls our salesman, he says he will look into it and call him back, he calls him back and tells him that he will see with his boss. About 30mins ago he calls and his boss said no, they are not going to replace the engine.

So, by now you guys are thinking, wtf. you should've checked the oil.

Well;

1. No oil light was on, ever. Obviously when the mechanic came to the scene in the end he wired his computer to the car and did some diagnostics stuff, then he took a multimeter and started checking the fuses, apparently, the fuse that holds the oil light was broken. OF COURSE EVERY OTHER LIGHT WORKED!@#

2. The car said there was 9000 kilometers to the next oilservice.

3. The car was in for a change of several engine parts, transmission and a clutch about 1-2months ago.(Did they take out the oil? And then put too little back in?)

I mean, everything was done as it should have, the car has gone a total of 26000 kilometers and I've driven about 7000 of those, so, 7000km ago, the oil was changed, at BMW.

I am so ****ed, if I wanted problems I'd buy a 10year old car with no history, not a new one with all services made from the dealer.


Mini Cooper S 2003

 

That SUCKS man, sorry to hear. I wouldn't panic though, if the check oil light never came on to let you know there was no oil, it's covered and that's all there is to it. Get em!!!

 

I will do whatever they can, but as of today their answer was they will not replace it.

I will make some phonecalls tomorrow, we will see what happends, I will keep you updated.


I love my MINI, but it has brought way too many problems, I don't know, I think I'm replacing it, time will tell.

 

Oh boy...this stinks! I would right away - call MINI (not the dealership). They obviously keep track of everything they've done to the car -it's on record....Push them hard!! Don't give up..from what you've said, it cannot possibly be your fault....please keep us updated...

Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven - burned up)
05' Cool Blue MCSC "Ariel"
05' HB/W MCS

 

26000 kilometers, isn’t it still under warranty and why didn’t the dealer want to replace the engine? That’s what the warranty for right? I hope things work out find and I feel for you. I don’t know what I would do if this ever happen to me. Knock on wood.

 

The so called "newcar-warranty" is lasts 2years and expired 13 February 2005, that's why they don't want to replace the engine.

 

Sucks for you, but if I were them I wouldn't replace it either.

That said... how did it manage to run out? Were you burning that much, was there a leak somewhere?

 

I never tracked the car or do anything but "motor" once in a while.

I would have noticed a leak.

 

2 YEARS?

This is what we got in USA
Detailed Warranty Information

BasicNew Passenger Car Limited Warranty

Basic Miles50,000

Basic Months48

TowingTowing is available to nearest Mini dealer for warranty covered breakdowns.

Towing Miles50,000

Towing Months48

RustRust and Corrosion Warranty

Rust MilesUnlimited

Rust Months144

PowertrainNew Passenger Car Limited Warranty

Powertrain Miles50,000

Powertrain Months48

TiresCovered by tire manufacturer.

Maintenance2005 Mini vehicles are covered for Full Maintenance for 36 months/36,000 miles

Maintenance Miles36,000

 

when you buy a mini you get 2 warantees?!

what is this 'new-car' warantee nonsense. everything ive been reading and been told by dealership says its got 1 warantee and its for 3years 36k mi.

edit: so that 3yeras 36k mi is a maintenance only warantee? well shoot, 2yrs is the worst warantee ive ever heard of. does anyone know of where you can get an extended warantee?

even my 12year old volvo still has a warantee on it that would cover a blown engine! (low mileage tho, only good till i hit 110k ,25k mi from now)

 

A new MCS in Sweden costs 27,417-37,010 USD.

That is NOT JCW...

 

Nah, you'll get it replaced, there just not going to make it that easy for you.

Make the calls, handle it. The warranty should be 2years/ 50,000 miles period. Good luck

 

Those of you offering advice take a quick step back... He's in Sweden dealing with MINI Sweden, not MINIUSA.

That means MINI Sweden may not offer the same warranty MINIUSA offers, and may not handle warranty claims the same way MINIUSA (or MINI Canada for that matter) does.

