Do the Flush it to get all the fluid out and change the filter......is there a filter? or just a drain and refill?

 

i go to an independent MINI guy here in L.A. good guy, good prices and he's pretty much MINI only (minicorsa). he does a complete drain and refill and he uses some type of pump to get it all out then refill it. there IS a filter but, i haven't swapped it out yet. i see no documentation out there on when to change it.

when i do the yearly fluid replacement in december again i will bring one with me and have him swap it out. part # 24117518741 $66 at pelican. then you would need the gasket for the pan #24117518739 $25. of course there'll probably be a little more labor $ in there. probably bringing the total (with my own parts) up to $200.

funny thing about MINI telling the above poster to change out his fluid at 45000 kilometers that would be around 27k miles and before the inspection 1 service correct? weird. anyhow, i'll continue to change it once a year and next time have him put in a new filter.

 

I personally never would have left my car with this dealer. Did they really change the fluid? If this was their first CVT fluid change, I would be worried. Did they follow the Bentley manual? If it were me, I would be contacting the next closest dealer and asking them what there service policy is. If I was satisfied, I would have the fluid changed once again......assuming they even did it in the first place. Placing your Mini in the hands of a bad mechanic is worse than trying to follow preventative maintenance.

Unbelieveable. There are other threads speaking about how poorly BMW service departments are. What a shame.

 

well, the other thing here is how it goes to show (like i mentioned in an earlier post) that MANY people think it IS lifetime fluid. and it looks like it's THE DEALERS who started the misconception. geez...

i think i'll call MINI usa and see what they say about the filter change. unless someone beats me to it.

 

Well I checked with the only MINI Dealer in Portland about getting my CVT Trans fluid changed.........here was the reply

-----Original Message-----
From: Debra Reeves ]
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 6:31 AM
To: Jim
Subject: RE: O Service Appointment Request (Rasmussen MINI)
It is around $340...the fluid alone is 100.25 and the time to do it is the rest of the cost..
Debra

Seems outrageous to me. No wonder most don't get theirs changed

 

wow. so they're charging around $200 in labor!???

these dealers man. i went through a situation this last week which made me hate them even more. i needed my windshield replaced and i sure as hell wasn't taking it to the closest dealer (mini of universal city). BUT, i couldn't find the A pillar covers anywhere that would ship them to me in time for the glass replacement. i called them and they wanted $80 per cover. i was looking right at the parts price list and they are $45. parts guy insisted i was wrong. ended up calling classic auto and they sold them to me for $35 apiece. even with 3 day UPS i saved $50 over going to universal MINI.

have you checked the regional forums to see if there is a recommended MINI guy (non dealer) somewhere near you?

 

Yep, doing that now.....but the possibilities in my area seem limited

 

This stuff that some are being told by their dealers that CVT fluid is "Lifetime" is complete BS.
Look at the check list for Service 1, clearly says to Change the CVT Fluid. Mine was changed by the dealer at Service/Inspection 1 for free.
That was at 26,000 so I plan to change ours at about 25k intervals...........but it is a very expensive change @ $275-$350 each time.

 

Yep, you got the interval correct, but it's unfortunate you can't find a cheaper place to have it done. That's outrageous. Last year I paid $36 parts $69.30 labor ($105.30 total) for a CVT fluid change at New Country Mini in Hartford Connecticut. I thought that to be very reasonable price.

 

At that rate I would have it done every year

 

Just out of curiousity, what sort of CVT do the Minis have?

 

So today I finally broke down and purchased a drivetrain only extended warranty for my MCa. It was about $700. I paid an additional $60 to have an exception to the non-covered parts section, where if a non-covered part causes damage to a covered part, OR if a covered part causes damage to a non-covered part, the warranty will cover the repair.

I figure this is the best option I have - at 47k miles, it allows me to sleep at night while still being able to mod pretty freely. With a service tech as a friend, I could get a lot of free labor, but with just the CVT parts alone coming in somewhere around $5500, I figure $700 is not too bad. Anything else that goes wrong I can handle between myself and my friend.

 

Curious as to what warranty company you decided to go with and why you picked that company over others

 

It is through Warranty Direct. They are a very large warranty seller and came recommended from other folks here on NAM.

 

Interesting......the quotes a I get on my 04 MC are very different

MajorCare Covers the most likely to fail “big ticket items” plus many others Deductible Term/Miles* Will expire on... Or when odometer
reaches... $0 $50 $1004 Years / 75,000 Miles5/18/201275,000 Miles$1,701 $1,601 $1,426 4 Years / 85,000 Miles5/18/201285,000 Miles$2,008 $1,908 $1,708 4 Years / 100,000 Miles5/18/2012100,000 Miles$2,335 $2,235 $2,035

 

Maybe because you are out of warranty?

 

According to my info from MINI, my 3/36 free service warranty is gone but my regular warranty is still good until 7/08.

But a 1k difference seems a lot

 

I don't think they are the same coverages. Mine is not "Major Care", I got it by doing the "chat live with an agent" thing and asking if they had a tranny-only warranty. He said no, but that they have a basic drivetrain warranty that covers tranny, engine, and axles (I think it was axles...I'll have to check). He asked me for some basic info and sent me a link to the quote.

 

I had my CVT Fail yesterday about 1.4 miles from the service center of Hassel MINI (visiting my doctor).. but 24 miles from home.. the car was towed in.. and the dealer gave us a ride al the way home. btw it's an 03 MC with 85K on it.

well Hassel came thru with FLYING COLORS!!!!!!

thanks to Jason, Andy, John and John..

remember... I already had a non working front drivers seat for verticle adjustment (part approx $525), no AC.. and no Transmission (part approx $6500-7000.. remember it's the CVT)

I will be paying labor... basically $2001 for tranny, seat, and A/C and THATS IT!!!!
Hassel went to bat and MINI will be paying all PARTS!!!!.. giva ya an idea... the trtanny labor was $1480 the seat labor almost $300 and the A/C well $200 (couldnt detect a leak all prices yet)

all prices are aprox.. but they have all parts in house!!!

now I need to get the rear dent fixed.. and then all is nice!!!

check CVT issues online.. and you will be shocked.. but this is GREAT news!!!

oh yes and I am feeling better too

 

Rob,

Did you have any warranty coverage on the MINI ?
Or did your dealer just step up and do the right thing here ?

Since I am the second owner of ours, I doubt Rasmussen Mini in PDX would be so helpful

 

no additional warrenty..

so yes he did the right thing... but it is done (as he told me )on a case by case basis... they did research the car and build date and history.. (mine is feb 03)

hey if it came back at 7g...dont know wht i would do.

 

When looking at extended warranties.......read the details carefully.
I was considering a "PowerShield" from WarrantyDirect that covers just the engine, transmission, and drive axles.
My main concern is the CVT.
Reading the details I find this:

The maximum limit of liability per covered vehicle is $6000. The limit of liability per covered component is as follows: $3,300 in engine claims; $2,200 in transmission claims; $1,500 in differential claims; and $300 in emergency roadside assistance claims.

Since a CVT runs 6-7,000.......this warranty would only help out a bit in a CVT failure.