2009 MINI COOPER Complaints

AT ABOUT 64500 MILES THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT AND AIR BAG LIGHTS CAME ON INTERMITTENTLY AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER THEY STAYED ON. LOCAL MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT THE PASSENGER SEAT SWITCH WAS PROBABLY THE CULPRIT. AND LOCATED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN FOR THIS PROBLEM. A CALL TO KEELER MOTOR CAR CO. SAID THE BAGS WOULD WORK AS DESIGNED, BUT WOULDN'T PUT THAT IN WRITING AND FURTHERED "CLARIFIED" HER ANSWER BY ADDING "AS FAR AS I KNOW". A SECOND CALL FROM A DIFFERENT PERSON SAID IF THE LIGHTS ARE ON THEN THE BAGS WOULD PROBABLY NOT WORK. BUT COULDN'T TELL ME IF JUST PASSENGER SIDE WOULD OR WOULDN'T WORK OR ALL THE AIR BAGS.

THE PASSENGERS SEAT OCCUPANCY DETECTOR IN MY 2009 MINI COOPER CLUBMAN S IS NOT FUNCTIONING AND IT WON'T ALLOW ANY AIRBAG TO ACTIVATE. THE PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT IS CONSTANTLY ON AND IT IS A SAFETY HAZARD AND I WILL NOT DRIVE THE CAR WITH NO WORKING AIRBAGS. IT STARTED WHEN I STARTED THE VEHICLE ON 8/14 AND REPLACEMENT PARTS ARE ON BACKORDER.

I PURCHASED THIS CAR NEW. AFTER THE ORIGINAL WARRANTY EXPIRED, I EXPERIENCED ISSUES WITH THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY MAT. DUE TO THE HIGH COST TO REPAIR, AND THAT MINI HAD A RECALL ON THEIR 2008 MODELS FOR THIS SAME ISSUE, I CHOSE NOT TO REPAIR IT AND NOW HAVE 157,000 MILES ON THE CAR. I ASSUMED MINI WOULD EVENTUALLY INCLUDE THE 2009 MODELS IN THE RECALL. MINI HAS NOW SENT ME A LETTER OFFERING AN "EXTENDED WARRANTY" FOR THIS ISSUE ON MY CAR. HOWEVER, SINCE I ACTUALLY DRIVE MY CAR AND HAVE OVER 120,000 MILES, MINI WILL NOT REPAIR MY CAR UNDER THIS "EXTENDED WARRANTY." THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE A RECALL. I SHOULD NOT BE PENALIZED FOR A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE MY CAR HAS MORE MILES ON IT. I HAVE CONTACTED MINI, AND MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP AND THEY WILL NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS ISSUE. I SELDOM DRIVE THE CAR WITH PASSENGERS NOW AS I FEAR FOR THEIR SAFETY. MINI HAS LOST A CUSTOMER.

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A 2009 MINI COOPER AND THE AIRBAG AND SEATBELT WARNING LIGHTS COME ON WHENEVER I GET IN THE CAR. THE LIGHT CAME ON RECENTLY WHEN I STARTED THE CAR AND IT NOW OCCURS EVERY TIME I TURN THE MOTOR ON. I'VE BEEN ONLINE RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM AND DISCOVERED THAT THIS MAY MEAN THAT THE AIRBAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY IF I HAVE AN ACCIDENT. THIS APPEARS TO BE A PROBLEM FACING A NUMBER OF MINI COOPER OWNERS AND BMW HAS NOT RESOLVED THIS PROBLEM AFTER MANY COMPLAINTS.

THE REAR SPLIT DOORS WON'T OPEN WHEN UNLOCKING USING THE KEY FOB. THERE IS NO MANUAL LATCH TO OPEN REAR DOORS FROM THE INSIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THIS IS MY WIFE'S ONLY VEHICLE AND MY CONCERNS ARE AS FOLLOW. 1- WE CAN'T ACCESS THE SPARE TIRE AND EMERGENCY TOOLS SINCE THE DOORS DOESN'T OPEN. AND MY MAIN CONCERN IS 2- WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THERE IS AN ACCIDENT/FIRE IN FRONT OF THE VEHICLE AND THE ONLY EMERGENCY EXIT IS THROUGH THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE UTILIZING THE REAR DOORS? DIFFERENT SCENARIO WHAT IF THE VEHICLE FALLS IN WATER AND THE ONLY WAY OUT IS TO OPEN THE REAR DOORS BUT THERE IS NO MANUAL LATCH TO EGRESS? I BELIEVE THAT MINI COOPER FAILED OR DIDN'T THINK ABOUT THIS MATTER. I CAN'T INCLUDE PICTURES BECAUSE I'LL BE SHOWING A SHUT DOOR.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE SOUTH SHORE MINI COOPER WAS CONTACTED AND DIAGNOSED THE AIR BAG SENSOR MAT WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURERS WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 17,000....UPDATED 10/23/17 *BF UPDATED 10/24/2017*JS

34,000 MILES 2009 MINI COOPER. PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT ON AND OFF INTERMITTENTLY. QUOTED COST TO REPAIR ABOUT $800 JUST FOR THE PART, POSSIBILITY OF AIRBAGS NOT DEPLOYING WHEN IN AN ACCIDENT. SEEMS TO BE A TYPICAL MINI ISSUE WITH A SLEW OF SIMILAR ISSUES (SOMETIMES MULTIPLE REPLACEMENTS), SENSOR IN SEAT CUSHION AND ENTIRE SEAT WOULD NEED REPLACED. SAME PROBLEM THAT RESULTED IN 2005-2008 MODEL RECALLS, BUT NOT 2009? WITH THE ISSUE BEING THIS PREVALENT? VERY WORRISOME, PASSENGERS RIDING IN CAR WITHOUT THE PROTECTION OF AN AIRBAG DEPLOYING.

