I was in at my local dealer "MINI of Bedford" this morning to have my 09 MCS checked out right before it goes out of warranty. I was informed that MINI has dropped the recommended spark plug replacement down from 60K to every 50K. On the N14, N16, and N18 engines. They quoted me $25 per plug and two hours of labor. I'm all set so I will just replace them myself with NGK plugs.

I figured that I would share this with NAM.

 

Thanks for the info

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Ur welcome

 

interesting that they want you to pay ... spark plugs are part of the emissions system and must be warrantied for 100k miles per the EPA regs

if the manufacturer recoomends a change before 100k miles, they must pay for it, iw warranty

scott

 

interesting that they want you to pay ... spark plugs are part of the emissions system and must be warrantied for 100k miles per the EPA regs

if the manufacturer reccomends a change before 100k miles, they must pay for it, ie warranty

scott

 

Two hours of labor? You've GOT to be kidding me. It's a job that takes - at most - 20 minutes... Doesn't really surprise me from a dealership though...

 

I'm still wondering if MINI in Canada will replace my spark plugs at no charge on my fJCW during the next free oil interval like it says should be done in the JCW Kit retrofit guide... I suspect not but time will tell.

By the sounds of it, if need be, I can do it myself.

 

Thank you for sharing this.
I would like to see a TSB on this.
Do dealers share TSBs with customers on request?

 

But that doesn't mean that maintenance of these systems is covered. If a mfg says you have to replace the plugs as part of normal maintenance, then the cost of this maintenance is not covered.

There are three systems which are covered for 80K regardless with no maintenance: cats, ECU, and OBD systems. But not plugs.

- Mark

 

If these are the same guys that came up with the oil change intervals...you should probably change the plugs out at 30,000.

 

I was just about to say this. This is the easiest engine maintenance to do on a 4-banger.

 

The S had a change interval of 60k the MC 100,000 miles. Did they drop the miles on the MC as well?

 

I didn't ask about the the MC spark plugs.

 

I think they have too by law.

 

Doubt it. Most TSB's are confidential communication between the mfg and service personnel to help them better serve their customers by giving them technical information that may be helpful. I don't think they are under any obligation whatsoever to share this information with the customer nor even to let the customer know that one is applicable to their car.

Recalls are different with mandatory notification to the customer, but again, I don't think the actual text of the recall has to be shared with the customer. They just have to fix the vehicle.

Having said all this, my experience is that most service departments will share a TSB if you know which one you're interested in. Getting them to spend time searching for TSBs to address a problem is the main issue I've had.

Story: I owned a ML320 once that had a fuel pump problem that caused the engine to stall under certain circumstances. I complained repeatedly and the dealer has the car three or four times for several days trying to replicated and fix - they took several expensive shots in the dark trying to fix it, but didn't. A couple years went by with me working around a car that would quit running on me now and then. I was browsing an internet forum and someone else mentioned a several-year old TSB about the problem. The TSB exactly described my problem and the circumstances under which it occurred. I showed it to the dealer and they had no explanation why they hadn't seen it. (Then they proceeded to say that the car was out of warranty and they couldn't apply the TSB even though I had complained about the problem very early in car's life while it was still under warranty. I went ballistic and we finally compromised. That's the last MB product I'll ever own.)

- Mark

 

Mark, I've had no problems at all getting my hands on an TSBs. Then again I have alot of connections in the automobile service industry.

 

I found the NGK plug on Amazon for $11.??. I plan on changing mine at 25K miles.

 

If I know the number, I've never had any service personnel not willing to make me a copy. Getting them to do a thorough search or let me do my own search is another matter.

But I'd be very surprised if they're required to provide copies "by law." There are a lot of things in TSB's that mfgs don't want to be widely known.

- Mark

 

thanks for sharing. for spark plugs replacement, I always go with the manual... since this is my daily drive I go by miles (its 30miles) not by the time of use. I buy my replacement here:http://www.jcwhitney.com/ignition-an...1213j1s17.jcwx. I also remove one for inspection/cleaning or re-gaping.