Just so there is a place to record other battery failures....I have 12k miles and I came out to start him and click, click, click. Got a jump and took it to MINI Orlando and they checked the computer and no record of what drained it. They replaced it no charge in about 30 minutes.

 

LOL must have been all that wattage up front

I absolutely love what you have done to Bubba.....That light bar is fantastic where did you get it ?

 

Thanks

Vipcustomparts.com

Great parts and great service.

 

Ahhh, that figures.

I had VIP brakets for my R53 before and they worked great. Even the Hella 500's I had didn't bounce, and the brackets attached w/o having to remove the bumper.

 

Just had the same thing happen last week. (July 22nd). Came back to car and battery dead. New Country MINI claims the car showed a post error and the key was left in the ignition... which wasn't true (need my keys to unlock desk at work, can't be in both places at the same time). They made me pay for the battery replacement and not covered under warranty.

Pissed that they didn't bother to diagnose anything else and just assumed 'user error'. Waiting for battery to die again.

Did they say anything specific or just replaced with no questions asked?

 

Please call MINI customer relations and log the event. It may help if others are having that problem. As for key in the ignition, do you have comfort access and only pushed stop once and it didn't go off when you left the car. I took my keys and went into my office for a few minutes and my wife stayed in the car. It kept going like the key was still in my pocket.

Bill

 

Already called MINI Customer relations so at the least it has been put on record. MCR could not do anything for me as it is the classic "He said... She said" with the only evidence being what the computer recorded. I guess I failed to document the removal of my key that day...

I do not have the comfort access system, just the normal key. I also had them print out the OBD sensor readings with all the undervolt readings for my records, though I can't find a timestamp on when it was logged.

I have a suspicion that what was logged was the time between the first jump attempt and when it actually started. That the battery recieved enough voltage to run the computer during the charge and record it.

The cherry on top of all this? They broke a part replacing the battery and had to order a new part to fix it. The previous time they damaged the wheel (also replaced) putting it on the lift.

So their heart is in the right place I suppose, but I question their compentency when they break or damage things when they are trying to fix them.

----

(deep breath in and out)

Just upset that my new car has been in twice for repair while costing as much as it did. There are only 5,700 hundred miles on the odometer! If only I didn't like it as much...

 

I would think that even if you drained the battery, if it was a good battery they could have just charged it. If it wouldn't take a charge it seems like it would be covered under warranty. Am I missing something? Mine was replaced under warranty. I had been driving around doing errands with no more than 10 minutes between stops, so even if I had left the car "ON" there is no way it was enough time to drain the battery and it should have charged up in between stops.

 

That was my second line of reasoning. Why didn't the battery take a charge... they said that it was drained past the point of being able to recharged and was damaged. I am not a battery expert but I have also had a battery die and been able to recharge.

Now if the battery was 5 years old and had gone through a lot of charging cycles, I could see the battery not coming back as the efficiency would be way down, but a new battery? It should have gotten back to say 90%, maybe not a hundred percent ability to store a charge but something.

I am really sour on the experience right now, even to the point of I am telling people to be weary of buying a MINI at this dealership.

If they didn't treat me like I was trying to cheat them and like I was a criminal for challenging them, maybe another story but they handled it very badly.

 

A key fob left in the ignition can cause a battery to drain not die. Then leaving a headlights on would do that and that just doesn't happen. That battery should have been rechargeable. It sounds like infant mortality to me and even so, shouldn't the battery have had a warranty? That was normal wear and tear not negligence causing damage. I think I'd take that one up a level....

 

I had this same thing happen 2 nights ago, I left my running lights on for a couple of hours, my neighbor knocked on my door and told me. I went outside and turned the lights off. The next morning it would not crank, only click click.... got a jump and went to Vista Mini in Pompano. I told the story to the service manager and he explained before I submitted for service that it could cost me $335 for a new battery since I drained the battery and it doesn't charge, that's not covered under warranty. So they were nice enough to jump me off and came home and put a charger on it, but the battery didn't hold the charge. So, I am going back to the dealer in the morning and I hope to resolve this. BTW, talked to ASK MINI and he also stated that batteries are NOT covered under warranty....

 

additional info: 2011 MCS Countryman 14k miles, Delivered Dec 8th 2010

 

It's a teeny tiny battery. Mine went flat while I was listening to the radio for a couple of hours, while I was detailing it! I put a charger on it and it came back.

Now I run my diesel truck's radio when I'm messing with the car out in the driveway, it has two big 12v batteries and never goes dead.

