2006 MINI COOPER S Complaints

AFTER PULLING INTO MY DRIVEWAY AND GOING INSIDE THE HOUSE FOR A FEW MINUTES - WE NOTICED A VERY CHEMICAL/PLASTIC SMELL. WE QUICKLY FOUND IT WAS COMING FROM OUTSIDE, ONLY TO FIND OUR 2006 MINI S SPEWING BLACK SMOKE FROM UNDER THE HOOD. THERE WAS A FIRE, FOUND TO BE CAUSED BY THE POWER STEERING COOLING FAN FAILING, AND CAUSING THE POWER STEERING PUMP TO OVERHEAT AND START ON FIRE. I HAVE FOUND NUMEROUS BLOGS AND COMPLAINT PAGES ON THIS PROBLEM. I HAVEN'T THE MONEY TO REPAIR THIS PROBLEM AT THIS TIME, AND SO THE CAR STILL SITS. THIS SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM THE MANUFACTURER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, EVEN AFTER WARRANTY. "PREVENTIVELY REPLACING" THE PARTS IS ALSO A RIDICULOUS THING TO EXPECT VEHICLE OWNERS TO DO. UPDATED 10/13/10*BF PICTURES RECEIVED. UPDATED IVOQ 10/21/10*JB *TR

ISSUES WITH AIRBAG LIGHT IN 2006 MINI COOPER S, WHEN SOMEONE IS IN THE SEAT IF THEY ARE NOT SITTING JUST THE RIGHT WAY THE LIGHT WILL GO ON, WARNING US THE AIRBAG IS DEACTIVATED, SOMETIMES THE AIRBAG LIGHT WILL GO ON FOR THE PASSENGER SEAT WITH NOBODY IN THE SEAT. SOMETIMES THE SEATBELT WARNING LIGHT WILL COME ON WITH NO ONE IN THE SEAT AS WELL. MOVING THE SEAT WILL SOMETIMES CORRECT THE ISSUE. COMPLAINTS TO MINI AND DEALER WERE ON DEAF EARS. *TR

I PURCHASE MY 2006 MINI COOPER S NEW ALMOST 4 YEARS AGO. I HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING ABOUT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SINCE I PURCHASED IT. IF YOU ARE GOING DOWN A HILL IT DOWNSHIFTS EXTREMELY HARD CAUSING A WHIPLASH EFFECT. CARS HAVE ALMOST HIT ME FROM BEHIND MANY TIMES. ADDITIONALLY WHEN GOING UP A HILL SUCH AS A FREEWAY ON-RAMP, THE CAR WILL JUST REFUSE TO ACCELERATE. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS WHEN TRYING TO MERGE ONTO THE FREEWAY. I HAVE SPOKEN MANY TIMES TO MINI HEADQUARTERS AND THE CONSENSUS IS THAT IS HOW THE VEHICLE IS SUPPOSED TO OPERATE. THEY TOLD ME TO BUY A NEW ONE NOW BECAUSE THEY DON'T USE THAT TRANSMISSION ANY MORE. THEY ALSO TOLD ME TO MANUALLY SHIFT THE CAR IN THOSE SITUATIONS. I SAID IF I HAD WANTED TO SHIFT MANUALLY I WOULDN'T HAVE PAID FOR AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. I AM VERY FRUSTRATED WITH THEIR RESPONSE. I AM DISABLED AND ON A LIMITED INCOME. I CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY A NEW CAR AND MORE IMPORTANTLY I COULDN'T MORALLY SELL THIS ONE WITH THESE KIND OF PROBLEMS. *TR

