1st Gen R50 Cooper Most liked posts in thread: Electrical gremlin!

Yes, both airbags deployed.

There was a problem with the steering angle sensor & something to do with the sensors that ignite the airbags. Schultze had been checked a few times for the horn not working, but of course, the diagnosis ALWAYS was "unable to duplicate/recreate issue", yada yada yada.

The driver airbag was replaced TWICE as defective and they refused to replace the 2nd airbag even though the MINI emblem in the center wasn't fully glued/adhered to the rest of the unit. If I'm not careful, it will snag a sweater or scratch my arm. The emblem isn't sold separately, so the entire unit would need to be replaced and they refuse to do so for "cosmetic" reasons even though the scratch was bad enough to draw blood a few times. :incazzato:

I've considered using a small syringe to place some 91% rubbing alcohol to dissolve the adhesive and remove the MINI emblem, but I'm afraid the blank area left behind will look, well, lacking character.

 

What book have you added to your personal library?

It sounds like it's full of very useful info and sounds like a book I should own.

 

Cool!

I have an R50, so I doubt that manual would be useful to me...I did read a post from K-Huevo that the hardbound version has much more info, so I guess I should start searching for one to replace my softbound...

 

Schultze has an appt with the dealership on 09/01.

The Blue Ribbon Shop (BRS) did all the work except the airbags and electrical; the dealership did those repairs but the entire accident repairs are guaranteed for as long as I own Schultze.

Nationwide has asked that I have the dealership do a complete inspection & diagnosis; if the issue IS a result of the accident, the diagnosis fee & subsequent repairs will be covered 100% by Nationwide.

If the diagnosis states that it's "wear & tear" or not related to the accident, then the diagnosis fee is 100% my responsibility, as well as the subsequent repairs.

So....

I pulled out my Bentley and discovered this under ECL-17:

Fig 5. Fuse and relay panel 2 (rear)

Behind cover in left kick panel, remove fuse panel and turn over. (HOW???)

D = Rear window wiper relay (IO1142) and Horn Relay (K42)



The clicking sound seems loudest near that fuse panel but I cannot figure out how to remove the fuse panel to turn it over & check the K42 relay/fuse.

(help....)

 

Mine is the same; I have never had a problem removing the black cover and checking/replacing the fuses.

However, here's the problem...the Bentley says that the fuse holder itself is removable AND flippable; it's double-sided: one side has the blade fuses and the other side has the box/rectangular fuses/relays.

I need to figure out how to remove & flip the entire unit so that I can access the other side. That's what has me stumped.

 

So I get to the dealership this morning to drop-off Schultze.

The porter checking him in is nice & friendly. I meet with the service advisor who informs me that I **must** initial responsibility for the $149.99 diagnostic fee even though it is being covered by Nationwide.

He sends me over to the other side of the building to pickup my loaner vehicle.

I discover that I don't have my license with me, so they cannot put me into a loaner. I head back over to the other side of the building and I come upon the Service MANAGER, the Assistant Service Mgr, & a Motoring Adviser discussing MY MINI in a VERY derogatory manner within earshot of OTHER CUSTOMERS!

Additionally, I stop to see that there are now 4...yes, F-O-U-R porters inspecting Schultze inside & out, looking for damage. A customer in the bay remarks that it's weird that a small car like a MINI needs 4 porters to check it in while her BMW only received 1 porter.

The Motoring Advisor & Assistant Service Mgr see me, but the Service Manager DOESN'T stop running his mouth because he cannot see me. The two men with him get his attention and he slowly turns to face me & suddenly has the deer-in-headlights look and "cheerfully" greets me.

Icy. Cold. Stare. From. Me.

I had a few words with him and then went to speak with the Service Adviser who THEN informs me that I shouldn't have received a loaner since Nationwide is supposed to cover all costs, so I should utilize the rental car coverage.

I reminded him that I made it VERY clear to the Appt Scheduler that this was related to the 2008 accident and would be covered by Nationwide & I made it a POINT to ask if this would be a problem and after being put on hold while she checked with her supervisor I was then told NO PROBLEM. I also reminded him that when I received the courtesy reminder call for my appt. that I **AGAIN** asked to make sure there would be no problem since it was being covered by Nationwide.

His reply?