I'm not getting an OEM battery, when it comes time to replace it, I'm getting the biggest one that'll fit!

Dave

 

good news for anybody with battery problems, I talked to Exide consumer relations this morning. The person I spoke with said they would pay for the cost of replacing the battery, if the Mini dealer would not cover it. Just have to send her the receipts and the date of purchase of the vehicle.

 

J. Eaton…Sorry to hear the issues. Sounds like the "Old" New Country Mini of years ago.
This is my 3rd…and by far my best experience. Not sure about the battery issues and why one dealer would take care of it and not another…unless has stated..fault can be detected. Guess you never knew you had a twin! All kidding aside…the Battery issue is one thing…the damages during repair no matter how minimal…is inexcusable and I'd be up somebody's butt…not really…but pretty upset. They are working really hard…and have made major strives over the past few years. Have you talked to anyone other than the service rep. ? Rick Miller is the Mini Manager at NCM, he'll give you the time. If you haven't, he needs to know if for no other reason your disappointment and frustrations. I would look for some type of Comp. service..oil change, product…something. Their soon to have some "Mini Ambassadors" small group of long time existing owners with some past history. I look forward to the responsibility!
This would be a perfect example..Nothing wrong with venting here and letting us all know…But they need to know as well. I'd bring it to there attention…again if need be.
Keep me informed.
Fred

 

Yeah, Rick was the second person in the conversation when the service rep just kept stating the same line over and over no matter what angle I tried to discuss with them. Then MINI USA customer service was notified and said there was nothing they can do.

I know Rick was trying... but everything just kept going downhill. As stated I am not a mechanic, but when I was talking with a third mechanic who had no stake in discussion he was even confused about the diagnostic that I was given.

With my newborn son and the need to have two working cars I felt like I had no choice but to go forward with the repair.

Since then I have had the radio make a sharp popping noise and the driver side window not go completely down just to then have it behave like nothing is wrong. So I feel like there are some odd electrical things happening and I don't feel like I can trust NCM. So I am just waiting for the car to break badly enough that they can't deny it. Even then I am contemplating bringing it somewhere else.

What feels really bad is that earlier I had good things to say and a coworker just picked up a Cooper, and another friend is thinking of a countryman and I can't really recommend NCM and they are now hesitant about buying one...

It's all probably bad luck, but from this perspective I just feel burned.

 

Mini ended up covering my Battery under "Goodwill". Thanks to Joshua at Lauderdale Mini for the assistance...

 

Countryman S ALL4 in sig. Battery died flat out last week. Had to jump it every time to get it anywhere.

Went into service on Monday, picked it back up today. Battery was from a bad batch. Replaced with a new Varta under warranty, no other issues.

Putting it here for reference for other users that may have this problem down the road.

 

Any info you can share about how to identify which batteries fall into the batch? Or was it a service bulletin that MINI sent and any referrence items?

 

Sorry, no clue. I had battery problems since day one, and was told that the very first batch of CMs shipped in had some bum batteries. All is well now.

 

Took the car across the state of Florida and back over the weekend. Hopped in it Monday morning to go to work, and click, but no juice. Lights were flickering, windshield wipers slowly crawled across the screen (should not have even come on), radio screen lit up entirely (completely orange)-- real entertaining show CONTINUED EVEN AFTER I REMOVED THE KEY!

This will be the second battery in less than 2 years it will have eaten and destroyed after a trip, not in the winter! I have no aftermarket features installed. We weren't even using a USB charger. Wondering if the problem isn't the alternator or elsewhere. Will post a followup when it returns from service .

15 mins on hold with MINI roadside assist and then they tell me I have the wrong number (for rentals - even though I called the number given to me on the keychain by the dealer) and transfer me for another 15 mins of glorious repetitive automated messages and muzak....

 

Follow up from post of 7/29/13:
"Undetermined cause of battery failure." Third battery in less than 2 years with only 26K on the car. I called MINI Customer Relations and they said if it happened again I should insist on having the regional engineer come look at it. The diagnostic codes it gave out were D612 1 00. The service rep told me that I need to shut off ALL the systems in my car before leaving it (A/C, lights, radio) because something is still actively drawing power even though the car is off. Honestly, isn't that what voltage meters are for???

Additionally, they found a leaking oil pump volume control solenoid... For a new car, it sure seems to have issues....Glad it's still under warranty, but I worry about what this will cost when that runs out...