2009 MINI COOPER S Complaints

I HAVE BEEN GETTING THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT (IN RED) COMING ON WHILE DRIVING THE CAR STARTED IN FEBRUARY, 2015. I'VE TOLD THAT MINI/BMW IS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE, BUT IS NOT MAKING ANY MOVEMENT ON ESTABLISHING A SAFETY RECALL ON AFFECTED CARS. WARNING LIGHT COMES ON REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY PASSENGERS ARE IN THE VEHICLE. SOMETIMES THE LIGHT COMES ON AND STAYS ON, OTHER TIMES IT CYCLES THROUGH ON-OFF, WITH THE AUDIBLE WARNING, SEVERAL TIMES A MINUTE. *TR

I STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT ON A BUSY CITY STREET. THE MINI COOPER S ENGINE STOPPED RUNNING AND WOULD NOT START. THAT DAY WAS HEAVY SNOW AND THE ROADS WERE VERY DIFFICULT TO DRIVE ON. I COULD NOT MOVE THE CAR. AFTER SOMETIME WAITING ON A TOW TRUCK THE FOUR WAY FLASHERS QUIT WORKING. FORTUNATELY NO ONE RAN INTO THE CAR. I DISRUPTED TRAFFIC FOR ABOUT AN HOUR UNTIL THE POLICE WERE ABLE TO PUSH THE CAR OFF THE ROAD. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE MINI DEALER AND IT WAS DETERMINED THE TIMING CHAIN BROKE. THE CAR ONLY HAS 32,000 MILES ON IT. RESEARCHING, I SEE THAT MANY MINI OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE TIMING CHAIN FAILING. MY 17 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER USUALLY DRIVES THIS CAR. I AM GLAD I WAS DRIVING IT WHEN THIS HAPPENED AND FORTUNATE THE CAR WAS NOT MOVING WHEN THE ENGINE FAILED. *TR

TOOK IN FOR OIL CHANGE, BURNING SMELL, AND RATTLING SOUND WHEN ENGINE COLD. I WAS GIVEN A LIST AFTER THEY HAD A FEW DAYS OF: MATERIAL FAILURE OF OIL PAN GASKET, OIL FILTER HOUSING LEAK, TURBO OIL FEED LINE LEAK, MATERIAL FAILURE OF THERMOSTAT HOUSING, MATERIAL FAILURE OF WATER PUMP, AND MATERIAL FAILURE OF TIMING CHAIN, TIMING CHAIN GUIDES, TENSIONER. I ENDED WITH A TOTAL REPAIR COST OF $4,666.30. TWO WEEKS LATER I AGAIN HAVE A BURNING SMELL AND THE TRIM COVERING THE TURBO CHARGER CRACKS. I AM TOLD THIS IS NORMAL AND IT IS JUST OUT OF THE 5 YEAR WARRANTY ON THIS EVEN THOUGH I HAVE AN EXTENDED COSMETIC WARRANTY. IN DECEMBER THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON BUT GOES OFF AFTER I CALL DEALER. I AM TOLD IF IT IS OFF, MAY JUST BE EMMISIONS ERROR. ON 2/20/2015, MY OIL PRESSURE LIGHT GOES ON, DEALER HAS NO OPENINGS UNTIL 2/23/15. I TAKE IN AND NOW IT HAS MORE ISSUES, STEMS AND VALVES, WHICH WILL BE ANOTHER $2K IN REPAIRS. IT IS STILL NOT DUE FOR OIL CHANGE BUT I HAD REQUESTED ONE SINCE I WAS THERE. IT IS LOW ON OIL DUE TO VALVE AND THE ENGINE ISSUE. ALL OF THESE ISSUES ARE IDENTICAL TO A THOSE VEHICLES WITH THE TENSIONER,WATER PUMP, TURBO FEED LINE RECALL.....BUT YET I AM TOLD MINE DOES NOT HAVE THE RECALL ON IT. *JS

PURCHASED A USED 2009 MINI COOPER S HARDTOP WITH 27,000 MILES ON IT AND WITHIN 20 DAYS THE CLUTCH WAS SLIPPING UPON LIGHT ACCELERATION AND CAUSED VERY UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS. IT WAS REPLACED BY THE CARMAX WARRANTY GIVEN UNDER THE FIRST 30 DAYS , MY VEHICLE NOW HAS 32,000 MILES AND IS STARTING TO FEEL SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS SYMPTOMS. *TR