TRANNY WENT ON MY 2006 S MANUAL AT 20K, 3 WEEKS OUT OF WARRANTY. I BROUGHT IT IN 5 WEEKS EARLIER WHILE STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND TOLD THEM THAT IT WAS SLIPPING OUT OF GEAR. THEY SAID ?THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM?. I REALIZE NOW THAT THEY CHOSE THESE WORDS CAREFULLY. 5 WEEKS AND 1000 MILES LATER, JUST OUR OR WARRANTY IT BLEW. SAID THE TRANNY FLUID WAS DARK AND FULL OF SHARDS. DID THEY NOT CHECK THIS LAST MONTH????? THEY TOLD ME 6K TO FIX IT. I BLEW A GASKET. HE CALLED ME BACK A FEW HOURS LATER AND SAID MINI WOULD PROVIDE THE PARTS FOR FREE IF I PAID $1300 LABOR. AFTER RESEARCHING ON THE INTERNET, I HAVE FOUND THAT THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME ISSUE ON THEIR MINI'S, MANY MORE THEN I HAVE SEEN WHEN I HAVE DONE SEARCHES ON OTHER ISSUES. I THINK THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. *TR

2006 MINI COPPER S. I BOUGHT IT WITH 15997 MILES ON THE CAR. THE CLUTCH WENT OUT 3000 MILES LATER AND THE MINI DEALERSHIP WAS ASKED TO CHECK OUT THE CAR ESPECIALLY THE CLUTCH ONLY 2 MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS HAPPENING. NO WARNING LIGHTS APPEARED BEFORE THE CLUTCH STOPPED WORKING. NOW THE DEALER TELLS ME THAT IS NOT COVERING BY THE WARRANTY AND THEN INFORMS ME THAT THIS WILL BE THE THIRD CLUTCH TO BE INSTALLED IN THIS VEHICLE.... ONE WAS REPLACED AT 8000 MILES AND THEN ANOTHER AT 11000 MILES (FIRST OWNER) AND NOW AGAIN AT 19000 MILES. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AND I HAVE RESEARCHED WITH MANY OTHER MINI OWNERS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME OR SIMILAR ISSUES. SOME MAY HAVE STARTED THEIR OWN CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT.....PLEASE ADVISE! *TR

FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS NOW I HAVE NOTICED THAT MY COOLING FAN COMES ON EACH TIME I TURN OFF THE ENGINE AND THEN IT SHUTS OFF AFTER A MINUTE OR SO. SO I THOUGHT THAT THE FAN WAS JUST ACTING UP OR SOMETHING. HOWEVER, YESTERDAY I ALSO NOTICED THAT THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE GAUGE WAS AT THE MAXIMUM (250 DEGREE F) AND THE INDICATOR RED LIGHT HAD COME ON. I HAD BEEN DRIVING FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES AT ABOUT 50-60 MILES PER HOUR ON SIDE ROADS (SO I HAD BEEN STOPPING AT LIGHTS AT INTERVALS). THE WEATHER IS ACTUALLY UNSEASONABLY COOL (60-70 DEGREE F), AND I HAD BEEN CHANGING GEARS (I HAVE THE AUTOMATIC WITH SPORTS DRIVE). SO NATURALLY, WHEN I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE THE COOLING FAN CAME ON AGAIN AND DIDN'T TURN OFF FOR ANOTHER 3-5 MINUTES. SO ON THE WAY BACK, I DROVE AT ABOUT 30 MILES WITH MY HAZARD LIGHT ON AS I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREE-WAY AND PUT IT ON CRUISE CONTROL. BUT THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE STILL WENT UP TO ABOUT 3 QUARTERS OF THE WAY AND THE FAN KICKED ON AFTER I PARKED IT AFTER ABOUT 15 MINUTES. THE MANUAL SAYS TO IMMEDIATELY STOP THE CAR AND LET THE ENGINE COOL DOWN IF THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE GOES PAST THE HALF-WAY POINT. I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DEALER IN 2 DAYS FOR WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A COOLING FAN PROBLEM. BUT THIS SEEMS LIKE AN ENGINE ISSUE. SO I AM PLANNING TO GET THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP FIRST THING IN THE MORNING. *TR

