If I could give the service department zero stars, I would. Hands down the worst service department of any dealership I have ever had to go to. My first experience with the Mini of The Woodlands was early last year, when I owned a 2015 Mini Cooper S. I kept loosing power to the engine and the vehicle would not engage to a higher gear. When I took it to them they said they could not duplicate the issue. They said they checked the coils and the spark plugs and still could not find the problem. I had already almost wrecked once, when this issue happened, because it seemed to occur at speeds above 50 mph. That weekend I had to drive to Austin on business and it happened to me again on Hwy 290, when I was going 65 mph and I almost lost control of the vehicle. Since I was already in Austin, I took the car to Mini of Austin and they immediately found the problem and fixed it. I since purchased a 2019 Mini Cooper JCW Convertible (back in May 2018), which I bought from Mini of Austin and discovered a few issues after a few months. 1: The first problem was when it rained heavily, the vehicle would leak near where the top seals near the front, where the windshield touches the passenger door window. Mini of the woodlands could not duplicate it. I had to take the vehicle into a touch-less car wash and post the video on youtube, to show them exactly how the leak occurred. They finally were able to find the problem and fix it. 2: The wireless charger in the car would overheat my iPhone X to the point where the phone would turn itself off, due to it overheating. Mini of the Woodlands said they could not duplicate the issue. I purchased from Amazon a temperature sensor for $9, took the phone out of the case, to show that the case didn't help cause the overheating, put the sensor on the bottom between the wireless charger and the phone and drove the vehicle. After just 20 minutes of being on the road, the sensor said that my phone had reached a temperature of 125 degrees and it was still climbing. I showed this video to the Mini of the Woodlands and they still said they could not duplicate my issue. When I asked them how they tested it, they said that they left my vehicle idle at their dealership, even though I told them that the issue occurs when you actually drive the car, not let it sit idle. So for good measure, I had the service manager get in the car with me and put his phone (which was an android) into the charging station. After just 9 minutes of driving around, his phone went over 115 degrees. And yet still the service manager said he would not try to replace or attempt to repair the wireless charger. The best they can do is to disconnect it, even though I paid $1250 for that package which included the wireless charger. And to add insult to injury, when I reached out to Mini USA, they only offered me a 45% price reduction in replacing the wireless charger, which should have been covered on my warranty. I refused their offer. Luckily for me there is the Momentum Mini in Houston, which has the same level of service as Mini of Austin, so at least I have an option for some good service. I tried to reach out to the GM of The Mini of The Woodlands, when I was having all these issues with the service department, which I learned was actually managed by the GM of BMW of the woodlands. I have left him and his associate several messages and never got a phone call back. Service like this is what puts people off from wanting to buy a vehicle and I am on my 3rd Mini Cooper.
Edwin Baez
Jul 10, 2019
