****If you are not in the mood to hear my B****ing and moaning then skip to the bottom *****


I need to get this off my chest. Two weeks ago (Friday 4/27) I call to make a service appointment for the MINI on Monday 4/30. I have no problem getting an appointment for the 25K service, as well as a few other problems that will be fixed.

Unfortunately, the MINI did not survive until then. On 4/28 I am driving, and the car goes into Limp mode, with the EML Light, Battery light, and a few other lights coming on. Restarting the car resets everything, but as soon as I gave the car gas, it went back into limp mode.

Great...my first experience with MINI roadside assistance (which actually is quite convenient, I am serious!) . After waiting on hold for 10 minutes, I finally arrange for the tow truck. I wave goodbye to my MINI, shedding a few tears (just kidding ), little did I know I would not be seeing it for two weeks.

The MINI arrives safely in San Antonio, which is where the fun begins. I get a call from my SA on Monday telling me that the 25K service has been performed, and that the upper strut mount had also been replaced. However, I was told that there was a vacuum leak in my Alta CAI intake, which would not be covered under warranty. He also claimed this was the reason why the car was going into Limp mode. I reluctantly agreed to pay the $300 plus dollars for them to fix it out warranty as I live 80 miles from the dealership, and basically, that was my only option.

I get a call later in the day and my SA tells me my car is being put back together and that it will be ready in the afternoon. Great! I arrange a ride to San Antonio. I get in the car and start heading that way. 10 miles into the drive I get a call from my SA's assistant telling me they just finished road testing the car, and the SES light came back on. I was told the car would be kept overnight until Wednesday 05/02 as they had to order a part to fix it. I wasn't too pleased, but was happy they called me before I made it all the way to the dealership.

Great! The next day, Wednesday now, I get a call from my SA, who informs me the problem has been solved. However, the car would not be ready because they were not able to road test it. Another day without the MINI.....wonderful.

Thursday 05/03 - I get a call in the morning notifying me that the car has been road tested, and YET another problem had been found. And what a suprise, they AGAIN do not have the part in stock. Great - one more day gone to waste.

Friday 05/04 - Same situation, they get the next issue fixed, but are not able to roadtest.

Despite multiple attempts to get in contact with my SA, I did not hear anything again until Tuesday. However, I was later told by my SA that he had to take the weekend off for a funeral, so I did feel kind of bad for bombarding him with phone calls...

Anyways, on Tuesday 05/08, I was pleased to get a call from my SA. The first thing he said was "good news / bad news". The good news was that apparently the SES light and EML light issues were all fixed, however, somehow through all of these issues, they MANAGED to overlook a problem with the battery. He told me they put a new battery in, but the car now needed a new alternator. Oh, and you probably guessed it, the alternator was not in stock. Wonderful - one more night I told my self and I will get the car back.

Wednesday 05/09, I get a call late in the afternoon, "Sorry sir, UPS did not deliver the alternator today". Great..........

Thursday 05/10 - The alternator came in finally, but, it turns out THE CAR DID NOT NEED A NEW alternator. The FANTASTIC mechanics at The MINI Center in SA apparently overlooked something in the wiring harness, and it was a simple fix that did not require a new alternator. Jee, that would have been a great thing to notice a few days earlier. After a LONG road test, I was told the car was FINALLY ready.


I managed to find a ride to San Antonio that night, and was finally reunited with my MINI. What a wonderful feeling ---- shortly lived.

I get it home safe and sound, drive it to school the next morning
(Friday 05/11) with no issues. After school, I get in start it up and start to head home, and guess what.............LIMP MODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


The car sat at the dealership from 4/28 to 05/10, and the SAME problem comes back a day after I pick it up? Absolutely ridiculous. My initial instinct was to call my SA, who was not much help. So, I went through the whole process again. I waited thirty minutes for the tow truck, and then I started thinking about how it was kind of silly for me to have the car towed down to San Antonio when apparently they do not know what the hell they are doing. I called and cancelled the tow truck.

By some chance of luck, I managed to get all the way home from school without going back into limp mode.

I switched cars, went out to dinner, obviously very frustrated. I came home and decided to try and find out what was causing the limp mode.



********End of B&M

Something I noticed was that it seemed the car would only go into Limp mode when the Air conditioning is turned off. So, I drove around the block several times. Whenever I turned on the AC, the car almost immediately went into limp mode. I am almost 100% convinced that this is the issue. The car runs smoothly without the AC on. However, does this make any logical sense? I will admit, I am not exactly in tune with the workings of my MINI, so I am not quite sure how the AC could be linked to my car going into limp mode. Is that actually plausible?

ANY help here is VERY appreciated. I am not getting much from the dealership in San Antonio.

Thanks for reading my story...

 

Bump

 

I don't like scrolling you cant put the B&M on the bottom?

 

Get a code?

 

Simple, crack a window

 

Welcome to my world; ask a tech question, either get ignored or get smart a$$ answers.
Wish I could help you, ski, but my mech experience is pretty much limited to pre-computer SBCs.
Now if you were to ask about the best way to throw your money away on useless parts, no end of responses.

 

That might be easy to say living in Baltimore...more to Texas and you would think twice before saying that . 92 degrees (that was what my temp guage in MINI read today at 4PM) is no fun with no AC - windows down or not.