Hello all,
I've posted the original story in stock problems/issues, but am posting here because it has morphed into a different issue and perhaps more people will see it here.

I have a '08 Clubman S (I realize that mine is a R55 and this is R56 forum, but the engine is the same and there are more regular readers of the R56 posts) . I've been fortunate in that it has mostly been trouble free. It's just over 3 years old, with 23k miles on the odometer. So, it's no longer covered for free maintenance, but it is still covered under the warranty. Nearest dealer is 2.5 hours away.

The car has been having some starting issues, so I replaced the battery on Tuesday of this week. The next day, it threw the red battery warning, indicating alternator trouble. Dealer told me to have it towed in.

Yesterday, the dealership called me and told me that the alternator in my car is a Mitsubishi brand and that MINI doesn't use that brand alternator. They told me that the alternator has been replaced "aftermarket". I believe that to be untrue.

I ordered the car back in April 2008 and it completed production on 5/28/2008. I impatiently awaited it's arrival, have only had it serviced at MINI dealerships and babied it for 3 years. The car does have a new hood because of a big ding from some road debris (I posted about that here). I had the hood replaced at a very reputable local body shop. The service advisor (who was rather snarky, by the way) said that the fact that it had a new hood indicated that is had sustained front end damage and that the only conclusion they could come to is that the body shop replaced the alternator. I talked to the body shop owner and he emphatically said he'd sign whatever affidavit I needed him to, stating they did NO engine work on the car. Heck, I even went by there constantly to check on it and it was obvious no engine work was going on.

So, I believe that somehow, somewhere, MINI put a Mitsubishi brand alternator in my car. I checked realoem.com and it shows Bosch (150A) and a 120A version that I assume is a BMW brand (note that it calls them "generators"). Mitsubishi is not listed, but I'm hoping that doesn't necessarily mean that they NEVER used another brand, just that the proper replacement would be the ones listed.

Husband & I have escalated the matter to the Service Director and they are in the process of doing "due diligence". We get the feeling they believe we are lying. We've purchased 3 vehicles from this dealership in 3 years and are offended that they have acted this way.

Has anyone here had an experience with a R56/R55 MINI with an original alternator branded as Mitsubishi?

Any ideas on how/where/why MINI would have put a different brand in my car?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Just thought I would post an update to this situation. Sorry it's so wordy but perhaps the end result will help someone else.

In a nutshell, the dealer service department has handled this in a remarkably non-customer oriented manner.

Husband emailed photos of the hood's superficial damage and scans of body shop details/receipt (for hood replacement that occurred earlier this year) to dealer first thing this morning. Upon receipt of husband's email, svc manager replied, saying, "I have your receipt from the body shop and I am digging into this as we speak."

Then, around 1pm, we receive email that said, "Update: We are taking this alternator off of your car now and make sure it doesn't have a mini stamp on it somewhere. This is the only logical explanation." Now, why didn't they try that earlier in this process?

Finally, late this afternoon, we received this:
So, rather than believe us in the first place and check into their own company's use of a part, our dealer does all they can to prove someone else is lying. And then, finally, when they cannot prove someone else is at fault, they investigate it in house. I can't believe the svc manager was so obtuse as to tell us all the investigative work he did BEFORE EVEN CHECKING WITH MINI and then was surprised when we seemed angered. I can also bet you he also checked with Mitsubishi to see if WE had purchased an alternator from them while he was at it. The owner of the body shop owner called me this evening to inquire as to how it all turned out and he was plenty mad too that they had checked up on him. He summed it up nicely when he said, "How much could it have cost them to just put in the darn alternator and keep a customer?"

Since my car was outfitted with what I consider to be a non-OEM alternator, and since that alternator has failed prematurely, all of you with late April '08 to early June '08 builds perhaps should be on the lookout for alternator problems. And, hopefully you can use this information if you have a Mitsubishi alternator and your dealer gives you this much trouble.

 

Glad it ended well for you but what a load of bullocks! Hopefully someone else out there will be better served by their dealership.

 

Sheesh, sorry about the issues. Interesting story, for sure.

 

Thanks, roushraven. Once this is over, I hope to be better served by my dealership, but it will certainly be a different dealership. Thankfully, a new MINI dealership has opened in the Dallas area and this one is known for its great customer service with its other brands. Hope that's the case for its MINI service department. Can't see how it could be worse than this experience we've had.

 

Your statements here are valid. I would still pursue a conversation with someone at the dealership who should understand your position. Maybe you turn it around and ask how they would feel if they were in your shoes. Honesty and trust is hard to gain and easy to lose. I would be upset in your shoes for no other reason then I would feel like I had been called a liar, and I can forgive many things, but I would not lie about an alternator. They could have accomplished the same solution by asking questions and going ahead with their "investigation" without ever reaching the point they did. Glad it turned out well for you.

 

Unbelievable. Sounds like the Gestapo is still alive and well.

 

Alright, take a deep breath here...

Unless BMW/MINI sent out a bulletin, there is no way for a SA or tech to know they subed out alternators at the factory... This is probably the very first one they have ever seen. Having owned and worked on a lot of BMW's in the last 25 years, all I've ever seen from the factory were Bosch and Velo, so if I saw a Mitsubishi I've be a bit sceptical too.


