Rant about problems with the mini
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5th Gear
Joined: Jun 2003
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Ok this is just a rant of all the problems we have had with our mini.
1.Yo-Yo, we first noticed in march of last year, at that time the dealership told us we didn't know how to drive and to rev it up to 3000 rpm's before trying to launch. Then when other's started to report the issue, they acknowledged their was a problem. So in Oct, we had the ECU flashed to v36 which was supposed to correct the problem. Now For the past month, if you have the A/C on at all and try to launch you get a HUGE lag. Hopefully, it will not cause us to get in an accident but who can say.
2.Scheduled Service. Our first service at 10,000 miles came around 9,000 or so. The dealership took the car in did the work and gave it back. So as we are nearing 25,000 miles it's almost time for service again. So we have about 800 miles to go or so, and now the dealership wants us to be at 0 miles or negative miles in order to get the maintence...
3.BAD BAD BAD Service from Mini North Scottsdale, We have been given the run around on so many things it isn't funny. An Example, our car has the aero kit, so after getting the kit on, we requested the original bumpers. It took the dealership a year and a half to get them to us. They claimed many times that they didn't have them, or we could give you an EB bumper (our car is BRG)... well after many months of bitchin, the body shop found our original bumpers. Complete with stickers dated to show it was infact our original bumpers...
I think that's all for now... I do feel better if it means anything to you guys. And Honestly, if my gf didn't love her car so much, it would of been traded in a long long time ago.
1.Yo-Yo, we first noticed in march of last year, at that time the dealership told us we didn't know how to drive and to rev it up to 3000 rpm's before trying to launch. Then when other's started to report the issue, they acknowledged their was a problem. So in Oct, we had the ECU flashed to v36 which was supposed to correct the problem. Now For the past month, if you have the A/C on at all and try to launch you get a HUGE lag. Hopefully, it will not cause us to get in an accident but who can say.
2.Scheduled Service. Our first service at 10,000 miles came around 9,000 or so. The dealership took the car in did the work and gave it back. So as we are nearing 25,000 miles it's almost time for service again. So we have about 800 miles to go or so, and now the dealership wants us to be at 0 miles or negative miles in order to get the maintence...
3.BAD BAD BAD Service from Mini North Scottsdale, We have been given the run around on so many things it isn't funny. An Example, our car has the aero kit, so after getting the kit on, we requested the original bumpers. It took the dealership a year and a half to get them to us. They claimed many times that they didn't have them, or we could give you an EB bumper (our car is BRG)... well after many months of bitchin, the body shop found our original bumpers. Complete with stickers dated to show it was infact our original bumpers...
I think that's all for now... I do feel better if it means anything to you guys. And Honestly, if my gf didn't love her car so much, it would of been traded in a long long time ago.
1st Gear
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 21
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From: Portland, OR
How many of these "what's wrong with your mini / bmw is evil" post can we have? My whole MINI experience has been wonderful. No issues with my car and Rassmussen MINI in Portland has been wonderful to work with. Maybe I'm just a rare "lucky" owner, but if I had a lemon, I would get rid of it ASAP. I mean we can still sell our cars for close to MSRP! Don't mean to offend, but I feel lucky to have such a wonderful automobile.
pug poo picker-upper
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 9,803
Likes: 30
From: California
no_affiliation: I feel your pain :smile:
zddy97223: I think it's great that some MINI owners are having a very positive experience (with their cars and with their dealers), but there are very real problems that a lot of owners are experiencing. The Yo-Yo problem and windshields being the two big hitters.
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:: David Bunting :: North American Motoring :: Send me a PM ::
Exerpt from my post: MINI Talk :: Dear MINIDivision,
Problem Dealerships
At least a couple dealerships need (at the very least) to have some "coaching" from MINIUSA. Two recent examples of dealerships with problems in the service department are MINI of Hawaii and Long Beach MINI. In the case of MINI of Hawaii, the customer was being denied warranty work (among other things) because she autocrossed the car once. This, even though owners are encouraged to autocross through MINIUSA's contingency program.
We aren't trying to screw you at every turn, yet we get treated that way, even when we're trying to get known problems resolved.