CAR WENT INTO LIMP GEAR MODE ON FREEWAY, HIGH RPM AT 40 MPH. VEHICLE SHIPPED TO MINI DEALER 05/09/17 SAYING THERE WAS A TRANSMISSION ERROR CODE. DEALER SAID THEY TESTED VEHICLE AND IT WASN'T THE TRANSMISSION IT NEEDED A WATER PUMP AND CYLINDER NEED VALVE COVER. 67,117 MILES ON ODOMETER. ALSO FRONT CV AXLE BOOT LEAKING. HAD REPAIRS DONE ($1692.58) AFTER DISCOUNT. AT TIME OF PICKUP, DEALER ASKED TO KEEP THE VEHICLE A FEW MORE DAYS TO DOUBLE CHECK THE TRANSMISSION. A FEW DAYS LATER THEY SAY YES THERE IS A TRANSMISSION ERROR WITH THE CAR GOING AT HIGHER HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND IT WILL NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION! COST ($9000) I DID NOT HAVE THIS DONE.THE SERVICE ADVISOR TOLD ME THE VEHICLE WAS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE! THIS VEHICLE IS DRIVEN BY MY 16 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER TO AND FROM SCHOOL!

I PURCHASED A BRAND NEW MINI COOPER S IN 2009 W/ STANDARD 3 YEARS OF FACTORY MAINTENANCE AND I LATER ADDED ON AN EXTENDED WARRANTY A FEW YEARS LATER. 2014 I ENTERED INTO A 3 YEAR LEASE ON A BMW. ASIDE FROM MAINTENANCE, THE MINI WAS MOSTLY GARAGED EXCEPT FOR MAINTENANCE UNTIL TH AFTER A MONTH OF DRIVING IT, I HEARD A TICKING SOUND THAT MADE ME THINK IT NEEDED OIL ADDED, DESPITE HAVING ONE ABOUT 2 MONTHS PRIOR. I ADDED THE MINI SYNTHETIC OIL TO THE CAR AND THE TICKING SOUND STOPPED FOR A WEEK OR TWO. THEN IT STARTED RATTLING AND SHAKING SEVERELY WHEN DRIVING LOW SPEEDS OR AT AN IDLE. I CHECKED THE ON BOARD DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO CHECK OIL LEVELS AND THE GENERAL HEALTH OF THE CAR. NO ISSUES CAME UP BUT I STOPPED DRIVING IT BECAUSE I SAW THE OIL LIGHT COME ON, AND I KNOW THAT COULDN'T BE GOOD, ESPECIALLY SINCE OIL WAS ADDED BETWEEN CHANGES. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MINI MECHANIC, THEY TOLD ME THAT THE TIMING CHAIN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, THERE WERE HOLES IN THE TURBO LINE AND SOME VARIOUS OIL LEAKS. THEIR ESTIMATE WAS ROUGHLY $2500 TO MAKE THE CAR DRIVABLE AGAIN. SPOKE TO MINI CORPORATE, URGED ME TO TAKE IT TO MINI DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTICS SO CORPORATE TO SEE WHAT HELP THEY'D OFFER ME ON THESE ISSUES BECAUSE THEY KNEW THE TIMING CHAIN BELT WAS AN ISSUE AND THEY KNEW THE CAR BURNS THROUGH OIL 50% FASTER THAN THEIR ELECTRONIC SYSTEM AND OWNERS MANUAL SAYS. THEY WERE AWARE OF THIS IN 2008 AND IT AFFECTED SEVERAL MINI COOPERS TO THE EXTENT OF BLOWING OUT THEIR ENTIRE ENGINE. A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT WAS FILED BECAUSE MINI FAILED TO ISSUE A RECALL, WARN BUYERS, OR NOTIFY CURRENT ONES. THEY EXTENDED THE TIMING CHAIN BELT COVERAGE TO 7 YEARS OR 80K AFTER THE SUIT. MY CAR HAS 73K BUT IT'S 7 YEARS GOING ON 8. THE DEALER CONFIRMED DIAGNOSIS BUT MINI WON'T OFFER ANY HELP ON THE 3-4K REPAIRS. IF THIS HAPPENED 9 MONTHS AGO, THEY WOULD COVER IT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 MINI COOPER S US. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE, THE ENGINE FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND THE CONTACT STATED THAT THEY EXTENDED THE WARRANTY ON THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 59,000.