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MINI Cooper - READ ONLY

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Messages Page 169 of 268

#1678 of 2671 morning stutter, rattles by hpulley4

Oct 26, 2003 (7:25 am)

A reprogramming of the computer can help with the morning stutter. Also, I find ethanol blends (Sunoco, Pioneer, UPI, Petro Can 94) make it worse. Shell Optimax 91 and Esso Supreme 91 work best in my 2002 MINI Cooper.
 
I don't have a sunroof so I can't help there. In the first year of ownership your dealer should help with rattles, taking things apart and applying felt or other material. After a year, that won't be covered under warranty, I'm afraid.
 
My car has a few transient rattles but none have required dealer work. Some come and go, most have gone and went. It seems that the use of heat or AC can get the main dash vent going so I find the window or window/feet position is often best so it doesn't get the dash creaking. Be careful what you put in the door pockets and glove box as they can buzz.
 
Harry

#1679 of 2671 plant tour by eandlcubed

Oct 26, 2003 (11:17 am)

i do hope you are wrong with the closing of the plant (crossing my fingers). i will ask my sale agent regarding the plant operation. however she did assure me i can pick my car up there...
 
nicholls1: take these guys's advices they know what they talking about. i have read most of the posts and they are the reason i decided to buy the mini instead of waiting the new prius to come to my neck of the wood. good luck, you won't go wrong with either model

#1680 of 2671 Sunroof rattle + Stalling by stryder

Oct 26, 2003 (3:04 pm)

Older (like your '02) sunroofs would have the wind deflector rattle against the roof when it was closed. Various people and the 'official' fix (It'd be nice if BMW/MINIs technical bullitens were available) are to add some soft fabric on top of the wind deflector, so it can't rattle against the glass..
 
I'm a bit amazed assuming this is the problem that your dealer doesn't know about it.
 
Here's a website (but look quick, he sold his MINI so the site's closing the end of the month) http://www.r53w11.com/sunroofrattle.htm witth a picture and explantion. Hopefully that's the problem, since its relatively easy to solve. (Check for the wear marks on the deflector)
 
To contine what hpulley said, if your car doesn't have a more recent version of 'software' (they're by cds, the current one is 35, soon to be 36) it could have the stalling isse. If your dealer hasn't updated it since you bought the car, you can certainly benefit from getting the upgrade off the recent CD. Often though, a dealer will update your car as a fix to random problems, so it could be on a reciept from service.
 
If you do get your software done, be sure they re-program any settings, they'll get lost in the upgrade.

#1681 of 2671 eandicubed by ontheroadagain

Oct 26, 2003 (4:28 pm)

"nicholls1: take these guys's advices they know what they talking about. i have read most of the posts and they are the reason i decided to buy the mini instead of waiting the new prius to come to my neck of the wood. good luck, you won't go wrong with either model "
 
My sentiments exactly! I was tempted by the Prius, but the MINI won me over and reading every one of the threads on here helped tremendously.

#1682 of 2671 Thanks for the advice by minijulie

Oct 28, 2003 (6:20 pm)

Thank you soooo much for the advice on the rattles and stalling. It has been such a fustrating experience to deal with the dealer and now i can take something to them to say, this is the problem and this is how you fix it. MiniJulie

#1683 of 2671 Hit by A Deer & a question by surjn98

Oct 30, 2003 (8:21 pm)

A deer hit our 2003 Red Mini and was surprised by how well the Mini took the impact. It was a dark road and traveling at around 40mph and a deer ran across. So the impact was pretty hard. It hit the front passenger side and missed the headlight. It did break the passenger side rearview mirror. There was a dent just beside the headlight.
The body is well built and the metal is extremely sturdy/thick. I came home and compared the Toyota's metal and was basically like paper when compared to the MINI. Makes me think if I should buy a Toyota the next time!
Anyway, I'm not sure how much it will cost to fix the panel/side rearview. I'm sure our insurance will cover it, but does our premium go up by something like a deer hit? We've never had any tickets/accidents.

#1684 of 2671 Deer by markjenn

Oct 30, 2003 (9:30 pm)

Insurance companys vary widely in how they react to a claim. It depends on the company, how long you've been insured with them, your long-term claim history, what risk category you're in, etc. But generally, one claim, in and of itself, will not affect your premium, other than perhaps losing a "no claim" discount.
 
Regardless, if the damage exceeds your deductable by a significant amount, make a claim. What's the point of insurance if you're not going to use it?
 
I don't think they pay a whole lot of attention to the accident type. To them, a claim is a claim and they're losing money. They lose enough, they raise rates and/or drop you.
 
- Mark

#1685 of 2671 Fixing MINIs by stryder

Oct 30, 2003 (9:36 pm)

I had someone back into me (don't ask, he was being an idiot and I was in traffic and couldn't move) anyway. If its only sheet metal and the mirror that are broken, MINIs aren't very expensive to fix. If you start getting into more underlying stuff, it can get quite expensive. I hope the airbags didn't go off, they're pricy.
 
Anyway, as far as insurance, it depends on your company. Most of them are pretty nice with no-fault type accidents, (like hitting a deer) And especially since you've probably paid thousands to them and never had a claim over the years, they may just forgive you. But its hard to say, even if they do charge you, its usually only a fixed percentage increase which might be written out in your policy, your premium shouldn't suddenly double.
 
In any event, MINIs are certainly well built and safe. Someone hit a moose, and had similar damage to you, except part of the suspension was bent.
 
Hope that helps, and remember the important part is the people inside the car.
 
May your MINI be fixed swiftly and you be motoring again soon.

#1686 of 2671 hitting a deer or going into a ditch is cheap by hpulley4

Oct 31, 2003 (5:01 am)

It's when people are involved that things get expensive. These days up here 'soft tissue damage' is causing an uproar with people getting physio, massages, help around the house, etc. etc. for years after simple low-speed accidents. This is what makes premiums go up.
 
Sorry for the deer, it doesn't have insurance and can't sue you. The mere cost of a few hundred or thousand dollars of body damage is nothing to an insurance company. It's tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical costs and lost wages that are the problem.
 
If they'd hit a Xenon light that would be expensive. Halogens are cheap, as are the rear light clusters. If you end up with suspension and/or steering damage then it gets expensive. I've seen some new ones that were written off quickly or should have been with a lot of front-end damage.

#1687 of 2671 Poor deer by ontheroadagain

Oct 31, 2003 (4:44 pm)

But I am glad you were AOK and that your MINI withstood it well...that said, I hate the feeling that I've hit an animal.
 
Fortunately it has only happened to me once and it was a opossum.

Messages Page 169 of 268

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