2009 MINI COOPER Complaints

VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP IN FEB 2012 FOR A RATTLING NOISE. SERVICE CENTER AT BRAMAN MIAMI SAID THAT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE NOISE, SO IT WAS ASSUMED THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. PRIOR TO THIS, THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN IN THE SHOP 2-3 TIMES DUE ENGINE MALFUNCTION LIGHT, ROUGH IDLE AT COLD START AND LOSS OF TURBO POWER DUE TO LEAKAGE IN TURBO OIL FEED LINES. THIS WAS REPAIRED IN EARLY 2012/LATE 2011. IN DECEMBER OF 2012, WHILE DRIVING THE RATTLING NOISE OF THE COMPLAINT IN FEB 2012 INTENSIFIED AND OIL LIGHT ILLUMINATED WHILE DRIVING. CAR WAS PULLED OVER TO SAFE LOCATION. ONCE CAR WAS STOPPED, THE ENGINE MALFUNCTION LIGHT ALSO ILLUMINATED. DRIVER CHECKED OIL LEVEL, WHICH APPEARED LOW BUT WITHIN THE MARKS ON THE DIPSTICK. OIL SPLATTER WAS OBSERVED ON THE HOOD AND ON ENGINE. RUBBER GASKET FEEDING TO ENGINE WAS OBSERVED TO BE DISPLACED WHERE OIL APPEARED TO HAVE LEAKED OUT. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO BRAMAN MIAMI. SERVICE DEPARTMENT REPORTED THAT FAILURE WAS CAUSED BY TIMING CHAIN/TENSIONER ISSUE. SERVICE DEPT IS CHARGING 17K USD FOR REPAIRS AS IT IS NOT FOUND TO BE UNDER THE SCOPE OF WARRANTY OF PREVIOUS REPAIRS TO THE TURBO OIL FEED LINES. MINI HAS BEEN CONTACTED TO SEE IF ANY RELIEF CAN BE PROVIDED AS THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE WITH THESE VEHICLES. *TR

LOUD RATTLE IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT ON COLD START UP. LOSS OF POWER ON ACCELERATION. BROUGHT TO DEALER AND DIAGNOSED AS BROKEN TIMING CHAIN GUIDES WITH REPAIR COST OF $2,300. HAVE PURCHASED EXTENDED WARRANTY, SO REPAIR IS COVERED. HOWEVER, THIS IS A HIGHLY REPORTED ISSUE AND SHOULD BE DEALT WITH IN A RECALL OF ALL AFFECTED ENGINES. *TR

HAD CAR IN DEALER SHOP FOR REPAIR OF FAULTY TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER/GUIDE (SEE SEPARATE COMPLAINT). WAS TOLD ALSO HAD A LEAK IN TURBOCHARGE OIL INLET LINE THAT WILL COST OVER $1,000 OUT OF POCKET TO REPAIR. THIS IS CLEARLY A COMMONLY REPORTED ISSUE AND A FIRE SAFETY HAZARD THAT SHOULD BE DEALT WITH IN A RECALL. *TR

DRIVING VEHICLE HEARD SOME ENGINE NOISE AND OBSERVED RED OIL INDICATOR CAME ON. PULLED OVER AND CHECKED OIL LEVEL, APPEARED TO BE LOW.. I IMMEDIATELY PUT IN TWO QUARTS OF OIL ONLY TO SEE IT ALL SEEP OUT AND THROUGH BOTH FRONT WHEEL WELLS. APPEARED TO BE AN ISSUE WITH THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER. *TR

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THERE WAS BIG DECLINE IN PERFORMANCE. ALSO, THE ENGINE HAS BEEN MAKING A RATTLING SOUND LIKE A DIESEL ENGINE FOR SEVERAL MONTHS NOW WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD. THE CAR JUST EXCEEDED ITS 50,000K MILE WARRANTY, OF COURSE. I TOOK THE CAR IN FOR SERVICE AT AN INDEPENDENT DEALER. GOT A CALL TODAY SAYING THAT MY TURBO NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT THE TUNE OF ABOUT $2700! ALSO, THE TIMING BELT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AT A TUNE OF ABOUT $1300. I SPOKE WITH THE TECHNICIAN AND HE TELLS ME THAT HE SEES THESE PROBLEMS IN BMW/MINI ALL TOO FREQUENTLY ON VEHICLES WITH LOW MILEAGE. HE SAYS MINI KNOWS THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ORIGINAL TIMING BELT SO MINI DOESN'T EVEN MAKE THAT MODEL OF TIMING BELT ANYMORE. HE SAID THEY ALSO KNOW THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE OIL SUPPLY LINE TO THE TURBO BEING TOO CLOSE TO THE EXHAUST WHICH COOKS THE OIL AND CLOGS THE LINE WHICH EVENTUALLY LEADS TO OIL STARVATION FOR THE TURBO. MINI RECOMMENDS OIL CHANGES AT 15,000 MILE INTERVALS WHICH COULD ALSO BE AN ISSUE BUT I'VE READ ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAD THE OIL CHANGED EVERY 5,000 MILES AND STILL HAD PROBLEMS. MINI HAS RECALLED THE AUXILIARY WATER PUMP ONLY BECAUSE IT BECAME A SAFETY ISSUE. MY CAR IS DEFECTIVE AND OUTSIDE OF THE WARRANTY SO NOW I'M STUCK WITH A $5500 BILL FOR REPAIRS. *TR