"The Pen Test" is a great example of this. Dealerships use this "test" to find a minute pit in a cracked windshield. This pit, sometimes the size of a grain of sand, is then used to avoid warranty of a windshield with a stress crack that started below the molding. If you read about the windshield issues, you already know this is a common occurrence. In any case, why wouldn't a windshield damaged by a spec of sand be warrantied as defect in materials? A star from a rock I could understand not being warrantied, but a spec of sand?
Problem Dealerships
At least a couple dealerships need (at the very least) to have some "coaching" from MINIUSA. Two recent examples of dealerships with problems in the service department are MINI of Hawaii and Long Beach MINI. In the case of MINI of Hawaii, the customer was being denied warranty work (among other things) because she autocrossed the car once. This, even though owners are encouraged to autocross through MINIUSA's contingency program.
We aren't trying to screw you at every turn, yet we get treated that way, even when we're trying to get known problems resolved.
"The Pen Test" is a great example of this. Dealerships use this "test" to find a minute pit in a cracked windshield. This pit, sometimes the size of a grain of sand, is then used to avoid warranty of a windshield with a stress crack that started below the molding. If you read about the windshield issues, you already know this is a common occurrence. In any case, why wouldn't a windshield damaged by a spec of sand be warrantied as defect in materials? A star from a rock I could understand not being warrantied, but a spec of sand?
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:: David Bunting :: North American Motoring :: Send me a PM ::
Coordinator :: PDX MINI
Joined: Oct 2003
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From: PDX
Sorry, no rant here! I'm extremely happy with the purchase of my MINI from Classic. I'm also very satisfy with the service at my local dealership (Rassmussen in Portland). Most of all, love the MINI! 
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5th Gear
Joined: Jun 2003
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Don't get me wrong I love the car, it's just a combination of bad dealer exp with the other bugs in the car.
If the car hadn't been customized within a few months of us having it, we might have traded it in at that point.
If the car hadn't been customized within a few months of us having it, we might have traded it in at that point.
2nd Gear
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 135
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From: New Hampshire
I think you should rename this thread "rant about problems with my mini dealer" as most of your issues are related to poor service from your dealer. I don't deny that poor service can be extremely frustrating but the mini is a solid little car. The early bugs are being worked out more and more. Some are taking longer than others, i.e. yo-yo and windshield. Was corporate hoping it would go away? Were they hoping these were isolated instances? Probably. Welcome to the corporate world. Most companies do a cost benefit analysis of any major fix. They will compare doing nothing and what it will cost in possible class action suits, lost future business and so on to the cost of doing a recall/redesign. Often whichever is lower will win out. Is it right? Is it fair? No, but that's how the big corp. run. Eventually, with enough complaints, bad press and warranty payouts the cost analysis will shift to doing a recall/redesign. I don't know if this is what is happening with MINI and the yo-yo but it's food for thought. I hope the yo-yo does get fixed but with the new engines coming in a year or two they may just write it off as a problem of the old (current) engine and use it as an opportunity to promote the new powerplant. My feeling is that they will fix the yo-yo however. There are a lot of MINIs out there now with it and there are going to be a hell of a lot sold between now and the rollout of the new engine. That's a lot of people complaining. In the meantime, happy motoring 
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5th Gear
Joined: Jun 2003
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The problem I have with the yo-yo is they claimed that v36 fixed the issue, in reality it got colder in the states having the problem so you couldn't detect it any longer. My thought is they will continue to have this run around...
oh yea we are fixing it,... nope don't have a fix just yet... oct or nov comes around... oh wait here is version 1337 it will fix it err something and if it doesn't maybe we will get it right next year
oh yea we are fixing it,... nope don't have a fix just yet... oct or nov comes around... oh wait here is version 1337 it will fix it err something and if it doesn't maybe we will get it right next year
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 447
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From: Right here smelling exhaust fumes
>>How many of these "what's wrong with your mini / bmw is evil" post can we have? My whole MINI experience has been wonderful. No issues with my car and Rassmussen MINI in Portland has been wonderful to work with. Maybe I'm just a rare "lucky" owner, but if I had a lemon, I would get rid of it ASAP. I mean we can still sell our cars for close to MSRP! Don't mean to offend, but I feel lucky to have such a wonderful automobile.
