MINI Complaints

I PURCHASED MY 2008 MINI COOPER 3 YEARS AGO AND IT'S CURRENTLY AROUND 78K MY CAR WAS DIAGNOSED WITH TIMING CHAIN STRETCHED AND POSSIBLY ENGINE DAMAGE. HOWEVER MINI COOPER USA DOESN'T WANT TO REIMBURSE THE MONEY I'D PAY OUT OF POCKET MYSELF.

I OWN A 2008 MINI COOPER S AND IT HAS 62000 MILES ON IT. AS MANY OTHER MINI OWNERS, I HAVE " RATTLE NOISE" ISSUE WHEN COLD START AND POPPED UP "ENGINE OIL PRESSURE TOO LOW" WARNING YESTERDAY WHEN DROVE HOME ON CITY STREET. THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER/GUIDE CHANGED ONCE BEFORE AT 18,942 BY A MINI DEALER.

I PURCHASED A NEW 2008 MINI COOPER FROM AUTOHAUS WEST/MINI OF ST LOUIS. THE MINI COOPER WAS DESIGNED, MANUFACTURED, ASSEMBLED, DISTRIBUTED AND SOLD BY BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, BMW (U.S.) HOLDING CORP., AND BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AKTIENGELLSCHAFT. I EXPERIENCED A PROGRESSIVE FAILURE OF THE TIMING CHAIN, TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER AND RELATED TENSIONER RAIL, GUIDE RAIL AND SUPPORT RAIL. THE TIMING CHAIN HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN REPRESENTED TO HAVE A USEFUL LIFE EQUAL TO THE LIFE OF THE CAR. THE TIMING CHAIN IS LOCATED WITHIN THE ENGINE, CONSISTS OF A METAL CHAIN, AND IS NOT SUBJECT TO ADJUSTMENT OR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. I EXPERIENCED A PROGRESSIVE FAILURE OF THE TIMING CHAIN AS FOLLOWS: (A) DEATH RATTLE OR DIESEL NOISE FROM ENGINE UPON START UP & AT LOW SPEEDS, (B) ROUGH IDLING AFTER HIGHWAY DRIVING, (C) POWER LOSS & ENGINE STALLS ON HIGHWAY EXIT RAMPS, (D) POWER LOSS & ENGINE STALLS ON HIGHWAY, & (E) CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. THE MINI COOPER WAS SERVICED BY AUTOHAUS WEST ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS WITH REPAIRS//REPLACEMENT OF SPARK PLUGS, BATTERY, IGNITER COILS, THERMOSTAT COVER AND OTHER ITEMS TOTALING OVER $3,000. AUTOHAUS WEST FAILED TO IDENTIFY THE TIMING CHANGE AS A PROBLEM. AUTOHAUS WEST, BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC, BMW (U.S.) HOLDING CORP., AND BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AKTIENGELLSCHAFT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER DEFECT SINCE 2007 AND HAVE FAILED TO WARN CONSUMERS, ISSUE A RECALL OR PROVIDE EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE.THE LOSS OF POWER & ENGINE STALLS ARE SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARDS & WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO ACCIDENTS, INJURIES & EVEN DEATH. TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN M110207 WAS ISSUED IN JANUARY, 2008. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT WIDELY KNOWN TO CONSUMERS AND FAILS TO GIVE CONSUMERS ADEQUATE WARNING. BMW SETTLED CLASS ACTION RE N14 ENGINE USED IN MINI COOPER S. HOWEVER, IT HAS IGNORED SAME PROBLEM WITH N12 ENGINE USED IN MINI COOPER. SAME ISSUES.

PASSENGER AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED AND CANNOT BE FIXED. PAASENGER SEAT WEIGHT WIRING HARNESS IS DEFECTIVE. THE REPLACEMENT PARTS CANNOT BE PURCHASED (6 MONTH BACKLIST). THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS DEFECT.

THE SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR MALFUNCTIONS. THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG MAY NOT DEPLOY EVEN IF THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT IS OCCUPIED. THE AIRBAG LIGHT SOMETIMES STAYS ON, WHILE SOMETIMES GOES AWAY. MINI HAS RECALLED SEVERAL CARS FOR SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR MAT FAULT BUT MY CAR ISN'T ON THE LIST. THE LIGHT STAYS ON WHEN VEHICLE IS STATIONARY AND ALSO WHILE RUNNING. I'M UNABLE TO USE THE PASSENGER SEAT FOR SAFETY CONCERN. THE AIRBAG LIGHT GOES AWAY ON ITS OWN AS WELL BUT TURNS BACK ON WITHIN A FEW MILES.

I WAS DRIVING ON A CITY HIGHWAY WHEN THE SMOKE STARTED POURING FROM UNDER THE HOOD AND THE CAR STALLED WITHOUT ANY WARNING, OR SIGNAL LIGHTS APPEARING ON THE CONTROL. I WAS ABLE TO PULL THE CAR OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BEFORE THE ENGINE STOPPED RUNNING. I STOOD BACK, WATER FOR THE SMOKE TO CLEAR, AND TRIED TO RESTART BUT THE ENGINE WAS DEAD. I CALLED MY TOWING SERVICE AND HAD IT DELIVERED TO MY SERVICE GARAGE, MINI OF MAIN LINE, 130 MONTGOMERY AVENUE, BALA CYNWYD, PA. NO WARNING LIGHT EVER APPEARED, AND I WAS COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO THE CAR. THE GARAGE REPAIR ESTIMATE STATES THAT THE "WATER PUMP AND THERMOSTAT" FAILED. MY MINI COOPER MODEL IS NOT LISTED UNDER RECALL #12V008000, BUT THE CONSEQUENCE OF WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CAR IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THAT DESCRIBED IN THE RECALL NOTICE: THE ELECTRIC AUXILIARY WATER PUMP FAILED CAUSING THE ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT BOARD TO MALFUNCTION AND OVERHEAT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 MINI COOPER. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE ENGINE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE ELECTRONIC LEARNING MODULE AND THE PYRAMID WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SEVERAL COMPONENTS WERE REPLACED DUE TO MANUFACTURER DEFECTS. THE GEAR LEVER, TRANSMISSION, BRAKE PEDAL, MOTOR, CLUTCH, FRONT AND REAR AXLES, AND THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL POSITION SENSOR WERE ALL REPLACED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 118,457.

THE PASSENGER AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT ILLUMINATES INTERMITTENTLY, EVEN WHEN AN ADULT PASSENGER IS SEATED THERE. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS ISSUE AND SEE THAT THERE IS A RECALL FOR EARLIER MODEL COOPER AND COOPER S MODELS. I HAVE EXPERIENCED THE EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS THAT ARE LISTED IN THAT RECALL, AND ACCORDING TO THIS SITE SO HAVE 2009 COOPER OWNERS. THIS RECALL NEEDS TO BE EXTENDED ACCORDINGLY.

POWER STEERING PUMP WENT OUT WHILE DRIVING AND IT STAYS ON WHEN THE ENGINE IS OFF. I WAS ON A CITY STREET WHEN IT HAPPENED. I HAVE TO DISCONNECT BATTERY CABLE SO IT DOESN'T DRAIN THE BATTERY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V660000 (STEERING); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.