So far manual and LSD seem to be the common factors.

 

I have the problem but no LSD .My build date 01/07 .

 

Ok I stand corrected., youre the first non LSD Ive heard of with the same problem. Sorry to hear about your car. Have you taken it to the dealer yet?

 

Not yet I was going to let them figure it out on some other cars first.Mine only does it down shifting 3rd to 2nd with higher than average speed if I dont tap the gas a little first to get RPM's up , so it's something I can usually keep from happening.Its very loud when it happens , the sound bad brakes make ,metal to metal . Both cars I test drove also did it so at first I thought it was something I was doing wrong.

 

Well day 7 is here, no real update.

As per the dealer PUMA indicated that they should begin swapping parts. SA disagrees and is awaiting regional service tech (hopefully in today) to diagnose. I gave the SA the number of another dealership who fixed a similar issue, SA indicates that this dealership says they've never heard of it.

At this point I have very little faith in:

1) Having Ruska back to roadtrip in

2) Even if I have Ruska back, would I feel comfortable putting 5000 miles on a transmission w/ issues that no one can definitively say that they've found the root causing such?

 

I went by the dealer tonight to grab some books out of the back of my car.... found damage that occurred sometime in the past week. To say I'm upset is an understatement. I am not naming the dealer at this point in time to give them an opportunity to do the right thing...but has anyone else experienced such bad service??

XXXXXXX,
I came by tonight to pick up some books out of the back of the MINI and saw it was parked at the edge of the service parking lot. The first thing I noticed was oil on the side of the car and my drivers side rear wheel is bent and scratched. I was unable to see any other damage as it was dark, however I am greatly concerned that more has occurred.
I was one of the first R56 recipients in the city and am fully cognizant of first year issues that must be worked out of a new car. However Wednesday morning marks the 8th full day with no communication as to the course to final resolution. I understand that you must escalate through PUMA and your regional service representative and have been supportive throughout such. However, I'm having difficulty understanding why this particular issue which has been widely discussed on northamericanmotoring.com and MINI2.com isn't being addressed more aggressively by your corporate support. I even communicated to MINIUSA to help escalate this issue to ensure that XXXXX is receiving any/all support. I feel that I have adequately communicated my urgency for resolution on this as I will be leaving on an extended road trip. The MINI was specifically purchased with this activity in mind and I've actively discussed this in several conversations with my MA and the Sales Manager. At this point I have zero confidence that this issue will be resolved in time for the trip as even if the physical work has been completed, I would not have time to adequately test and would not feel comfortable driving into remote areas with the car at this point. [
The disrespect shown to me in the course of the resolution of this issue is unacceptable. I am seeking immediate resolution to the damage on the car. Additionally I need assurance that I will be provided with a comparable loaner that I can use in the course of this road trip which will be approximately 5000 miles. It will be approximately June 11th before I am able to return to the dealership during business hours, a timeline of 26 days from drop-off with the original drive train problem to the time in which I can pick the car up. I would have potentially expected this service at a Hyundai dealer, a Kia dealer, or even a Ford dealer. I would not have expected this from a BMW dealer. I bought a premium product and have received less than premium service.

A less than satisfied customer,

XXXXXX

 

Sorry to hear about your problems - wish you had a dealer like Towson to take care of you - you'd most likely be on the road by now.

 

Towson is the best!

 

Or like Global. From the time my car entered the dealership with troubles it was taken on a very short drive to diagnose the problem and was on a rack the rest of the time. It was not driven around or left in a parking lot. My SA communicated updates to me fairly regularly and they even printed on the final receipt the days it took to receive and install the trans and that I had to wait extra days due to the fluid snafu. Im sorry to hear about all of this, I hope your email wakes them up and motivates them to do the right thing

 

Wow... Time to make some serious lemonade.

 

And the saga continues.

The dealer admitted the damage to my rear bumper flap and my wheel and is repairing at no cost to me. They indicated a delivery truck must have clipped it (as it was parked at the corner of the entrance). I'm still a bit unlear how a delivery truck could manage to only damage my wheel and scratch some plastic... as well as why a customers $31k car was parked at the edge of a high traffic service lot on a corner.

