It's been getting harder and harder to start Judy in the mornings. I left her parked all day Sunday and when I went to take her to work this morning, I got nothing.

We tried to jump start it, but no luck. Roadside assistance got there and plugged in their industrial jump starter and got her up the first try.

I let her run for over 30 minutes, getting to work. When I got here, she started back up, but with that slight hesitation that she was having earlier this week.

Does anybody know if the battery is covered under the Maintenance Plan (3YR/36,000 - not the warranty)? I've got an appointment with the dealership, but if it isn't covered, I'll just run to Pep Boys or Sears and pick up a new one.

IF I have to buy one, what would you suggest?

 

The battery on my '03 Cooper was actually recalled but I had to buy a new one because I had to sell the car before I could make an appointment with the dealership to get a new one--which was months out at the time.

If you want an official MINI battery it'll cost you a pretty penny $120 if I recall.

I actually had AAA come replace my dead MCS battery recently--the cost was the same but they came to my location, pulled the old battery, and installed the new one and took the old one away. Sure I don't have a choice to what type of battery I want or how it looks, but it was convenient since I was stranded.

I'm curious why you would be concerned if it's covered under the maintenance plan rather than the warranty? The warranty goes for 5 years--so if you're within 3 years of the service plan, MINI should replace it regardless...shouldn't they?

 

Without checking my warranty book, from experience, most warranties exclude batteries from maintenance.

If it's not covered, go to Pep boys. You can get a very good battery for 1/3 the price. Batteries are batteries in most respects. The auto parts stores generally have great batteries.

Especially true in the MINI, you don't need the best battery on the market.

In contrast, when I had the battery replaced on my BMW 740i, it was $480. I got suckered into BMW saying they needed to check the car out to see if something caused the battery to go dead [it was three months of non-use and the alarm draining. I had it towed into BMW as a precaution and I was stuck saying "put in a battery." No charge for the tests [that they did not do, I'm sure].

 

I have my warranty book right here. Let me look it up.

 

Thanks for the info, Richard. As for the maintenance/warranty issue, sorry for any confusion on my original post. I was just trying to be clear with my question. I wanted to make sure that folks knew I was talking just about the maintenance plan - since mine is almost up.

I assumed that a replacement battery would only be covered under the maintenance plan and not the warranty since it's a 'wear' item.

Frankly, I don't care which plan it's covered under, however, if it's the maintenance plan, I need it get it taken care of soon.

BTW, Some folks on my local board are saying that I'm covered.

 

Well a quick read does not say anything about the battery NOT being under warranty. So it is either POSSIBLY warranted under the maintenance program or the 50,000 48 month warranty.

Call the dealer. But I think it is covered, at least as said in my 2006 warranty book.

 

Cool, thanks!

 

The maintenance section says all maintenance is covered, except what is covered under the more generous full warranty. The maint. section also mentions what is excluded. Battery is not on the list of exclusions.

The main vehicle warranty does NOT exclude nor mention the battery.

So it seems covered.

Best bet, simply call the dealer. Tell him that the battery appears to be dying [seems like it is to me] and they will probably have you take it in for testing.

Warning: As I said in my earlier post, if they determine it is your battery, I'd say "thanks" and put in your own battery. You want to avoid my 740i situation. The battery I paid $480 for would have cost about $110 at the auto supply store [the 740i takes the BIG battery, no escaping that.] Since your car can be driven, might as well take it home and install the battery yourself.

Bonus Tip: Have them make sure it's not your alternator going out. Sometimes when it starts to fail it won't charge the battery as well and then it craps out completely. Other times it "blows up" all at once. And they might as well see if there is something else that might not be working right.

But this is about the time for a battery to go out, especially from the symptoms you describe.

 

Just got back from lunch. It almost didn't start again. It's definitely going to get replaced.

 

So others can benefit from your thread make sure:

1. What the problem ends up being.

2. Was it covered under the maint or bumper to bumper warranty. Will be good to know if it's under maintenance so we are on warning to make the claim before the maint warranty expires.

 

The battery should be covered under warranty. However, if the vehicle has very low mileage, they may reject the battery warranty due to neglect. If a car isn't driven regularly, the battery can get very low on charge. This greatly shortens the life of the battery. In fact, once it's completely flat, you loose about 1/3 of it's overall life. I've heard several times from others that once it's been flat 3 times, it needs to be replaced.

 

This is correct. Because I don't drive much here in San Francisco I have had many car batteries die [go flat] on me. But I pretty much assume a single going completely dead kills the overall efficiency of the battery.

When I had the 740i battery replaced he told me I had to start the car and go for a ride at least once a week to keep the thing in top shape [When it had gone "flat" I had not driven it in three months. ]

So now I try, but one of my Ducati motorcycles went dead recently from non-use. I was able to charge it up and get it started, but that's another battery I need to buy.

And yes, letting a battery completely die from non-use is considered neglect or abuse under a warranty.

 

That's not a problem with me.

I'll report back after I get her to the dealership this afternoon.

Oops, just noticed it's 2:00. Gotta get out there and start her up before it's completely drained.

 

I've had a battery replaced under warranty...

k

 

Well, I got her to the dealership, just in time for it to die completely on their drive.

It was replaced for free.

I was so busy talking to the SAs about the Olympics, that I forgot to ask if it was covered under the Maint Plan or the Warranty. The service ticket says warranty.

 

Well I think that it was under the bumper to bumper warranty since the maintenance program is not really a warranty.

How cool, the battery is covered.

 

One thing I forgot to mention was that my Service Advisor told me that it was more common for R50s to have battery issues than any other MINI. He thinks it's because of the placement under the bonnet. Apparently, too much heat and vibration can shorten it's life.

That being said, I wonder if there is an aftermarket solution that fits a MINI and puts the battery in the boot. Of course it wouldn't be tucked away like on the S models and it would eat up limited boot space, but that's a sacrifice I'd be willing to make to help future batteries last longer.