MINI Complaints

THE DRIVER'S SIDE REAR BRAKE LIGHT BULB HARNESS MELTED. THIS NECESSITATES THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ENTIRE LIGHT ASSEMBLY UNIT. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS HAS BEEN A RECURRENT PROBLEM FOR MINI FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.

STEERING IS DIFFICULT AND REQUIRES EXERTION WHEN I TURN THE WHEEL. I BELIEVE MY CAR SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE RECALL RECALL 15V-XXX: ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC POWER STEERING (EHPS) SYSTEM M32 02 15 IT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL BUT BECAUSE MY CAR EXHIBITS THE SAME ISSUE THAT IS RECALLED ON CARS MADE IN THAT YEAR, I FEEL THAT THE LIMITS SHOULD BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE MY CAR AND OTHER CARS MANUFACTURED WHEN MINE WAS.

THE VEHICLE WAS HARD TO STEER AND SMOKE WAS COMING FROM THE ENGINE. TOOK THE CAR HOME, DID NOT SEE FLAMES, PARKED CAR IN THE DRIVEWAY SWITCHED CARS AND LEFT. RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT MY MINI WAS ON FIRE AND I NEEDED TO RETURN TO MY HOUSE.

TAKATA RECALL. AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON WHEN I SAT IN MY CAR ONE DAY AND WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE MINI COOPER DEALERSHIP A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER, IT WAS FOUND THAT THE DRIVER HEAD AIRBAG HAS FAILED FOR NO APPARENT REASON. THE AIRBAG HAS NEVER BEEN USED. HAVING THE AIRBAG FAIL ON A RANDOM DAY IS VERY DANGEROUS, CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT AN ACCIDENT COULD HAVE OCCURRED THAT DAY AND THE AIRBAG WOULD HAVE NEVER PROTECTED THE DRIVER. THIS IS VERY DISAPPOINTING AND INCREDIBLY STRANGE FOR AN AIRBAG TO FAIL.

I AM A PROUD OWNER OF A 2005 MINI COOPER S WITH 108K MILES. RECENTLY I EXPERIENCED THE INFAMOUS EHPS PUMP FAILURE THAT THE PUMP WILL CONTINUE RUNNING AFTER SHUTTING OFF THE CAR. IT DRAINS THE BATTERY COMPLETELY SO I HOOKED UP MY BATTERY CHARGER TO IT OVERNIGHT. AFTER PERFORMING SOME GOOGLE RESEARCHING ON THIS SUBJECT MATTER, I REALIZED MINI HAD ISSUED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THE EHPS SYSTEM IN 2013 AND LATER SUPERSEDED BY THE RECALL 15V-660. UNFORTUNATELY MY PRODUCTION DATE (AUGUST OF 05) DOES NOT FALL IN THE RANGE OF THE RECALL. THE RECALL COVERS PRODUCTION BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 2001 TO FEBRUARY 2005. FURTHER READING ON THIS ISSUE, MANY OWNERS EXPRESSED THAT THEY HAVE SUCCESS ON CLEANING THE DUST INSIDE THE PUMP TO SOLVE THE SHORTING ISSUE WITHIN THE PUMP. SO I DISCONNECT THE BATTERY, REMOVED THE PUMP FROM THE CAR AND START TAKING THE PUMP APART. AFTER REMOVING THE COVER, I REALIZED THE SHORT HAD ALREADY MELTED DOWN ONE OF THE BRUSH (THE GOLD COLOR PIECE IN IMG_9730) AND SOME OTHER COMPONENTS INSIDE THE PUMP. MY RESEARCH SHOWED THAT THIS PUMP IS THE EXACT SAME ONE THAT WAS USED AS THE RECALL ONE, BMW PART NUMBER 6769961-02 (IMG_9733). LATER ON THE PART NUMBER CHANGED TO 6769961-03. SO I WONDERED WHY MY CAR ISN'T PART OF THE US RECALL. I ALSO FOUND THAT THE TRANSPORT CANADA RECALL #2012029 DOES PROVIDE EXTENDED WARRANTY (12 YEARS / 200K KM) ON THE PUMP AND PUMP COOLING FAN FOR ALL 2002-2005 COOPER AND COOPER S IN CANADA. I HOPE SOMEONE CAN FURTHER INVESTIGATE THIS POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD ISSUE FOR ALL AFFECTED PRODUCTION UNITS THAT IS OUTSIDE OF THE RECALL. IT IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY CONCERN FOR ALL MINI OWNERS AND PASSENGERS THAT UTILIZE THIS EHPS PUMP.

PASSENGER DOOR SEAL FAILED RESULTING IN FLOODING OF THE ENTIRE PASSENGER SIDE. MOISTURE CAUSED THE STARTING SENSOR TO FAIL AND THE VEHICLE NOT TO START. THERE WAS ALSO RAPID GROWTH OF MOLD IN THE VEHICLE FROM THIS MOISTURE. THE ONLY RESOLUTION WAS TO REMOVE THE ENTIRE INTERIOR, SHAMPOO THE CARPET, AND DRY EVERYTHING OUT. ON-LINE RESEARCH (AFTER THE FACT) REVEALED THAT APPARENTLY THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE BUT THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE A RECALL ISSUED.

CAR HAS JUST OVER 100000 MILES BUT HAS BEEN CONSTANTLY OVERHEATING (HAVE TO FILL TANK ALMOST EVERY DAY). CANNOT FIND OUT THE SOURCE, BUT I NOTICED A RECALL ON THE WATER PUMP ON OTHER SIMILAR MODELS, BUT VIN SEARCH SAID MINE WAS OKAY. I FEEL THIS IS AN ERROR. PLEASE INFORM ME OF MY NEXT STEP. GETTING VERY FRUSTRATED. I WOULDN'T CONSIDER THIS HIGH MILEAGE FOR THIS CAR, AND I TAKE CARE OF IT.

THE POWER STEERING IN MY 2004 MINI COOPER S FAILED LAST MONTH, PROMPTING ME TO RESEARCH WAYS TO FIX THE VEHICLE ONLINE. I FOUND THAT MINI USA HAD ISSUED A RECALL ON MY CAR, BUT WAS INFORMED BY THE DEALERSHIP AND THEN MINI THAT MY VIN NUMBER DID NOT FALL AMONG THOSE VEHICLES RECALLED. I'M WONDERING WHETHER MINI APPROPRIATELY LIMITED THEIR RECALL CONSIDERING MY VEHICLE HAS THE SAME PROBLEM THAT PROMPTED THE RECALL, AND FALLS WITHIN THE SAME MODEL AND YEAR RANGE. I THINK THE DEPARTMENT SHOULD INVESTIGATE WHETHER TO EXPANDING THE RECALL.

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.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MINI COOPER. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE POWER STEERING FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT IT WAS DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE POWER STEERING FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V660000 (STEERING). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE IN HAVING THE VEHICLE REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000.