RECALL CAMPAIGN NO: 12V-008 ELECTRIC AUXILIARY WATER PUMP HTTP://WWW-ODI.NHTSA.DOT.GOV/DEFECTS/RESULTS.CFM THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION WEBSITE SAYS WE ARE ALSO NOTIFIED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A BMW DEALER FOR REPAIR. WHY CANNOT I NOT DO THIS? WE HAVE A BMW DEALER IN BOISE. OWNERS OF THE RECALLED VEHICLES ARE NOTIFIED TO TAKE THEIR VEHICLE TO A BMW DEALER, WHO WILL REPLACE THE AUXILIARY WATER PUMP TO PREVENT ANY INCIDENTS RELATED TO THIS ISSUE. THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION IS CLOSED. THE ODI REPORTS CITED ABOVE CAN BE VIEWED AT WWW-ODI.NHTSA.DOT.GOV/COMPLAINTS UNDER THE FOLLOWING IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS (ODI NOS.): 10286597, 10286663, 10289793, 10310677, 10314796, 10342365, 10394808, 10394192, 10403982, 10418325, 10422646, 10429003. I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MANY HOURS I HAVE SPENT ON THE PHONE WITH MINI, MINI OF MURRAY, AND MINI ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, MY LOCAL BMW DEALER, AND SEVERAL REPAIR SHOPS AND A TOW TRUCKING COMPANY.MINI IS COMPLETELY LEAVING THOSE CUSTOMERS IN THE LURCH THAT DO NOT HAVE MINI DEALERS IN THEIR STATE. NOW MINI OF MURRAY IS TELLING ME THAT IF I FIX MY CAR IN BOISE AFTER I HAVE RECEIVED THE RECALL NOTICE THAT I AM STILL ON THE HOOK FOR PAYING FOR THIS EVEN IF A MINI DEALER WERE TO INSPECT THE REPAIR FROM ANOTHER REPAIR SHOP. HOW IS THIS LEGAL? ALL I WANT IS TO HAVE THE REPAIR DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND BE REIMBURSED FOR IT, WITHOUT HAVING TO DRIVE A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS VEHICLE 700 MILES TO DO IT. IT'S A SERIOUS WASTE OF RESOURCES, TIME AND MONEY! SOMEONE PLEASE DO SOMETHING TO MAKE THIS RIGHT WITHOUT TELLING ME THAT THERE'S NOTHING THEY CAN DO.? *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER INSTALLING A GPS SYSTEM IN THE VEHICLE HE BECAME AWARE THAT THE VEHICLE SPEEDOMETER WAS GIVEN THE INCORRECT READING. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE GPS READ 51MPH AND THE VEHICLE SPEEDOMETER READ 60 MPH, BUT VEHICLE WAS GOING SLOWER. THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY WERE NOT PROVIDING ANY ASSISTANCE GIVEN THAT THE VEHICLE SPEEDOMETER WAS IN TOLERANCE SINCE THE MARGIN OF ERROR ALLOWED WAS TEN PERCENT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 21,300 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 22,000. UPDATED 11/29/12 *BF UPDATED 12/4/2012 *JS

THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER BACKED OUT DURING MORNING COMMUTE AND THE CAR LOST ITS OIL AND CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. THIS IS A RECURRING PROBLEM THAT MINI SHOULD ADDRESS WITH A RECALL! *TR

I WAS TRAVELING ON NJ TURNPIKE AND MY VEHICLE BLEW UP. CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. WATER PUMP ALSO BROKE. *TR

THIS ALL STARTED LATE 2009 OR EARLY 2010 WHEN I STARTED MY MINI AND IT SOUNDED LIKE A DIESEL INSTEAD OF A GAS ENGINE, AFTER THE CAR RAN A FEW MINUTES THE RATTLING SOUND DISSIPATED. I CONTINUED TO HEAR THIS DAILY DURING COLD STARTS SO I CONTACTED A MINI DEALER WHO INSTRUCTED ME THAT THERE WAS A RECALL IN THE WORKS FOR FAULTY TIMING CHAIN TENSIONERS BUT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE YET SO CONTINUE TO DRIVE IT SINCE IF OTHER THINGS FAIL IT IS UNDER WARRANTY. AFTER A FEW WEEKS THE TENSIONERS WERE REPLACED AND EVERYTHING SOUNDED NORMAL AGAIN. THEN I RECEIVED ANOTHER RECALL NOTICE CONCERNING POSSIBLE FIRES IN THE WATER COOLER FOR TURBO? BEFORE I COULD GET THE VEHICLE IN FOR THE RECALL, IN SEPTEMBER OF 2012 I NOTICED A VERY LOUD METALLIC RATTLE AND EXTREME LOSS OF POWER AT 2,000RPM COMING FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND ASSUMED IT WAS THE RECALL CAUSING THE ISSUE. I TOOK THE MINI IN FOR THE RECALL OCT 13, 2012 AND MENTIONED THE LOUD RATTLE NOISE-POWER ISSUE, AFTER HAVING MY CAR TWO DAYS THE DEALER INFORMS ME THAT THE TENSIONERS/TIMING CHAIN IS OUT OF SPECIFICATIONS AND CREATING THE EXTREME NOISE AND POWER LOSS. DEALER IS REQUESTING $2500.00 TO REPAIR SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY HAS BEEN/IS AN ISSUE WITH MINI CARS. I WRITING YOU BECAUSE THIS SITUATION WAS SCARY WHEN I WAS TRYING TO ACCELERATE IN FAST FLOWING TRAFFIC CONDITIONS OR CROSSING TRAFFIC AND THE POWER WOULD CUT OUT AT 2,000RPM LEAVING ME SHORT SHIFTING AND STRUGGLING NOT TO CAUSE A WRECK. IT REALLY NEEDS INVESTIGATED SINCE THERE ARE SO MANY COMPLAINTS AND SAFETY CONCERNS. THANK YOU. *TR