I don't think they would've told you there wouldn't be a problem. (YES, HE IS CALLING ME A LIAR IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS AT THIS POINT!!!)

I take a deep breath.

"Ok, I know for a FACT that you record EVERY phone call, so I would recommend that the recordings be pulled and you will hear for yourself that everything I have said is TRUE and if a mistake was made by the Appt. Scheduler AND THEIR SUPERVISOR, perhaps the phone calls can be used as a training opportunity so the same misunderstanding doesn't happen to another customer."

I then ask what would've happened it I hadn't forgotten my license and would've left in a loaner.

"We would've billed you for the loaner when you returned the vehicle and if you don't have rental coverage, then you'd be 100% responsible for the cost of the loaner."

I ask for my key and he says it's in the car.

I leave his office and the Service Manager is near my car. Apparently he had been watching while I was in the Service Adviser's office...I can become quite animated with my hands when I'm upset.

I let him know in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that the ONLY reason I brought Schultze back to them was because Nationwide said I had to because they were the ones who did the electrical/airbag work from the accident. I told him that I would be contacting Nationwide to let them know what transpired and that different arrangements would need to be made because I have simply lost ALL trust in the dealership.

I got into Schultze and left.

I was so angry and frustrated at that point that I started to cry. If I hadn't walked back over to the service side, I would've never heard what the Service Manager was saying about MY MINI and I would've never seen that they decided to have FOUR porters go over my car with a fine tooth comb.

It's important to note that the dealership has damaged my car several times in the past, with the largest dollar amount being due to IGNORING my "NO WASH" order and putting Schultze through the automated wash which ruined the custom pin-striping that was on the bonnet, boot, and under each door handle.

If you were to see what automatically prints when a service order is created for me, you'd see FIVE lines of NO COURTESY WASH NO COURTESY WASH NO COURTESY WASH over and over and over.

It's HARD to miss that kind of instruction, but they did, and it cost them a good chunk of money.

Then they CURBED my powder-coated wheel AND damaged another center-cap which had been custom-painted to match the powder-coating. They promise to have it repaired at no cost to me. I point out that it's powder-coated and CANNOT be repaired as if it were painted.

No problem.

I come back to pick him up a few days later and yes, they had a guy come out to do the repair AS IF IT WAS PAINTED!!! Oh, and in the process of removing the wheel that had damage to the powder-coating, he DAMAGED that wheel's center-cap and the repair he did on the ORIGINALLY damaged center-cap looks like he used old nail polish!

So now I had to make arrangements to get the wheel & two center-caps properly repaired by the company who did the original work.

I submit the receipt for reimbursement and they DISPUTE it!!! I ended up having to pay for one of the center-caps even though it wasn't my mistake.

$25 for something that I did NOT cause, but I was just so damned tired of the BS at that point and I simply wanted Schultze back.

I will N-E-V-E-R recommend that dealership to anyone. This happens to be the SAME dealership that told me they are REQUIRED to bill the full rate for the alarm activation.

We have a STRONG club presence in the area and more & more of our members are willing to travel TWO HOURS to the other dealership in the area. Many who purchased their first MINI from this dealership and bought their second & third MINIs from the dealership that is two hours away.

That's how bad it has gotten.

Thanks for letting me vent.

 

Jim,

This particular dealership has completely stopped giving the surveys to certain club members, including myself.

They have a policy of REQUIRING that the surveys be filled out BEFORE the porter even brings your MINI into the pickup area. How in the heck are we supposed to rate service if we can't even INSPECT the MINI before completing the survey?

The surveys are generic photocopies. I staunchly believe that if the scores are less than 4.5 avg, the survey is merely shredded.

Solution?

The surveys should be alpha-numeric codes given on a business card with a toll-free number for the customer to call at their leisure. When the MINI is brought in for the service appt, each service order has a "serial number". When the customer calls in to participate in the survey, THAT is when the alpha-numeric code is linked to the service order.

 

I seriously doubt that MINIUSA would even care.

I mean, the surveys ARE "anonymous" pieces of paper. Is MINIUSA going to actually request the # of service orders performed and see if the exact matching number of surveys were submitted? Remember, the surveys ARE photocopies to begin with...and they aren't pre-printed with consecutive serial numbers........