2009 MINI COOPER S - I, LIKE SO MANY OTHER MINI COOPER OWNERS, HAVE JUST FALLEN VICTIM TO THE "DEATH RATTLE" OF THE [KNOWN BY BMW] DEFECTIVE/FAULTY AND NON-RECALLED TIMING CHAIN ISSUE. IT'S ABSURD THAT WE CONTINUE TO EXPOSE THIS FAR TOO COMMON DEFECT OF A PRODUCT THAT WAS ORIGINALLY DEEMED AS A "NON-SERVICE" ITEM GOOD FOR THE OPERATING LIFE OF THE ENGINE. MOST OWNERS EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS WITHIN THE FIRST 50,000 MILES. I PURCHASED THIS WELL MAINTAINED (AT A LOCAL MINI DEALER) MINI FROM A PRIVATE PARTY JUST DAYS AFTER THEY PERFORMED AN EXPENSIVE 'WALNUT TREATMENT' TO CLEAR OUT EXCESSIVE CARBON BUILD UP. WITHIN 100MI OF THIS SERVICE, THE 'DEATH RATTLE' STARTS. I AM NOW BEING TOLD THAT IT WILL RUN JUST OVER $2400 (I'VE UNCOVERED ABOUT $400 IN TOTAL PARTS) TO CORRECT AN ISSUE BMW HAS BEEN HIDING BEHIND FOR YEARS; THEY'VE EVEN ISSUED A WARNING TO SERVICE ADVISORS TO NOT RE-INSTALL THE DEFECTIVE PARTS, BUT DENY THE PART TO ACTUALLY BE DEFECTIVE OR IN NEED OF RECALL. WHEN WILL ANYONE STAND UP FOR THE LITTLE GUY, THE CONSUMER, AND DEMAND THIS WELL KNOWN, OFTEN OCCURRING, EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DEFECT BE CORRECTED AT THE COST OF THE MANUFACTURER? I NOW HAVE AN $11,500 PAPER WEIGHT. *TR

MY TIMING CHAIN HAS NOW STARTED TO FAIL FOR THE 4TH TIME ON THIS CAR. THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONERS FAIL AND MINI DOES NOTHING TO CORRECT THE ISSUE PAST THE WARRANTY PERIOD. *TR

I BOUGHT MY USED 2009 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE ON DECEMBER 13, 2012. APPROXIMATELY 10 MONTHS LATER ON OCTOBER 16, 2013, I NOTICED AN OIL LEAK AND A COUPLE DAYS LATER THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. BROUGHT IT TO FLETCHER'S TIRE & AUTO OFF 27TH DRIVE AND CAREFREE HWY AND THEY DIAGNOSED THE ISSUE AS THE WATER PUMP AND THERMOSTAT HOUSING UNIT AS THE REASON FOR THE LEAK AND ENGINE LIGHT. I PAID FOR THE REPAIRS TO MADE. ADDITIONALLY, HAD THE FRONT TIRES REPLACED AS THEY WERE COMPLETELY WORN. TWO MONTHS LATER ON DECEMBER 7TH, 2013, THE CAR BROKE DOWN ON CAREFREE HIGHWAY, I WAS UNABLE TO USE THE FRONT BREAKS. MY STEP DAD WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO BRAKE MASTERS IN ANTHEM, AZ THE FOLLOWING MORNING WHERE THEY DISCOVERED THAT THE FRONT TWO WHEELS HAD THE WRONG ROTORS AND 0 BREAK PADS LEFT. ACCORDING TO THE TECHNICIAN, THE S MODEL REQUIRES LARGER ROTORS ON THE FRONT WHEELS, HOWEVER SCOTTSDALE MOTOR COMPANY SOLD ME THE CAR WITH THE SAME SIZE ROTORS ON ALL WHEELS THAT THE REGULAR MODEL MINI'S ARE EQUIPPED WITH. SEE BELOW: 2009 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE- TIMELINE OF REPAIRS DATE OF PURCHASE: 12/13/2012 1ST REPAIR- 10/16/2013 FLETCHER'S TIRE & AUTO ENGINE LIGHT DISPLAYED WATER PUMP THERMOSTAT HOUSING UNIT 2 FRONT TIRES TOTAL: $1,168.19 2ND REPAIR- 12/7/2013 BRAKE MASTERS FRONT BRAKES & FRONT ROTORS ENGINE LIGHT STILL DISPLAYED- CODE CAME UP FOR THERMOSTAT HOUSING UNIT TOTAL: $506.40 3RD REPAIR- 2/17/2014 MINI NORTH SCOTTSDALE PRESSURE CONVERTER VALVE FOR TURBO TURBO HEAT SHIELD BATTERY VALVE COVER GASKET TOTAL: $637.86 4TH REPAIR- 5/19/2014 MINI NORTH SCOTTSDALE TIMING CHAIN- IT WAS BROKEN INTO PIECES , UNABLE TO DRIVE DAR TOTAL: $1,480.99 5TH REPAIR- 1/6/2015 MINI NORTH SCOTTSDALE ENGINE LIGHT DISPLAYED VALVE COVER REPLACED VACUUM PUMP LEAKING TURBO OIL LINE LEAKING TOTAL: $2,145.19 TOTAL IN REPAIRS TO DATE: $5,938.63. *TR

