Audi maintenance is extremely important and necessary if you want to maintain the long life expectancy Audi has strived so long and hard to achieve. Sure, in a perfect world, items of luxury would live forever making our investment in such indulgences a no-brainer. Unfortunately we are not there yet, but it would not be surprising if Audi was the first of its class to finally achieve Energizer Bunny status, eliminating Audi maintenance requirements all together.

Cars have come a long way since the need of full-service gas stations, and modern advancements have extended automobile service increments in a big way. As for as driving forever with not so much as a tire change…well, that most probably will never be seen, not in our lifetime anyway. The good news is that adhering to a regular Audi maintenance schedule is the easiest way to insure you will receive hundreds of thousands of miles in high-performance driving luxury inherent to the Audi name.

Audi has recommended service intervals which are geared toward vehicles driven under normal driving conditions. Vehicles operated under more severe conditions will require more frequent intervals to check wear and tear items such as brake pads, tires, brake discs, and clutches and proper functioning and replacement. Audi maintenance intervals exist in three types of service groups: oil service, minor maintenance and major maintenance. Excluded from the major service groups are other intervals based on time rather than mileage. Below is a list of the Audi components that are serviced within the different types of maintenance schedules.

1. Audi Oil Change & Basic Service Intervals (5/25/45/65/85/105/125K Maintenance Procedures) Checks, changes, refills, and resets of all of the below items as they apply:

• Engine Oil and Oil Filter
• Tires
• AdBlue Fluid
• Wiper Blades
• Wiper/Washer/Headlight Washer
• Service Reminder Display
• Brake System
• Diesel Particle Filter
• All Other Fluid Checks

2. Minor Maintenance (15/55/95K) Includes all of the above oil service plus the following checks, changes, refills, and resets of the below items as they apply:

• Drive Shaft Boots
• Air Cleaner
• Spark Plugs
• Ribbed V Belt and Tensioner
• Snow Screen for Air Cleaner
• Underbody
• Road Test
• Rear Lid Hinges
• Horn
• Fuel Filter
• Plenum Panel

3. Major Maintenance (35/75/115K Miles)

• Engine Oil and Oil Filter
• Tires
• AdBlue Fluid
• Wiper Blades
• Wiper/Washer/Headlight Washer
• Service Reminder Display
• Brake System
• Cooling System
• Exhaust System
• Engine On Board Diagnostics
• Engine Compartment
• Battery
• Dust and Pollen Filter
• Automatic or Manual Transmission and Final Drive
• Haldex Clutch
• Front Axel
• Lights
• Drive Shaft Boots
• Doors
• Spark Plugs
• Continuously Variable Transmission (multitronic)
• Power Steering Fluid
• Air Cleaner
• Ribbed V Belt and Tensioner
• Snow Screen for Air Filter
• Underbody
• Road Test
• Rear Lid Hinges
• Horn
• Brake Discs
• Lights
• Interior Lights
• DSG/S Tronic
• Fuel Filter

As you can see, Audi maintenance is a thorough process that can only be done by a certified Audi technician using Audi Genuine Parts for all the necessary replacements and repairs. A certified Audi establishment, whether it be the dealership or a local garage, will know what parts, filters, and fluids are required to be replaced to be covered under warranty and the ones that need to be checked for wear and tear.

At Today’s European Cars, we have trained Audi technicians available with decades of accumulated experience to help you with all of your major and minor repairs and services. We have been servicing imports in Houston since 1985 and are available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. to happily answer any questions you may have about your Audi maintenance and repairs.

Mini Cooper service is expensive enough without the cost of bringing them into the dealership. They tend to have common problems with brake pads wearing out very quickly, and the electric power steering pumps fail quite often, along with other faulty engineering problems. So it is particularly important for MINI owners to stay on top of their Mini Cooper service schedules in order to prevent giant problems from occurring down the road. Finding a reputable auto shop that specializes in Mini Cooper service can help you through these frustrating times and get your MINI back on the road where it is most happy.