I completely agree with you... We seriously need to stop our whining. Our cars are amazing... if you don't agree, sell it. There are a ton of customers that would love thier own MINI. But please stop dragging MINIs through the mud... because all you are really doing is dragging our residuals down.
my .02 today. Thanks for listening.
I completely agree with you... We seriously need to stop our whining. Our cars are amazing... if you don't agree, sell it. There are a ton of customers that would love thier own MINI. But please stop dragging MINIs through the mud... because all you are really doing is dragging our residuals down.
my .02 today. Thanks for listening.
4th Gear
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 550
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From: Portland Oregon
Minor dealer rant. Refused warranty work for rattles in seatbelt mount (due to aftermarket springs) and refused to warranty warped front brake rotors (due to EBC Green pads). This from the same dealer, Rasmussen, as davecsumini. I might have been singled out due to a previous visit to get the rear camber adjusted after lowering. I asked the tech to adjust to -.75 deg and instead he set to -1.5 deg. After complaining they did not charge for the work but now I feel like I have been black listed. I only wish there was another dealer close by. Oh well! 
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>>>>How many of these "what's wrong with your mini / bmw is evil" post can we have? My whole MINI experience has been wonderful. No issues with my car and Rassmussen MINI in Portland has been wonderful to work with. Maybe I'm just a rare "lucky" owner, but if I had a lemon, I would get rid of it ASAP. I mean we can still sell our cars for close to MSRP! Don't mean to offend, but I feel lucky to have such a wonderful automobile.
>>
>>
>>I completely agree with you... We seriously need to stop our whining. Our cars are amazing... if you don't agree, sell it. There are a ton of customers that would love thier own MINI. But please stop dragging MINIs through the mud... because all you are really doing is dragging our residuals down.
>>
>>my .02 today. Thanks for listening.
Bravo, well said could we do poll on NAM? a rating on the MINI ,service,
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>>
>>I completely agree with you... We seriously need to stop our whining. Our cars are amazing... if you don't agree, sell it. There are a ton of customers that would love thier own MINI. But please stop dragging MINIs through the mud... because all you are really doing is dragging our residuals down.
>>
>>my .02 today. Thanks for listening.
Bravo, well said could we do poll on NAM? a rating on the MINI ,service,
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5th Gear
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oh and another thing with the yoyo because you have to engage the clutch so much, we are now getting a squeak on occasion from it. I'm assuming the Throughout(i think that's right) Bearing maybe going out, and as far as i know the dealership isn't going to cover replacing it.
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5th Gear
Joined: Jun 2003
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>>How many of these "what's wrong with your mini / bmw is evil" post can we have? My whole MINI experience has been wonderful. No issues with my car and Rassmussen MINI in Portland has been wonderful to work with. Maybe I'm just a rare "lucky" owner, but if I had a lemon, I would get rid of it ASAP. I mean we can still sell our cars for close to MSRP! Don't mean to offend, but I feel lucky to have such a wonderful automobile.
It's great that you have had a good exp with your car and your dealership, however many of us haven't and we have a right to complain about it. Also, what justice is it to sell a Lemon Car to another person?? So they can have the problems and deal with it and then trade it off. The dealership should fix the issue.
It's great that you have had a good exp with your car and your dealership, however many of us haven't and we have a right to complain about it. Also, what justice is it to sell a Lemon Car to another person?? So they can have the problems and deal with it and then trade it off. The dealership should fix the issue.
1st Gear
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 27
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>>>>How many of these "what's wrong with your mini / bmw is evil" post can we have? My whole MINI experience has been wonderful. No issues with my car and Rassmussen MINI in Portland has been wonderful to work with. Maybe I'm just a rare "lucky" owner, but if I had a lemon, I would get rid of it ASAP. I mean we can still sell our cars for close to MSRP! Don't mean to offend, but I feel lucky to have such a wonderful automobile.
>>
>>
>>I completely agree with you... We seriously need to stop our whining. Our cars are amazing... if you don't agree, sell it. There are a ton of customers that would love thier own MINI. But please stop dragging MINIs through the mud... because all you are really doing is dragging our residuals down.
