2006 MINI COOPER Complaints

TRANSMISSION STARTING BUCKING AND CAUSING UNCONTROLLED ACCELERATION THE ONLY "FIX" IS TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION AT A $9,000 COST. *TR

THE RED AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. IT WON'T GO OUT. THE MINI DEALER IN BIRMINGHAM SAID IT'S NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. MINI USA SAID THE SAME THING. HOWEVER, BMW RECALLED THEIR 2006 MODELS FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. SEVERAL OTHER MINI OWNERS ARE REPORTING THE SAME PROBLEM. THE OWNERS' MANUAL STATES THAT THE AIR BAGS MAY NOT DEPLOY PROPERLY IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH IF THE WARNING LIGHT IS ON. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, AND MINI USA NEEDS TO ADDRESS IT. *TR

THE AIR BAG SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT IN THE GAUGE CLUSTER IS LIT AT ALL TIMES. THE REPAIR SHOP TELLS ME THAT THIS IS BECAUSE THE SENSOR MAT IN THE PASSENGER SEAT HAS FAILED AND MUST BE REPLACED. MY RESEARCH INDICATES THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE THAT IS UNJUSTIFIABLE EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR. THE REPAIR SHOP ALSO TELLS ME THAT ALL OF THE AIR BAGS IN THE CAR ARE DISABLED AS LONG AS THE WARNING LIGHT IS ON, PUTTING ALL PASSENGERS IN THE VEHICLE IN DANGER OF SUSTAINING GREATER INJURIES IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH. THESE CARS ARE MADE BY BMW, WHICH APPARENTLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE SAME PROBLEM IN OTHER CARS THEY PRODUCED AND MADE REPAIRS. I FEEL THAT THEY SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM IN MINI COOPERS, TOO, VIA A FEDERALLY MANDATED RECALL CAMPAIGN. *TR

I HAD ISSUE WITH THE STEERING WHEEL PUMP A YEAR AGO, AND I REPLACED IT. BUT LAST NIGHT WHEN I WAS DRIVING HOME, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULDN'T TURN AND I ALMOST GOT INTO A CAR ACCIDENT. LUCKILY TRAFFIC WAS SLOW AND I WAS CLOSE TO MY HOUSE. UNFORTUNATELY, IT WAS EXTREMELY HARD FOR ME TO MAKE ANY TURN. I HAD TO CALL A TOWING COMPANY AND MY CAR IS NOW AT THE MINI DEALER IN CHICAGO. I ALREADY SPENT OVER 2 THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR AGO AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY MY CAR IS HAVING THESE ISSUES AGAIN. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MINI COOPER S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION WHERE THEY STATED THAT THE PASSENGER'S SEAT MAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,000.