FLUID LEAK UNDER CAR. WATER PUMP FAILURE. DEALER SAID THIS CAR WAS NOT COVERED UNDER A RECALL ALTHOUGH OTHER CARS OF THE EXACT MODEL AND YEAR WERE? *TR

SMOKE BEGAN COMING FROM HOOD VENTS, INSPECTED AND FOUND OIL LEAKING ONTO EXHAUST MANIFOLD AND THE TURBO HEAT SHIELD FROM THE OIL TUBE FEEDING THE TURBO WHERE IT WAS CRIMPED TOGETHER. I WAS CLOSE TO HOME AND CONTINUED, WHEN THE ENGINE COOLED I FOUND THAT I COULD REMOVE THE OIL LINE FROM THE FITTING JUST BY TOUCHING IT. I AM SURPRISED THIS THING DIDN'T GO UP IN FLAMES! WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE MINI DEALER THEY REFUSED TO REPAIR THE OIL TUBING LEAK UNLESS I ALSO COMMITTED TO A NEW HEAD COVER AT 2K. MINI DENIES ANY ISSUES WITH THE DESIGN OR FITTINGS. *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY MINI COOPER ON I-95 WHEN THE I NOTICED A VERY STRONG BURNING SMELL AND THE CLUTCH WAS GIVING ME DIFFICULTY CHANGING GEARS. AS I WAS GETTING OFF I-95 THE GEARS WERE NOT RESPONDING AND THE CAR BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN. I GOT OFF I-95 AND JUST MADE IT TO A MAIN BLVD. WHEN THE CLUTCH GAVE OUT AND THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE. I COULD SEE THE CARS IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR COMING AT FULL SPEED AND HONKING AT ME TO MOVE OUT OF THE OF THE WAY. I CALLED 911 AND ASKED FOR A PATROL TO SPOT TRAFFIC AND THEN TRIED TO GET OUT OF THE CAR TO ASK FOR HELP BUT ALMOST GOT RAN OVER BY CARS PASSING BY. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO GET EITHER HIT OR KILLED. TWO MAN IN A VAN STOPPED AND PUSHED MY CAR OUT OF THE WAY UNTIL THE TRUCK STOPPED. THE POLICE CAR NEVER SHOWED UP. A WEST PALM BRAMAN MINI COOPER SERVICE MAN WAS DRIVING BY AND TOLD ME THE CLUTCH WAS COMPLETELY BURNT OUT AND TO TOW THE CAR TO HIS FACILITY. I DID AND MINI COOPER REFUSED TO FIX IT EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE AWARE OF THE DEFECT AND THE MANY COMPLAINTS. THEY TRIED TO TELL ME THE CLUTCH WAS WORN OUT BUT THE CAR ONLY HAS 13,000 MILES, THEY ALSO TRIED TO BLAME IT ON AGGRESSIVE DRIVING OR THAT I DID NOT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE A STANDARD TRANSMISSION. I TOLD THEM I DRIVE VERY SLOW AND HAVE BEEN DRIVING STANDARD TRANSMISSION MY ENTIRE LIFE. THEY JUST REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE MANUFACTURING DEFECT. PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT SOMEONE LOOKS INTO THIS SO THAT NO ONE HAS TO FACE THE SAME DANGER I DID OR EVEN WORSE, BE KILLED. *TR