MY 2006 BMW MINI COOPERS PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT IS SHOWING THAT IT IS DEACTIVATED REGARDLESS IF THERE IS A FULL SIZED ADULT OR NO ONE IN THE PASSENGER SEAT THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR ABOUT 4 MONTHS. IT APPEARS TO BE A PROBLEM IN THE SEAT SENSOR OR WIRING BECAUSE IT WILL GO OUT AT TIMES WHEN I HIT A BUMP OR MOVE THE SEAT THEN IT WILL COME BACK ON. THIS HAS BEEN A ON GOING PROBLEM/CONCERN WILL MY PASSENGERS BE PROTECTED IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH SINCE THE AIR BAGS ARE SHOWING THAT THEY ARE SHUT OFF WILL THEY STILL WORK? *TR

DRIVING ON HIGHWAY ABOUT 60 MPH. EXTREMELY LOUD SCREECHING BURST OF SOUND OCCURRED. SOUND WAS SIMILAR TO SMOKE DETECTOR TEST SOUND, LASTING ABOUT A SECOND, BUT HORRIBLY LOUD, ESPECIALLY IN A SMALL ENCLOSED AREA WITH THE WINDOWS UP. NEARLY HAD AN ACCIDENT. OUR EARS HURT BADLY (I STILL FEEL SOME SORENESS A DAY LATER, AS I NOW WRITE. SIMILAR OCCURRENCES FOR MINI COOPER NOTED IN WEB FORUMS, REFERENCING A POSSIBLE STEREO AMPLIFIER PROBLEM. OUR RADIO WAS NOT ON. FORTUNATELY THE DEALER WAS OPEN (ON SUNDAY) AND WE HAVE AN APPOINTMENT SCHEDULED TODAY. FROM WHAT I'VE RESEARCHED ON THE INTERNET, WE ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES VICTIMIZED BY THIS ISSUE. WE ARE ACTUALLY FEARFUL AND UNCOMFORTABLE DRIVING THE CAR, WORRYING THAT AT ANY TIME THIS COULD OCCUR AGAIN. THIS IS AN UNNECESSARY HARDSHIP AND DISTRACTION THAT KEEPS US FROM PAYING FULL ATTENTION TO SAFELY DRIVING THE CAR. UNTIL THE DEALER CAN SPECIFICALLY EXPLAIN WHAT THE PROBLEM IS AND PERFORM WHATEVER WORK IS NEED TO GUARANTEE IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN, I DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING THIS ONE-YEAR-OLD CAR, BEING CONCERNED THAT I'LL HAVE AN ACCIDENT IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN. THIS IS WITHOUT QUESTION A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. IF I STILL FEEL SORENESS IN MY LEFT EAR LATER TODAY, I PLAN TO CONTACT MY DOCTOR. *TR

DURING A SERVICE CALL ON OUR 2006 MINI COOPER, WE WERE INFORMED THAT BOTH FRONT STRUT MOUNTS WERE BENT AND DAMAGED. THESE ARE NOT COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY AND IN ONE CASE HAS ALREADY BEEN REPLACED ONCE AT 20000+ MILES AFTER HITTING A BAD POTHOLE. THE CAR NOW HAS 34000 MILES AND HAD TO HAVE BOTH MOUNTS REPLACED. APPARENTLY THERE IS A DESIGN DEFECT THAT MINI/BMW IS NOT WILLING TO CORRECT ALTHOUGH THERE ARE AFTERMARKET REINFORCEMENTS AVAILABLE. A FURTHER SEARCH OF THE INTERNET REVEALS THAT A LOT OF MINI & BMW OWNERS ARE HAVING THIS ISSUE, IN PARTICULAR THOSE WITH RUN-FLAT TIRES INSTALLED. *TR

THE VEHICLE LOOSES POWER AT FREEWAY SPEED AND EVENTUALLY STOPS RUNNING. THE FUEL CUT OFF NOT ALLOWING THE VEHICLE TO ACCELERATE THIS IS DANGEROUS, NOT ALLOWING THE DRIVER ADEQUATE TIME TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE ON FREEWAY AS THE VEHICLE HAS TOTALLY LOST POWER. *TR