2007 MINI COOPER Complaints

2007 MINI COOPER HARDTOP PURCHASED MAY 7, 2015 SUFFERED MAJOR ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO MANUFACTURER DEFECTIVE TIMING CHAIN & TIMING TENSIONER ISSUES, RESULTING IN LOUD TICKING INSIDE OF THE ENGINE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE..ESTIMATES TOTALING UP TO $2400.00 IN REPAIRS.....VEHICLE AT THIS POINT IS INOPERABLE.

HAVING EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS AS DETAILED IN A SIMILAR RECALL (NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V205000 -- FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT), IN ADDITION TO HAVING GOT A 93C3 FAULT CODE (SEAT-OCCUPANCY DETECTOR, PASSENGER). SEEMS OBVIOUS THAT THE DEFECT IS THE SAME DESPITE THE SUB-MODEL NOT BEING THE SAME (MINE IS A 2007 R56 MINI CLUBMAN, CLOSEST RECALLED MODEL IS 2007 R52 MINI CONVERTIBLE).

AIR BAG LIGHT TURNED ON. PERFORMED A FAULT SURVEY AND FOUND THERE IS 1 RELATED FAULT CODE IN THE MRS CONTROL UNIT. PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR, NOT CURRENTLY PRESENT, OCCURRED 12 TIMES. NEED TO REPLACE THE SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR AND RE PROGRAM THE MRS CONTROL UNIT. TOTAL REPLACEMENT COST: $1,164.47 CALLED MINI HEADQUARTERS AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NO WARRANTY OR RECALL FOR MY SPECIFIC CAR. HOWEVER, THEY TOLD ME THAT THE 2005, 2006 MINI COOPER HAD A RECALL FOR THE SEAT SENSOR. THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE RECALLED FOR THE 2007 MODEL AS WELL.

FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG DETECTION MAT BECAME INOPERABLE AT ABOUT 60,000 MILES. MY CAR IS MFG 4 MONTHS OUTSIDE OF THE RECALL TIME FRAME YET THIS VERY SAME MFG DATE IS WELL WITHIN THE "CONVERTIBLE MODELS" RECALL DATE. I FEEL THE "NON-CONVERTIBLE MODELS" RECALL TIME FRAME SHOULD BE RE-EVALUATED BECAUSE THERE ARE TOO MANY OF US WITH THIS VERY SAME PROBLEM. WHEN I TOOK MY CAR TO MINI TO BE FIXED THEY TOLD ME THEY'VE SEEN MANY VEHICLES OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICIAL RECALL DATES WITH THIS PROBLEM.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 MINI COOPER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER AND THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING UNIT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 43,002. .. UPDATED 09/30/15*BF

WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND FLAMES STARTED COMING OUT FROM THE FRONT OF THE CAR AND BURNT TO THE GROUND. CAR ONLY HAD 27000 MILES ON IT AND WAS WELL MAINTAINED AND IN PERFECT CONDITION.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 MINI COOPER S. WHEN THE IGNITION SWITCH WAS TURNED TO THE RUN POSITION, THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DID NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN THE SEAT WAS OCCUPIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 73,000.

INITIALLY THERE WAS AN INTERMITTENT INDICATION THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG WAS DEACTIVATED. PROBLEM IS GETTING TO BE MORE FREQUENT. OBDII FAULT CODE "93C3 SEAT-OCCUPANCY DETECTOR" IS SET. I AM TOLD THIS IS THE SAME FAULT CODE THAT RESULTED IN A RECALL OF THE 2006 MODEL YEAR MINI COOPER.

AT ANY GIVEN SPEED OR CONDITION THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATES, MEANING THAT THE AIRBAG MAY NOT DEPLOY IN A CRASH . IN SOME INSTANCES THE LIGHTS WILL DISAPPEAR, BUT AT OTHER TIMES THE LIGHTS ARE ILLUMINATED CONTINUOUSLY. IT IS OF GREAT CONCERN THAT THIS PART HAS BEEN RECALLED AS A DEFECTIVE PART, BUT BECAUSE MY PRODUCTION DATE IS MERELY ONE MONTH OFF THERE IS NO RELIEF . IT SEEMS CONCERNING THAT THERE MAY BE A NUMBER OF THESE UNSAFE VEHICLES ON THE ROAD, BUT GIVEN THE DELAY TO INCLUDE THEM IN THE RECALL, MANY LIVES MAY UNKNOWINGLY BE AT RISK.

MY 2007 MINI PASSENGER AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND I HAD TO HAVE THE SEAT REPLACED BY THE DEALER DUE TO WEIGHT SENSOR FAILURE IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. IT WAS A DEFECTIVE FAULTY PASSENGER SEAT WEIGHT HARNESS SENSOR FAILURE ACCORDING TO THE DEALER. THE WHOLE SEAT HAD TO BE REPLACED AS A RESULT OF THE DEFECT. I NOW SEE THAT NHSTA/BMW IS RECALLING MINI COOPERS FOR THE SAME PROBLEM BUT ACCORDING TO THE DEALER AND THE CUSTOMER SERVICE HOT LINE REP MY MINI IS NOT ON THE RECALL LIST. IT SHOULD BE. I HAVE NOTE MANY MINI OWNER COMPLAINTS OF THE SAME PROBLEM AND YEAR AS MY CAR ON LINE. THE CAR RARELY HAS A PASSENGER IN THE PASSENGER SEAT AND THE SAFETY AIR BAG HARNESS SHOULD NOT OF FAILED AT SUCH A LOW MILEAGE USAGE. THE RECALL NOTICE AS PRESENTED IN AUTO BLOG FOLLOWS. MINI IS RECALLING 91,800 HATCHBACKS AND CONVERTIBLES DUE A POTENTIALLY MALFUNCTIONING SENSOR THAT MAY FAIL TO DEPLOY THE FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.