>>
Actually, my point in starting the previous thread entitled "BMW/MINI: embodiment of corporate evil?" was to say that there really isn't such a thing as an evil corporation. The title was somewhat tongue-in-cheek. I think you can have a great experience or a lemon-ful experience in any make of car. So far, my experience with MINI has been great, despite a problem discovered within the first day of ownership (that is as of yet unresolved, but it's only been a week). My car is amazing, and if the windshield cracks and I develop severe yo-yo tomorrow, I would still be in love with it. I was hoping to get lots of people to say that things are going well.
But the truth is somewhere in between, at least from our relatively small sample here on NAM. There are a group of people with unresolved problems that range from slightly annoying to unsafe. But if MINI actually comes out with a real fix for the yo-yo within the next few months, it will silence many critics. Now there's just the windshield issue. I hope they can fix that too (perhaps newer cars have fewer problems with this since the new glass and A pillar reinforcements). I think some minor adjustments in MINIs customer relations would change a lot of minds.
>>
>>
>>I completely agree with you... We seriously need to stop our whining. Our cars are amazing... if you don't agree, sell it. There are a ton of customers that would love thier own MINI. But please stop dragging MINIs through the mud... because all you are really doing is dragging our residuals down.
>>
Actually, my point in starting the previous thread entitled "BMW/MINI: embodiment of corporate evil?" was to say that there really isn't such a thing as an evil corporation. The title was somewhat tongue-in-cheek. I think you can have a great experience or a lemon-ful experience in any make of car. So far, my experience with MINI has been great, despite a problem discovered within the first day of ownership (that is as of yet unresolved, but it's only been a week). My car is amazing, and if the windshield cracks and I develop severe yo-yo tomorrow, I would still be in love with it. I was hoping to get lots of people to say that things are going well.
But the truth is somewhere in between, at least from our relatively small sample here on NAM. There are a group of people with unresolved problems that range from slightly annoying to unsafe. But if MINI actually comes out with a real fix for the yo-yo within the next few months, it will silence many critics. Now there's just the windshield issue. I hope they can fix that too (perhaps newer cars have fewer problems with this since the new glass and A pillar reinforcements). I think some minor adjustments in MINIs customer relations would change a lot of minds.
pug poo picker-upper
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 9,803
Likes: 30
From: California
Originally posted by MINIChristina:
But please stop dragging MINIs through the mud... because all you are really doing is dragging our residuals down.
But please stop dragging MINIs through the mud... because all you are really doing is dragging our residuals down.
Yo-Yo is real problem
cracked windshields are a real problem
There are dealerships that aren't living up to their customers expectations
All of those are very real issues.
As far as residuals go, MINI has some of the best residuals of any car on the market.
so far my MCS has been great. :smile:
Not sure what this sweet smell Im getting latetly...possibly a coolant leak
but i checked verything last night and no leaks. Hope its just my new
Milltek gaskets breaking in.
Not sure what this sweet smell Im getting latetly...possibly a coolant leak
but i checked verything last night and no leaks. Hope its just my new
Milltek gaskets breaking in.
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 447
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From: Right here smelling exhaust fumes
>>
>>As far as residuals go, MINI has some of the best residuals of any car on the market.
That's because the public believes these cars are amazing... if they begin to believe otherwise, we can welcome ourselves to the PT cruiser club. 1 year old cars worth $3000.
Being an owner of 2 MINIs, I certainly want to continue driving the most amazing car with the HIGHEST residual out of any car on the market right now.
I understand your concern with having issues taken care of by MINI... One, maybe two posts for issues is great... but everyday, there are tons of new posts... new people who come to this site for guidence look at that and run quickly away from MINIs. Some people post "are there really that many problems?" Others never say a word and turn happily back to thier boring hondas.
pug poo picker-upper
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 9,803
Likes: 30
From: California
I really don't see the posting on NAM as being any different from posting on other enthusiast forums for other car makes.
People post when they have problems. They don't post very often to say "my car was problem free today."
> Some people post "are there really that many problems?"
I have seen that post or similar before many times on other forums. It's not unique to MINI. It's a function of having forums.
People post when they have problems. They don't post very often to say "my car was problem free today."
> Some people post "are there really that many problems?"
I have seen that post or similar before many times on other forums. It's not unique to MINI. It's a function of having forums.