What is great about the BMW MINI’s is that they have made it easy for you to know the exact maintenance intervals needed for your car thanks to a sophisticated interplay between technologies both inside and out of the cockpit. Information on fluid levels and servicing requirements appears on the displays on both the rev counter and on the MINI remote key. This makes it a cinch for MINI technicians to access this information using a key reader in order to quickly access what exactly needs to be serviced.

Mini Cooper service intervals really depend on how much you drive your car and how far you travel. Also the conditions under which you drive your MINI are also factored into the service equation. So your MINI electronically reassesses exactly when the next inspection is due every thirty miles as you will see by the flashing numbers. When you bring your MINI in for a scheduled inspection, your MINI technician will check brakes, steering, oil and transmission for wear and tear, as well as, topping off all fluids or exchanged if necessary. The final task is to reset the service interval display.

A standard MINI feature is the Condition Based Service display or CBS. The great thing about this feature is that it constantly monitors the current service status of your MINI. So rather than dealing with fixed service intervals whether your MINI needs them or not, the CBS will tell you exactly when your service work is needed. Sensors and special algorithms monitor engine oil, brake fluid and wear and tear parts such as brake pads, steering pumps, and transmission. MINI’s brake pad sensor, or wear indicator, is located in the brake pads on the left of the front axle and the right of the rear axle. The indicator warning light is activated when the brake pads have reached their maximum limit. The rev counter also tells you when it’s time for an oil change. Depending on your driving style and frequency, you do not have to give your MINI its first oil change until 12,000 miles are on the clock then roughly every 20,000 miles after that. You will need to change your brake fluid about every two years. However, if you forget, your MINI will remind you of this as well.

At Today’s European Cars, we are equipped to handle all of your Mini Cooper service and repairs. We have been serving the Houston area since 1986 with trained technicians and friendly staff. Give us a call today!

We are conveniently located in Houston TX just west of the Galleria, and service mainly the Memorial, West University, Mid Town, Heights, Downtown, River Oaks, Sugarland and Bellaire areas.

Mini Coopers are one of the most recognizable cars on the road, beloved by all who enjoy zipping around with go-cart like precision and hot wheel toy like cuteness. You can see new owners maneuver through Houston traffic with a grin, but could it be they are smiling over their free Mini Cooper maintenance program above anything else? Mini Cooper is the only manufacturer that offers an extensive maintenance program package that is free for the first 3 years, or 36,000 miles. Mini Cooper maintenance includes all factory maintenance, oil service and inspections, as well as, specific items that need replacing due to normal wear and tear. These items include things like brake pads, brake rotors, and wiper blade inserts. Other car owners are not so fortunate and may have to spend several hundred dollars within the first three years in maintenance fees or repairs. Maybe this is why they are smiling.

Mini Coopers are passing up gas pumps left and right with their excellent fuel economy, darting around the city with pep in their step. But what happens when the doctor visits aren’t free anymore. Your Mini has turned the big 4, and its free Mini Cooper maintenance is a thing of the past? MINI owners still need to keep their MINI’s feeling young with regularly scheduled maintenance. After all, they aren’t the youthful age of 3 anymore. But Mini Cooper maintenance can be expensive, so it is important that you purchase an extended warranty. MINI offers a 4 year/50,000 mile MINI Passenger Car Limited Warranty. Newer models from 2003 to 2010 also have a 12-year/unlimited mileage warranty and older versions are offered a 6 year/unlimited mileage warranty against rust and corrosion. MINI requires that all work covered under warranty must be done at an authorized MINI dealer where technicians have the proper tools and training to work on your MINI.

