MINI Complaints

MY 2007 MINI COOPER STARTED TO OVERHEAT, DISPLAYING BOTH THE YELLOW AND RED INDICATION LIGHT SIMULTANEOUSLY. I STOPPED, LOOKED AT THE MANUAL AND IT SUGGESTED THAT I TURN THE CAR OFF AND LET IT COOL OFF. I LET MY MINI "COOL DOWN" AND WHEN I WENT TO START MY CAR IT WOULD NOT START UP. MY CAR IMMEDIATELY SHUT OFF, I CALLED MINI COOPER WHICH IS 75 MILES AWAY AND GOT MY CAR TOWED. I WAS TOLD MY ENGINE NEEDS REPLACEMENT FOR 11K. MY MINI WAS CHECKED LESS THAN ONE MONTH AGO AND I RECEIVED NO WARNING THAT MY ENGINE WAS FAILING. MY 2007 MINI ONLY HAS 83,000 FAR FROM THE EXPECTED OVER 100,000 LIFE EXPECTANCY. I WAS TOLD MY ENGINE FAILED DUE TO LOW COMPRESSION AND THE REPLACEMENT OF A THERMOSTAT; A THERMOSTAT THAT HAVEN'T BEEN IN STOCK FOR MONTHS. AFTER GOOGLING THIS ISSUE, I FOUND HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS FOR THE SAME ISSUE. BMW REFUSE TO RECALL THE THERMOSTAT OR ENGINE, AND IT'S AN OUTRAGE. TO MAKE MATTERS WORST, A FAIR CONDITION, RUNNING 2007 MINI W/83,000 MILES AND PACKAGES VALUE IS LESS THAN 5K, A CLEAR SIGN OF THE WORTH OF A MINI. SUPER SAD CUSTOMER.

MY SON WAS DRIVING THE MINI COOPER AND THE STEERING STOPPED WORKING, HE HAD CALLED MINI WHEN HE GOT IT IN NOV 2015 ABOUT RECALLS AND THEY SAID THAT THE MINI WAS RECALLED FOR THE STEERING AND THE PASSENGER SEAT AIR BAG. WHEN WE CALLED THE LOCAL MINI DEALER THEY SAID ONLY THE AIR BAG. I JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH A CASSANDRA FROM MINI AND SHE SAID THERE IS A RECALL FOR THE STEERING FOR MINIS MADE BETWEEN MARCH 2005 AND FEBRUARY 2005 AND HIS CAR WAS ON THE TAIL END OF IT AND THEY WOULD NOT WARRANTY IT TO BE FIXED. I BELIEVE THAT THESE CAR DEALERS KNOW ABOUT SAFETY PROBLEMS BUT DON'T WANT TO FIX THEM PROPERLY. MY SON COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED IF NOT FOR THE FACT THAT IT CAME BACK LONG ENOUGH FOR HIM TO GET THE CAR STOPPED. I HOPE THAT YOU CAN GET THIS RESOLVED SO THEY WILL TAKE CARE OF THIS SAFETY ISSUE

NUMEROUS ENGINE RELATED ISSUES. BLOWN TURBO, THERMOSTAT CRACKED, TIMING WAS REDONE ON CAR, TMPS SENSOR CORRODED, SIDE MARKER LIGHTS CORRODED, WATER PUMP HOUSING CRACKED, ENGINE OIL PAN LEAK, CARBON BUILDUP ON INTAKE VALVES, OIL FILTER HOUSING NEEDED REPLACING, I TAKE REPLACED WITH "WINTERIZED" VERSION ALL HAPPENED AFTER 57000

ENGINE WAS RUNNING EXTREMELY ROUGH AND VERY LOUD ENGINE NOISE RATTLE. TOOK THE CAR TO MINI COOPER SERVICE DEPARTMENT IN JACKSONVILLE FOR DIAGNOSTIC THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE TIMING CHAIN, THEY WANT TO CHARGE ME OVER 2,800. WHEN MY UNDERSTANDING THIS ISSUE WAS ADDRESSED BY A RECALL TO BE REPAIR WITHOUT CHARGE.