IN APRIL 2013 I WAS MERGING ONTO HIGHWAY I20 WITH MY CHILDREN IN THE BACK OF MY MINI COOPER S 2006. AS I WAS SPEEDING UP TO MERGE ONTO THE HIGHWAY THE CAR COMPLETELY CUT OFF. I VEERED OVER INTO A MEDIAN IN THE MIDDLE OF SIX LANES OF HIGH-SPEED TRAFFIC. THE CAR HAD COMPLETELY SHUT OFF, EVEN THE HAZARD LIGHTS. I WAS VERY LUCKY THAT THE MEDIAN WAS THERE AND THAT I HAD NOT YET ENTERED THE MAIN STREAM OF TRAFFIC. THE POLICE CAME, THEN A FRIEND. AFTER ABOUT A HALF HOUR IT RESTARTED WITHOUT POWER STEERING AND HE WAS ABLE TO SLOWLY DRIVE IT, AND HE FIXED A BELT THAT HE SAID HAD LOOKED LIKE IT HAD BLOWN OUT. ABOUT FOUR TIMES IN THE YEAR PRIOR TO THIS THE CAR HAD CUT OFF, BUT NOT WHILE I WAS DRIVING; IT SHUT DOWN AS I WAS PULLING OUT OF A PARKING SPOT BUT THEN IMMEDIATELY RESTARTED. NO ONE COULD EXPLAIN IT. AFTER THE APRIL INCIDENT I WENT TO THE MINI COOPER DEALER AND SPENT CLOSE TO $3000 TO ENSURE THAT THE CAR WAS SAFE FOR MY CHILDREN. HOWEVER, YESTERDAY, 11/5/13, I WAS BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPOT AND THE CAR COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP FOR ASSISTANCE AND THEY SAID THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF THIS KIND OF PROBLEM AND COULDN'T HELP; FORTUNATELY THE CAR RESTARTED ABOUT TEN MINUTES LATER. HOWEVER, I AM EXTREMELY CONCERNED THAT THIS CAR IS UNSAFE AND I HAVE HEARD FROM AN ACQUAINTANCE WHO ALSO HAS A MINI COOPER S 2006 WHO SAID THIS HAS HAPPENED TO HER, THAT SOMETHING RANDOM HAPPENED WITH HER CAR AND IT COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN WHILE SHE WAS DRIVING. SHE TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS A RECALL, BUT I CALLED MINI CORPORATE TODAY, AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NO RECALL AND REFERRED ME TO NHTSA. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER'S SEAT WAS OCCUPIED WHEN THE AIR BAG DEACTIVATED WARNING MESSAGE DISPLAYED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DEALER REPLACED THE SEAT MAT SENSOR BUT THE REPAIR DID NOT REMEDY THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST, WHICH CONFIRMED THAT THERE WAS A DEFECT IN THE SEAT MAT SENSOR. THE DEALER DID NOT REPLACE THE SEAT MAT SENSOR. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,000.

I HAVE A 2006 MINI COOPER CONV S, APROX 53,000 MILES, HAS A CVT AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, AT THIS TIME SHIFTING IN 1ST, 2ND AND 3RD GEARS HAS BEEN ERRATIC, WITH VERY JERKY SHIFTING AND SPEED. *TR

THE BMW MINI COOPER 2006 HAS THE SAME SAFETY PROBLEM AS DESCRIBED IN THE NHTSA ACTION NUMBER : EA08001, NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER : 08V384000 BUT WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE VEHICLE RECALL LIST. THERE ARE MANY MANY OWNERS HAVING TO PAY $1000 - $2000 FOR REPAIRS CONCERNING DEFECTS TO THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT AIR BAG OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT. THE BROKEN CIRCUIT CAN LEAD TO THE DEACTIVATION OF THE PASSENGER AIR BAG AND THE ILLUMINATION OF BOTH THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT AND THE PASSENGER AIR LIGHT. THE REPAIR OF THE DETECTION MAT FORCES THE REPLACEMENT OF THE PASSENGER SEAT. MY VEHICLE IS NOW ONE OF THE INCREASINGLY LARGE NUMBER OF MINI COOPERS WITH THE FAILED SAFETY SYSTEM. MANY STATES HAVE YEARLY SAFETY INSPECTIONS AND THE AIRBAG SAFETY SITUATION NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED BEFORE THE INSPECTION PASSES. THE MINI COOPER "R" SERIES VEHICLES NEED TO BE ADDED INTO THE EA08-001 NHTSA RECALL 08V384000. *TR

THE AIR BAG LIGHT IS CONTINUOUSLY LIT ON MY 2006 MINI COOPER. INITIALLY THE LIGHT WAS INTERMITTENTLY ON; HOWEVER NOW IT REMAINS PERMANENTLY LIGHT. THE DEALER HAS INDICATED THAT THE PASSENGER OC3 MAT IS FAULTY AND WILL BE REQUIRE A $1,000+ FIX. INTERNET SEARCHES HAVE FOUND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE AND THE SAME ISSUE HAS OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES ON SOME VEHICLES, EVEN AFTER BEING REPAIRED WITH NEW PARTS. ADDITIONALLY, BMW, THE PARENT COMPANY OF MINI, HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH THEIR BMW VEHICLES AND A RECALL WAS ISSUED. MINI OFTEN USES BMW PARTS IN THEIR VEHICLES SO IT IS POSSIBLE AND QUITE LIKELY THAT SIMILAR PARTS WERE USED. THIS IS A GENUINE SAFETY ISSUE AND ONE THAT IS WIDE SPREAD WITH THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE. *TR