Hey all,

Looks like it's time to replace the battery on my 07. It started forgetting some of my settings and the time/date a few times. And yesterday it finally wouldn't start for me. It was weird cause I just took it on a half hour drive and when I went to restart it, there was nothing.

I put it on the trickle charger overnight and it shows a full charge now, but I still think it needs to be replaced.

So what should I replace it with? Does it have to be an oem mini battery? Can I go aftermarket like interstate or die hard? Does it have to be a gel battery like the oem one?

There are so many electronics on this car, I just don't want to screw anything up with the wrong battery. Any thoughts?

 

6 years and 130k on my OEM battery and still going strong. If I ever need to replace it, I had planned to go BMW, but your data point is not encouraging...

 

http://www.braillebattery.com/index....tteries/b106c/

 

Check with your SA at the dealer. If you are under the warranty mileage it should be covered. I just got a new one last week under warranty for my 07 MCS. Now, I have a low mileage car, but my SA said I was under the 4 years 50K period so it was covered.

 

No, you just need a battery core that has the same (or more) cold-cranking amps [CCA].
Interstate, DieHard, Optima, etc, etc; any brand that fits and has the correct CCA.

- Erik

 

Thanks.

I am still under warranty, I guess I'll check with them first.

 

I am on my third year with a Braile,
it's great. No water, lighter by 20 lbs.
What's not to like?

 

I have run with the Braile no weight racing battery but the manufacturer said that it is not good for the winter? Which battery did you have and was it OK during the winter time.

PS: It is a little pricey.

 

On another thread I complained about the tiny no capacity battery and someone recomended an Optima Redtop R34.

I'll look into it when I need a new one.

Dave

 

I just tried a warranty claim of a dying battery and had to pay out of pocket.
* https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-no-start.html
Not saying you may have the same issue, but I should have just bought an aftermarket unit and saved in cost.

- Erik

 

I see that AutoZone lists a battery for the R56 but says it mounts in the trunk. I know my R56 battery is on the passenger side just ahead of the firewall. Does anyone know if the 1st Gen battery and the 2nd Gen battery for the MINI are the same part or the same dimensions?

 

The longest lasting car battery that I have ever had was the factory battery that came in my 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R. It was just a regular lead acid battery made by Exide branded with a Nissan sticker on it. That Exide battery was still going strong after more than 11 years of hard use when I replaced it. The only reason I replaced it was becuase it was just so old, and I did not want to worry about trusting it for another winter.

 

To be honest I was surprised that the battery was covered under warranty. My SA said that it would be covered, but they need to run some tests before they can just replace the battery. Got an appointment tomorrow morning, so hopefully it's all good. Also having them replace my armrest that always slides open. I only have 4500 miles left on my warranty so I'll get them to replace as much as possible.

 

is there any necessary reprogramming so the MINI knows you have a new battery?

 

Not sure. I'll try and remember to ask tomorrow.

 

During my experience, no.
There's still enough internal electical capacitiance to hold memory of radio controls, etc, etc.
You don't lose key fob controls and security settings as those are store in non-volitle memory.

- Erik

 

That's good to know about replacing a battery. In my wife's Mazda CX-7 your have to retrain the power steering, full lock to lock turns and then retrain the auto up and down switches for the front windows. Kind of dumb if you ask me. But after knowing that, I would not be surprised at all if a MINI needed something in its infinite quirkiness.

 

I was at the dealership the other day and a guy told me he was picking up his MINI for a battery replacement. He said it cost him $450.00. FOR A BATTERY? WTF? I asked him if he had anything else done he said no. YIKES!

 

$225 for the Braille Battery. That is crazy. And $450 at the dealer... insane.

I just replaced the battery in a 94 Acura Integra. It was $85 at Sears and I thought that was insane.

 

Battery was replaced under warranty. Nothing special needed to be done.

$450 sounds a little steep for a battery. Realoem says battery is $160. Still pricey...

 

Does it say anything about programing the car and initializing things in it on the receipt? I can not imagine a $450 fee for just the replacing the battery....

 

I didn't have time to wait around for him to get his bill but I wish I had. Woulda been nice to see what I may be up against some day. Can't believe that this car is so full of electronic B.S. that you can no longer just do a simple battery r&r on your own.

 

Optima was once a great AGM battery until it was sold and before production went to Mexico and they started cutting quality corners. I am still running Optima's from the original manufacturer in several cars - they just won't die.

My choice now would be another AGM battery the Odyssey (aka Sears DieHard Platinum).

http://www.odysseybattery.com/batterysearch.asp

They do show one for the MINI.

 

Lucky man; mine was a $283 out-of-pocket purchase with only 6300 miles.

- Erik

 

I just replaced the OEM battery with an Optima PC680T. Works great. No problem on the switch over with any of the car's electrical systems.

I live up in New England, and my research suggests that the battery has enough grunt to do the job down to Brrrr! We shall see.

But holy avoirdupois Batman - that Optima is LIGHT compared to the OEM, 20 lbs lighter is no exaggeration at all.

Cheers,

Charlie