ON SATURDAY MARCH 19TH, 2016 I EXPERIENCED A MAJOR VEHICLE MALFUNCTION WITH MY 2013 MINI PACEMAN S. WHILE TRAVELING NB ON THE 15 FREEWAY IN THE #1 OR FAST LANE, I SLOWED FOR TRAFFIC TO A STOP, IMMEDIATELY THE CAR TEMPERATURE LIGHT TURNED ON AND WITHIN SECONDS IT CHANGED TO THE HALF ENGINE LIGHT. DURING THIS TIME I WAS ABLE TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL 3 TIMES TO ATTEMPT TO MOVE THE VEHICLE OUT OF TRAFFIC LANES TO PREVENT INJURY AND THE CAR DIED. THE VEHICLE ROLLED OUT OF THE FAST LANE ONTO THE SHOULDER WHERE I SAT WITH 3 CHILDREN INSIDE THE CAR AND IMMEDIATELY CALLED FOR A TOW TRUCK. WHILE WAITING FOR THE TOW TRUCK A CHP (CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL) OFFICER PULLED UP BEHIND ME AND CONTACTED ME AT THE DRIVER WINDOW WHICH I HAD ROLLED DOWN. HE ASKED WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE CAR AND I EXPLAINED THAT IT HAD DIED. HE ASKED ME TO MOVE IT TO A SAFER LOCATION AND I EXPLAINED THAT I COULDN'T. HE ASKED ME TO GET OUT AND HE GOT INTO THE DRIVER SEAT TO ATTEMPT TO GET THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL. HE WAS ABLE TO, AND HE PUSHED IT MAYBE 5 FEET DOWN THE SLIGHT SLOPE. HE USED THE EMERGENCY BREAK TO STOP IT AND LEFT IT THERE TO WAIT FOR THE TOW TRUCK. LACK OF A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON A CAR WITH COMMON FAILURE ITEMS SUCH AS 'LEAKING OIL PUMP DRIVE UNITS' THAT ALLOW THE ENGINE COOLANT TO LEAK OUT SHOULD HAVE AN INDICATOR LIGHT TO PREVENT THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM BEFORE THE PROBLEM IS HUGE AND CAN'T BE FIXED. WHEN WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT THE COOLANT WAS LEAKING OUT?

VIN: [XXX] AIRBAG SYSTEM MALFUNCTION WARNING LAMP CAME ON ANDROID STAYS ON. VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN ON INTERSTATE WHEN THE WARNING LAMP CAME ON. ODOMETER READING WHEN THE WARNING LAMP CAME ON WAS: 42630 MILES. CALLED MINI CHARLESTON OF SAVANNAH AND ALSO MINI CUSTOMER SERVICE AND WAS INFORMED THAT THEORY IS NO RECALL FOR THIS PARTICULAR VIN DESPITE OTHER VIN'S OF THE SAME MODEL BEING AFFECTED BY AN AIRBAG SENSOR MALFUNCTION. AM NOW FACED WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR THE AIRBAGS TO INADVERTENTLY DEPLOY DURING NORMAL DRIVING, OR THE AIRBAGS NOT DEPLOYING IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MINI COOPER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THE FAN FOR THE POWER STEERING PUMP WAS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 86,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MINI COOPER. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS UNDERGOING AN OIL CHANGE, THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS A LEAKAGE ON THE OIL CONTROL VALVE. AS A RESULT, THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE OIL CONTROL VALVE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,800.

TIMING CHAIN ISSUE LEAD TO OIL LEAK IN ENGINE. 2008-2010 MODELS HAVE BEEN RECALLED AFTER A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT WAS FILED FOR THE SAME ISSUE. MY MODEL IS ONE YEAR OUTSIDE THE OFFICIAL BMW RECALL. I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. THAT'S WHEN THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME I COULDN'T DRIVE MY CAR WITHOUT THE REPAIRS. THE COST OF THE REPAIR WAS NEARLY $2000 SINCE I AM ALSO OUTSIDE OF MY WARRANTEE PERIOD. I HAVE READ THAT IF THIS ISSUE WASN'T FOUND, IT COULD LEAD TO ENGINE FAILURE EITHER WHEN IDLE OR DRIVING. I AM LUCKY NOT TO HAVE SUSTAINED INJURIES OR INCUR FURTHER COSTS. OTHER 2011 MINI COOPER DRIVERS SHOULD BE MADE AWARE SINCE THERE HAS BEEN NO OFFICIAL WARNING FROM BMW. BMW SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.

ONCE THE CAR WARMS UP THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION LURCHES WHEN THE CAR SHIFTS FROM 1ST TO 2ND AND 3RD GEAR. THE ENGINE STILL ACCELERATES, HOWEVER, THE TRANSMISSION SIMPLY WHINES AND NO POWER IS DISTRIBUTED TO THE WHEELS. VERY UNSAFE WHEN PULLING OUT IN TRAFFIC. MINI ADVERTISED THESE VEHICLES AS NEVER REQUIRING TRANSMISSION FLUID CHANGES. THE VEHICLE HAS LESS THAN 100,000 MILES. NO RECALL EXISTS, HOWEVER, THE ISSUE IS WELL DOCUMENTED ON WEB FORUMS.