In the event your warranties have expired, you have the option to either continue using the dealership to service your MINI, or you can chose a local foreign repair shop, whatever is convenient to you. Most vehicle owners, if they find the right one, opt for a reputable foreign auto shop for several reasons, the first being affordability.  Dealerships are proud of their technicians. Because of the degree of specialized training dealership technicians undergo, they are paid more than the technicians at your local shop that only have A.S.E. certifications. You, then, are left to pick up the slack with your pocket book. Although A.S.E. training is less “make specific” than those from the dealerships, they can possess expert knowledge as well, and save you a lot of money.

Another plus in using a local repair shop for your Mini Cooper maintenance is personal relationships. Getting to know your mechanic establishes trust, instills confidence, and allows for greater communication between yourself and your mechanic about the upkeep and repair of your vehicle, something you can’t get from a dealership. Location and convenience is also an attractive asset that small repair shops have over huge dealerships. When you find a shop that knows you and your car and is located just minutes up the road, most people would say you would be crazy to trek all the way to the dealership. And always make sure that you bring your MINI to a place that has the tools and training to work on your make of car. Find a repair shop that specializes in foreign auto repair. After all, your MINI is special, and it deserves to be treated as such.

We are conveniently located in South West Houston TX just west of the Galleria, and service mainly the Memorial, West University, Mid Town, Heights, Sugarland and Bellaire areas.

MINI Cooper repair seems to be a sore topic of conversation among MINI owners. Consumer complaints are rampant with frustrated owners who are going to their dealerships for answers, but instead are still being left in the dark. If you go online and search “MINI Cooper repair”, you will find pages and pages of customer write ups, blogs, and articles that illustrate the incompetency of a good majority of MINI dealerships. There seems to be two parts to this problem. One is that MINI has had a slew of faulty engineering problems, and secondly, a lot of dealership technicians have received sub-par training. As a result, MINI owners are finding that almost 30% of the time their car is locked up at the dealership with everyone scratching their heads.

There have been so many complaints about MINI dealerships guessing as to what the problem is and charging in some cases more than the car is worth for repairs, only to find out shortly after that, the problem still is not fixed, or several other problems have popped up after leaving the shop. Common complaints have been that the brake pads wear out very quickly, within the first 17,000 miles. Also, on models 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, there seems to be a problem with engine knocking at cold start up. Many customers have reported that some dealerships are saying that this is “normal”. This is not the case. These models have faulty timing chain systems, which tend to fail within the first 10,000. If you wait until the timing chain completely fails, you will have complete engine failure and destruction. Other common complaints have been that MINI’s power steering cooling fans fail often, power window motor fans fail at a pretty high rate, hydraulic motor mounts fail, and transmission failure has been a huge issue.

One has to wonder just how much the dealerships’ know and how much are they are actually willing to admit about BMW’s faulty engineering when it comes to MINI Cooper repair. Questionable dealerships seem to be trying every trick in the book to avoid covering problems which are under warranty and charging customers for costly work and parts that in too many cases were completely unnecessary.

On the flip side, MINI’s are fun to drive, when they are working, and they are arguably the most unique and adorable cars on the road. Happy owners are those who have done their research enough to know the story behind MINI Cooper repair, and how completely necessary it is to buy MINI’s extended warranty plans for one. Secondly, there are MINI dealerships out there that aren’t so bad, and happy customers are ones who have lucked out and found a good one that is close to home. And if you are really fortunate, you have found a local and competent MINI Cooper repair shop that understands your MINI’s eccentricities and complications, with certified technicians who are more than happy to get the kinks out of your car in no time flat.

Today’s European Cars has been serving the Houston area since 1986. We have a professional staff of ASE certified technicians available for your MINI Cooper repair needs. We have the proper tools and diagnostics on hand to assess your MINI’s problems quickly, as well as, years of experience with MINI Cooper owners. Owning a MINI should be a pleasant experience. Avoid dealership nightmares by giving us a call today.

We are conveniently located in Houston TX just west of the Galleria, and service mainly the Memorial, West University, Mid Town, Heights, Downtown, River Oaks, Sugarland and Bellaire areas.