2004 Disappointment

My 2004 mini 5 speed wouldn't start the other day. After two tries with AAA they towed it to the dealer. The dealer said that the bad news was that the battery was dead and costs $129 for a new one. The good news was that there was a factory recall on it and they replaced it for free. While there, they told me my transmission was ruined and needed replacement. Combined with a new clutch (needed but not required) the bill was $5000. The next bad news was that my car was 5K miles out of warrenty. After fixing it they told me that the brake rotors were in need of replacement. I looked at the rotors and there was nearly nothing left of them. None of this is phoney. The faults are real. What I am upset about is that the dealer never told me about the warrenty nearing expiration and secondly, the transmission problem was systemmic and had to have been bad much prior to the event. Talking to the manufacturer was of no help. They just sent me back to the dealer. I doubt my problems are unique. Better have yours checked out.

Reply to
Alan R. Hill
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We had a problem on our 2004S with the transmission leaking which required 2 visits to the dealer to fix. A seal was bad. Luckily it was still under warranty. It is possible the transmission was ruined by lack of fluid. Did you check out service bulletins to see if they were aware of this problem and didn't notify you? You may have a case to get the dealer to repair or at least reduce the price.

As for brake rotors, the shop I use replaces the rotors when they replace the brakes because they have found that not replacing the rotors will result in noise and vibration. The sensor on the brakes to notify you when they are worn down are on one wheel only. It is possible that the other pads wore down more quickly but I would have thought you would have heard them.

Reply to
nobody

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