^ IMO it would take a broadly held understanding that some aspect of the MINI really is crap (or at least below average) for public perceptions of the car to dramatically change. In the real world, relatively very few potential owners bother coming to a place like NAM to gather/form opinions. That said, if problems such as those reported here are indeed increasingly common (and I don't know if they are, but I suspect that there's some truth to the claim that they are), then residuals WILL decline sooner than they would eventually at any rate. This is as it should be, no matter if it's painful to those who might be calculating resale value. If you've got a trouble-free car, enjoy owning and driving it. If not, well, you pays your money and you takes your chances...resale-wise at least.
6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,733
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From: Bridgewater, NJ
I agree with DiD as well....go read any forum, car or not. When someone has a problem, it's out there quickly. I see it with cameras, watches other cars. Any forum that has a rabid following, is going to have rabid, angry people who are upset that their car/watch/camera that is supposed to be "amazing" is not so for them.....
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 447
Likes: 0
From: Right here smelling exhaust fumes
>>I agree with DiD as well....go read any forum, car or not. When someone has a problem, it's out there quickly. I see it with cameras, watches other cars. Any forum that has a rabid following, is going to have rabid, angry people who are upset that their car/watch/camera that is supposed to be "amazing" is not so for them.....
You are right... People that are happy with thier MINIs are out motoring :smile:
You are right... People that are happy with thier MINIs are out motoring :smile:
1st Gear
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 13
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From: San Jose Ca.
Warranty? Warranty isn’t worth a pile of crap if the manufacturer doesn’t fix the problems. I am to take delivery of my new MCS May 1. Before I placed my order I researched the holy you know what on these cars. At first this was to be a car for my college daughters birthday, but after driving one at Mach 9, I gotta have one.
I had heard of this yo-yo somewhat also the stumble. These words came to me by these varied threads. I have now done some more research on these words, thanks in part to mini owners like ya’ll. My choice is to purchase this car as planed. The varied opinions on this subject are not abnormal to a discussion group on any topic. One person’s nightmare may in fact be another’s dream. BMW/MINI have not reached the heights they have without something going right. I will put my faith in BMW/MINI that should my new MCS have a problem they will address it appropriately.
Take 10 mini’s take 10 people ask for a review after driving, shake “don’t stir” slowly pour into a thread and …..
When dealing with a mass of people, people should attend a mass of the mini. I bought my ticket.
Previous car Porsche 911 Carrera Cab, Future car Mini Cooper “S” I don’t see a thing wrong with that, do u?
I had heard of this yo-yo somewhat also the stumble. These words came to me by these varied threads. I have now done some more research on these words, thanks in part to mini owners like ya’ll. My choice is to purchase this car as planed. The varied opinions on this subject are not abnormal to a discussion group on any topic. One person’s nightmare may in fact be another’s dream. BMW/MINI have not reached the heights they have without something going right. I will put my faith in BMW/MINI that should my new MCS have a problem they will address it appropriately.
Take 10 mini’s take 10 people ask for a review after driving, shake “don’t stir” slowly pour into a thread and …..
When dealing with a mass of people, people should attend a mass of the mini. I bought my ticket.
Previous car Porsche 911 Carrera Cab, Future car Mini Cooper “S” I don’t see a thing wrong with that, do u?
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Joined: Jul 2002
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>>>>How many of these "what's wrong with your mini / bmw is evil" post can we have? My whole MINI experience has been wonderful. No issues with my car and Rassmussen MINI in Portland has been wonderful to work with. Maybe I'm just a rare "lucky" owner, but if I had a lemon, I would get rid of it ASAP. I mean we can still sell our cars for close to MSRP! Don't mean to offend, but I feel lucky to have such a wonderful automobile.
>>
>>
>>I completely agree with you... We seriously need to stop our whining. Our cars are amazing... if you don't agree, sell it. There are a ton of customers that would love thier own MINI. But please stop dragging MINIs through the mud... because all you are really doing is dragging our residuals down.
>>
>>my .02 today. Thanks for listening.
Amen girl!!!!!
>>
>>
>>I completely agree with you... We seriously need to stop our whining. Our cars are amazing... if you don't agree, sell it. There are a ton of customers that would love thier own MINI. But please stop dragging MINIs through the mud... because all you are really doing is dragging our residuals down.
>>
>>my .02 today. Thanks for listening.
Amen girl!!!!!