Normal vehicle operation. The parking is just the always on loads seeking ground.

Always disconnect the negative terminal first, and replace it last.

As for having to take it to the dealer when you change the battery, both Mini and BMW cars have battery monitoring programming built into the body and electronics modules. Do you have to? Probably not, but don't blame anyone but yourself if things freak out later....lol

 

My 07 justa is still running on the OEM battery. I guess I'm lucky.

 

Look at the possibilty of it failing soon, 5 years is pushing it. Might want to look at possibly buying one now and leave it in the car till the other one fails. So that at least you won't be stranded on the side of the road.

 

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...447_0300772795

 

Just for fun reference, while in a MINI showroom recently, I overheard a SA tell a waiting customer that she needed a new battery, and they had to remove part of the cowl to get to it. Battery plus labor was quoted to her as $385.

I spit my complimentary Starbucks coffes back into the cup!

 

You do need to remove some of the cowl but, it really isn't that big of a deal.

 

Yeah, BMW/MINI haven't figured out what many other dealers are starting to understand. If you are competitive with your prices, people will come back. There is no way I would go to MINI for service on my car. However, the Subaru is a whole different story and the prices are just right. I even take the 04 Subaru to the dealer for oil changes as they are fairly priced. MINI and B<W need to get with the program.

 

I am starting to hit that point in my MINI. It does not make to go to the dealership anymore and pay their labor rates/rapes.

 

a few years back I was having a real heart to heart talk with the GM of a MINI dealership. We were trying to convince him to support the local MINI club with a tech day in their garage, teaching some basics like fluid level checks, basic oil change, maybe even brake checks and pad/rotor replacement. Some of you may be aware of your local BMW dealer doing this for the BMW clubs.

Said the MINI dealer: NO WAY - I make nothing SELLING cars, I make ALL MY money in the service department.

Reminded me of my younger days working in a movie theater ... wanna know why popcorn costs $15 for 5 cents worth of kernels? Cuz the theater manager gets paid dirt by the hour, BUT the concession profits go into their pocket . . .

**********
best plan is probably to change your battery near the 5 year point. I've had the original battery fail very close to that point on several cars and the problem is you no longer sense deterioration as you did 20 years ago by 'a slow crank' .... one minute they start and the next turn of the key/ push of the button, they don't (remember you don't really crank a MINI, you ask the computer to do it!)

As far as the MINI battery failing at 2 years, well neither of mine have. 2002, I replaced very close to the 5 year point while it was still going strong, and on my 07 I still have the factory battery, but it IS time. I got into this habit while a Miata owner (NA) - they have a really small battery ... but a GOOD battery - and 5 year life was almost like clockwork

Best bet is probably to replace the battery at 5 years, b4 it fails (which possibly means the computer never had to adjust ). Sometimes this is called preventive maintenance as compared to casualty control.

btw battery will be covered under maint' but not warranty from what I've read here. So if failed at two years has been covered by MINI maint' according to other threads hereon.

 

sripavan:

It's late, but... If you don't want sparks: disconnect positive first (as always) then disco negative. And when re-connecting: connect negative first, then positive.

(My first post/reply on these forums. apologies if I did it wrong)

 

That's directly opposite of what I have learned over the years. Not for preventing sparks, but for safety.

If you disconnect the ground first, then you can accidentally bump the chassis of the car with your wrench when disconnecting the positive terminal. And of course, when you're disconnecting the ground it doesn't matter if you bump into a ground.

Always disconnect the ground first, and always reconnect it last. That's what I was taught, and that's what I follow.

 

Respectfully, re-read my post. I wrote: disco pos, then neg. When re-connecting, connect neg, then pos.

Happy motoring!

 

Oops. Didn't read your post through. I'm an electrician and the method I suggest us how we do it and what the code books demand. Never done it the way you suggest and never heard of anyone who has. Anyway...

 

I always disconnect the Neg 1st. As Slave to Felines said.... if you slip the wrench when loosening the Pos cable then you won't weld your wrench to the frame and/or touch off a hydrogen explosion.

I do turn every thing off that can be turned off before disconnecting the cables.

 

My last Inde oil change was $90.00 dollars.

This is my local dealers price......has been on their web site for almost a year....



You guys need to get out more

 

Glad to know that they are finally doing it. However, it isn't just oil changes that I was talking about, it is all maintenance. Subaru charges a more competitive fee for any maintenance and it is to the point that taking the car to anyone else is pointless.

That being said, I am glad MINI has pulled their head out and are getting with the times.

 

My dealer, MINI of Austin, has been running a similar "special" for $69.95. The fine print says it's for R50s and R53s only, but my dealer applied the same price for my R55's oil/filter service.

The invoice showed a unit price of $5.75 for the MINI oil. But when I went to the parts counter to buy some for my next oil change (50 mile drive to the dealer), they (dealership) went back to their old/bad ways, and wanted $17.75 a quart. Because I was there, and expressed displeasure, they reduced the over-the-counter price to the "jobber's rate" of $8.65 a quart (or $3 more a quart than the Euro Mobil 1 at Wally World).

So, the left hand isn't necessarily telling the right hand what it's doing.

 

It's NEVER been $17.75 a quart

$ 7.75 maybe and that price has stood still for last 2 yrs while every other full synthetic has gone up

Parts dept and service departments are two different entities entirely. The promo is for service on 1st Gen. and is nice to hear they afforded you the same deal. You have a good MINI dealer there !

.

 

Bigger garages = bigger overhead = higher prices.

Matter of economics, and no way around it when there are local/state and federal mandates for the various insurance costs, licensing, HAZ MAT training ect......

IMO there is enough to go around for everybody and both can benefit from individual successes and failures.

 

My dealer has a great service department. Their parts department is another matter. They wanted $19.50 for the plastic dummy-plug that covers the 12V outlet in the Clubman's way-back, even though online dealers listings show it as a $5 part. Yes, I confirmed the part #.

 

Wow sounds like they are charging by Matrix pricing instead of list price....

COVERING CAP - PANTHER BLACK - 51437034489 = $7.28

part no. 20. But in most cases when replacing #20, #21 is also needed and is the actual part
which holds #20 into the panel.

 

So if you were to trickle charge your battery every few months will it screw up the computer? maybe cause an explosion? Definately a quirky car...

 

I use a battery tender on all of my cars. It's a great way to keep the charge up if you don't put on a lot of miles. It is perfectly safe for MINIs, in fact the dealer even sells one (same as the BMW unit). It is recommended that you connect it directly to the battery terminals on the MINI for best results.

 

Back to the original issue --- the Bentley manual for this model describes an "Intelligent Battery Sensor", available on SOME models. This is probably the only option that requires dealer support when replacing a battery. As indicated by others on this thread, they have had no problems when replacing their battery, BUT, they probably don't have the IBS option either. IBS is identified by the neg battery terminal connector - it has integrated electronics.

Bentley manual also indicates 3 different sizes of battery are available, depending on supplied equipment. Those with short battery lives may have the wrong size battery installed.

I bought my '07 two years ago with 37K on it. Currently has 56K and no battery issues - yet! It may have been replaced by previous owner. It's been removed and / or disconnected several times (always neg terminal 1st) for some of my upgrades --- never had it reprogrammed and it's running great.

 

My wife's 07 is still on its original battery with 55k. Inskip MINI charges 220 and MINI of Peabody charges 280. Should we go ahead and change the battery anyways since it's almost 6 years? What are the symptoms of a battery going bad?