They have now come back (at the end of 8 days in the shop) and claim that the metalic squeal when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd is normal and will go away after the transmission wears in (nevermind that the wear in period on the car was 1200+ miles ago).

They are 'researching' the reports of other dealers fixing the issue by swapping clutch, flywheel, and tranny, but this is news to them (nevermind that I gave them this information last Thursday). This is beside the fact that PUMA told them to swap parts earlier this week.

They cannot guarantee that I will be problem free on my roadtrip.

I've got a meeting set up with the regional tech rep tommorrow. At this point I'm so frustrated I don't know what to say.

Even after my email it took a call to the service manager (and after initially he apologized for the damage but didn't know anything about the original problem) it took a call to the GM of the dealership to get the service director to contact me. I'd also contacted 866-MINIUSA to attempt to esclate before calling the GM...MINIUSA pointed the finger at the dealer and said deal with them...we can't help you.

Why am I the only one with a sense of urgency?

Please tell me if I'm expecting too much out of the dealer and MINI here? Any suggestions??

I just want to get back to motoring...I'm stressed as hell from this.

 

OK, stupid question: What's a PUMA? I'm assuming some type of service bulliting? Is it somthing from the regional tech advisor or factoiry that they HAVE TO follow? Very sorry to hear about your experience.

 

Not a stupid question.. no worries. PUMA is their technical resource...email based from what little I know.

 

I think you are expecting too much from MiniUSA. Their primary mission in life is to play defense for the dealer network, ie their revenue generators.

You need to give the GM/owner of the dealership a chance to make things right. Then, you should contact someone at BMW corporate. You'll have to do a little homework but the info is out there.

It's unfortunate that brisk Mini sales have allowed BMW to become complacent about lousy customer service. It's gotten to the point where you have to personally contact a BMW exec to resolve a problem which wouldn't require such high-level management intervention at a better run company.

 

They might be right about break in mine has 1900 miles and hasnt made the noise for a couple hundred miles.On mini 2 others have said this also even some of there clunking and grinding going away after a couple thousand miles.

 

At the time I took it in around 7AM on Tues 15th it had a little under 2400 miles on it. God knows how many miles it has on it now.

 

Sorry!

 

Like I said in my PM, it sounds like the dealership knows they cant get the car to you in time and doesnt want you putting those 5K miles on their car. This is absolutely lousy customer service. I hope the info I gave you will escalate things from the top down.

 

PUMA is the internal BMW/MINI service issues database tracking system. This system links all dealers in the network with the manufacturer for the report and resolution of known product issues. If you don't feel confident in the car, I suggest you begin looking at the possibility of retaining legal counsel. Make sure you known about and understand your state's lemon laws. The 2nd and 3rd gear transmission noise is not normal! And for the reports I have read here and MINI2 it will not go away. In your situation, I would put together a polite but fairly firm letter to your dealership and MINIUSA. If you don't get any good will response to honor the terms of your manufacturer's warranty, it is wise to seek legal counsel and explore your options. $31K is a lot of money (for most of us) to dump on a vehicle that exhibits less than stellar build quality. I hate to be the "devil's advocate" but it seems to me that MINI does not have a fix for the problem. R56 owners in the UK with the same exact problems have had their transmissions and clutch flywheels replaced just to find themselves dealing with the same noises just a few short weeks after the repairs were performed. Having a brand new car that requires a brand new transmission at less than 10K miles raises a lot of red flags IMHO.

 

I'm just starting out down this road (3rd to 2nd grinding problem). I thought some folks had managed to get the problem fixed. Is that not the case? I've already thought about lemoning my car because they can't fix the problem with the noise form the sunroof. I've contacted a lawyer who specializes in lemoning BMW vehicles and fully intend to go down that road if I need to.

 

Update:

The regional service tech finally agreed to replace the clutch and flywheel. They are airfreighting the parts.

Will know more tomorrow..

 

Well finally!

 

Are the parts the same old new replacement parts or newly redesigned parts? Find the old part numbers and compare those numbers against the new parts to see if they are giving you the same faulty parts.

 

Brit boy - curious if you have an LSD as well?

 

Johnblz,

It's about time. Best of luck with the repair.

Mark