 

Have you checked the oil at all since it was last serviced? I've read a few reports of the dealers screwing up on refilling the oi, so I always check mine when I get it back.

It sounds like the warranty offered in Sweden is different from that in the U.S., and the laws are obviously different as well, so you may not find much useful advice here, since this forum is mainly North American. I'd recommend posting your problem on MINI2.

Good luck,
Chris

edit: Mike, you beat me to it!

 

Get ahold of the regional BMW/MINI rep and speak with him. Get his email address. Make sure you have all your data/paperwork handy (dates you had the car in to the dealership for work, what was done, etc.). Have a copy of the warranty in front of you. Do some research on your State's and Federal consumer protection laws with respect to automoblies, and have that relative data handy. Build your case from a customer point of view. If the initial conversation fails to gain results, consult with an attorney (it's worth a couple hundred busk to get a quick primer on what your rights really are, from a tactical point of view). Write letters to the Better Business Bureau and CC the Dealership, BMW regional man and UPN channel 9...

keep sweeking as long as nessesary...the sweeky wheel gets the oil.

Good luck - - m

 

...Oh yeah, and BTW - the 'oil light' warns you about oil PRESSURE, not nessesarily oil LEVEL.

- - m

 

Considering the large sum of money involved, I would consider an attorney as well. But only if things are really getting out of hand. Legal representaion could cost as much as a new motor, unless you are able to sue for court costs.

 

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Whose responsibility is it to check the oil level if not yours?

The oil light warns you of zero pressure, not the level. When the oil pressure light comes on it's already too late.

The miles-to-service indicator is not based on oil level; there's no oil level sensor. We really ought to be checking our oil levels every time we stop for gas. That way you know if your oil level is dropping.

As for the dealership refilling the oil correctly when they did repairs, if you didn't check it, you don't know whether they did or not.

Sorry, but this one's on you, in my opinion. Sorry to toss a rain cloud over your picnic, but I just don't see any way that this ought to be a warrantee issue if you never checked the oil level.

 

Remember warranties are not either/or. They're "whichever comes first". If it's more than 2 yrs old, the warranty has expired. End of story (unfortunately).

 

Wow. that stinks. I wonder why warranties are so horrible in other countries. 2 years is pretty much useless.

Someone suggested it before, so I'll just second it. Post this on MINI2.com. A few people there might actually be from Sweden and may know some of the relevant laws, etc. Good luck.

 

LOL. My warranty (here in the ol' USA) didn't even last 2 yrs! Well I passed 50k miles long before that.

 

You think so? It seems most 'infant mortality' issues would have been uncovered by the two year mark. Given the circumstances in this case, it looks like the previous service (transmission and clutch on a new car? - warrantee??) was the issue vs. true warrantee items (i.e. defective materials or manufacturing.)

To answer your second question, I'd say warranties are 'so horrible' in other countries because they are not in demand (i.e. willing to be paid for.) The inherent cost of the four year warrantee is tacked on to the sales price for the car in the US. In other countries the government taxes are so oppressive that people aren't willing to pay that extra $$ for the extended warrantee service policy.

 

Mini is the one that didn't put an oil level indiator in the car. Mini is the one that gives the milage to oil change (and at 15,000 miles, that's a long time). My manual says nothing about checking the oil. sure, we should be able to check, but now cars come with warning lights for everything! Even Chevies warn you if you're low on brake fluid!

Matt

 

Are you really saying that if your manual doesn't say to check your oil you have no responsiblility to do so? Very few, (I know of none), cars come with a low oil level alarm and even if they did something as important as oil level shold be frequently manually checked. It's always been that way and it still is.

 

The key for me is that your car was in for some major repair work at which time the dealer drained your oil - I'll bet it wasn't refilled properly. Was there oil leaking from the oil plug? You should fight it. However, I never trust the warning lights for that very reason and check my fluids every week religiously. I know it's extreme but I've done that for years undoubtedly due to repeated Triumph, MG and Fiat ownerhsip and never lost the habit once I could afford new cars.


Good Luck!