So in one day, they dug into it and found the answer. Now they're taking care of it right?

 

Yes, they are covering the repair under warranty.

I stand by my statement that they should have been looking into this in house first or at least simultaneously with their investigation of the possibility that it had been replaced aftermarket.

I understand that neither a SA nor a tech would know about a substituted alternator. But, the fact that the SA would not even consider the possibility that it was subbed out (as I suggested during my conversation with SA) is inexcusable. Honestly, I have rarely been treated as poorly by someone in the service industry as I was by this SA. Early on in my "aftermarket alternator" conversation with the SA, when I realized the SA was not going to work with me on this, I said that we needed to halt our current conversation and that SA needed to have SA's manager call me. Unfortunately, SA would not leave it at that and continued to badger me about the idea that the car had had front end damage.

Husband & I are making the 150 mile drive to Dallas today to pick up a loaner car and to talk to the Service Director in person about this.

One other aggravating thing about this mess.... if they had gone ahead and ordered a replacement alternator from the get-go, then the repair might have been able to have been completed by the end of today. I mean, really, what did they have to lose by ordering one alternator? Even if they ended up not using it on my car, I'm sure it could have been returned or used on another R55/R56 at some point soon. It would have prevented us from having to make the 300 mile round trip twice (once to get loaner and then once to return loaner/get my repaired car).

 

I thought I would bring this back from the dead...

I just found out that my wife's '08 S (coupe, built in 04/08) also has a Mitsubishi alternator in it - though, since in made it 67k miles before having any problems we don't get any warranty coverage for it.

I can't believe how expensive the parts are! Any idea whether we need just the alternator or the alternator and voltage regulator?

-Charlie

 

Just go to an auto parts store and get a remanned part for about half the price as new if it breaks. If not don't worry about it.

 

I think that the voltage regulators have been integral to the alternator for at least a couple of decades, probably longer in most cars. So whichever one it is, you just replace the whole alternator.

Reman ones are hit-and-miss. If the physical swap is easy, then they are generally worth the gamble. If it's a big pain in the butt to remove and replace, the remans generally are not worthwhile. Most of the remanufactured electrical parts you can get at the Big Box Pars Stores seem to give you 50/50 odds of the part still working in a year. Even if you have a lifetime warranty on the part, you still have to do the work of changing it out. And after a while, that becomes too much of a hassle...

At least, that is my experience on dealing with similar parts in older cars.

 

The regulator is available from BMW/Mini as a separate part, that's why I asked - it looks like it is included in a complete alternator replacement (after some more research on my own).

I'm with you on the reman'd alternators. Its similar with starters... Of course, this is from my experience with Toyota's and Denso parts. We shall see when it comes to Bosch and Valeo stuff.

-Charlie

 

I just made the comments for those who probably complain that new from the stealership is too much and offering a solution to the problem.

 

The regulator is available from BMW/Mini as a separate part, that's why I asked - it looks like it is included in a complete alternator replacement (after some more research on my own).

I'm with you on the reman'd alternators. Its similar with starters... Of course, this is from my experience with Toyota's and Denso parts. We shall see when it comes to Bosch and Valeo stuff.

-Charlie

 

OP here. Sorry to hear of your Mitsubishi alternator failure and very sorry it's not still under warranty. Good luck to you with the repair.

 

Any idea where I can get this Mitsubishi alternator. I need one for my wife's 08 MINI also....

 

Get the regular OEM Alternator. It bolts right in 100%. No problem on my wife's car for the last 20k miles. When you pull the Mitsubishi alternator out, you can tell it wasn't originally designed for the car (bolted-on bits to make the plugs work, etc. compared to the Valeo part that just works and looks like it was originally meant to be there)

If you do the work yourself, make sure you swap over the roll pins to help with re-assembly and alignment.

-Charlie

 

This dealership would rather go to the trouble to try and prove you are a liar than take care of the problem. Sorry but you are a cash cow not a customer, they obviously do not have customers. So quite rightly take you business else where ( and let them now )
Who is this dealer please name them on here then send them a link.

 

So can anyone tell me what alternator replaces Mitsubishi POS that was installed on the 2008. Every dealer I talked to cant tell me if it's the Valeo or the Bosch unit that works as a direct replacement.. Had my car a month and only drove it 5 days before this nightmare....this is my first mini and very well might be my last if I can't get this sorted out soon...thanks in advance for any help

 

OP here, I was still subscribed to this thread. The car is long gone, but I still have my paperwork. I looked through the papers and cannot find a part number nor mention of the brand of replacement alternator. Sorry. Hopefully a gear-head type on here will be able to help out.

Good luck.

 

You want the Valeo 120A alternator. Mini part number 12317619254

-Charlie

 

Thank you both for the effort and Charlie you made my day....now I have something to work with....now to just track one down.
Thanx again
Billy

 

eBay? There's a used one for $250 on there.

Sewell Parts also has a reman'd OEM unit for $530 after NAM discount...

If you are paying somebody to do it, get ready to open the wallet. It is a huge pain to do... (I spent 7 hours, but I do work slow)

-Charlie

 

Thanks again Charlie....found one at mini of south Atlanta for $450 with free shipping hopefully it's lands here soon I miss my car bad!!!