MINI Complaints

DRIVING MY 2008 MINI COOPER S AT 70MPH ON THE HIGHWAY, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AND DIED. THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILED CAUSING THE MOTOR TO BLOW UP AND THE TIMING CHAIN POPPING THROUGH THE VALVE COVER, THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER IS UNDER A FACTORY INSPECTION NOTICE, I NEVER RECEIVED A NOTICE TO INFORM ME OF THE PART FAILURE. NOW THE ENGINE NEEDS REPLACED. *TR

MY CAR HAS BEEN LEAKING OIL AND THE DEALERSHIP DETERMINED IT WAS DUE TO THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER. THEY ARE CHARGING $357.98 TO HAVE IT FIXED. MY CAR WAS PURCHASED BRAND NEW AND HAS ONLY 50,000 MILES ON IT. AS SOON AS MY 4-YEAR WARRANTY EXPIRED, MY CAR HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP MULTIPLE TIMES DUE TO ENGINE ISSUES. SERVICES THAT HAVE BEEN PERFORMED AT 50,000 MILES: 1. THERMOSTAT IS LEAKING COOLANT- $ 671.99 2. WATER-PUMP ALSO LEAKING COOLANT- $661.20 3. COOLANT FLUSH- $169.80 I USE ONLY PREMIUM GAS FOR MY CAR, PERFORM REGULAR OIL CHANGES, AND MAINTAIN MY CAR METICULOUSLY. THESE PROBLEMS SHOULD NOT BE OCCURRING AFTER 4.5 YEARS OF DRIVING. I BELIEVE THAT MINI PRODUCES FAULTY CARS THAT DO NOT LAST, HAVE ABSOLUTELY ZERO RELIABILITY, AND THEN CHARGES AN EXORBITANT AMOUNT TO FIX SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE NOT BEEN BROKEN IN THE FIRST PLACE. *TR

SATURDAY NIGHT, DEC. 28, 2013. I GO DOWNTOWN WITH MY GIRLFRIEND. SHE HAS A BIG BAG SO WE LET THE PASSENGER SEAT UP TO PUT HER BAG IN THE BACK SEAT. AS SOON AS SHE SITS DOWN AND WE BEGIN TO DRIVE AIR BAG LIGHT IN THE ROOF AND PRE BELT TENSIONER GOES OFF. I CHECK THE SEAT AND SEAT BELT. NOTHING VISIBLY WRONG. MY GIRLFRIEND IS 5'4 120 LBS. THIS IS RIDICULOUS. I GOOGLED THE PROBLEM AND FIND OUT BMW WHO MAKES MINI COOPER KNOWS THIS IS A PROBLEM AND ISSUED A RECALL ON EARLIER YEARS BUT LATER YEARS NEED A RECALL AS WELL AS THIS IS ANGLING DANGEROUS AND EXPENSIVE ISSUE TO FIX. YOU CAN FIND PROBLEMS ALL OVER THE NET REGARDING THIS ISSUE. MAKE BMW-MINI COOPER FIX THIS ISSUE THAT THEY KNOW ABOUT BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT. *TR

KNOWN ISSUES: TIMING CHAIN AND INTAKE VALVES. ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AT APPROX 40,000 MILES. DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED 2 ISSUES THAT SEEM TO BE KNOWN RECURRING ISSUES FOR THIS MAKE/MODEL: CARBONIZED INTAKE VALVES REQUIRING CLEANING, AND REPLACE TIMING CHAIN. THIS BILL WILL COST OVER $2600. SEVERAL COMPLAINTS HAVE APPEARED FOR INTAKE VALUE BUILDUP AND ALSO FOR THE TIMING CHAIN ISSUES. INTERNET SEARCHES SHOW THIS AS A COMMON ISSUE AND ALSO A KNOWN ISSUE BY BMW MINI. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL AS THEY KNOWINGLY SOLD THESE DEFECTED CARS IN 2009. WITH ONLY 40K MILES TO DATE, I PLAN TO KEEP THIS CAR FOR AT LEAST 4 MORE YEARS. MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE WITH BILLS LIKE THIS ONE. *TR

MINI COOPER WITH A CVT AUTO TRANSMISSION: I NOTICED THAT THE ENGINE WOULD "REV." UP WHEN I STEP ON THE GAS PEDAL, AND THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. I PULLED OVER AND SHUT OF THE ENGINE, THAN RESTARTED THE ENGINE AND MOVED AHEAD. LATER THE "SLIPPING" HAPPENED AGAIN AND AGAIN; AT ALL SPEEDS AND WITH A COLD OR HOT ENGINE. IN ADDITION, THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS 55+MPH, AND THIS REQUIRES COASTING OVER TO A BREAKDOWN LANE TO AVOID A COLLISION. THE CONDITION STILL EXISTS AND I AM TRYING TO LOCATE AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM AND HOPEFULLY RECTIFY THE PROBLEM AT A REASONABLE COST. MINI COOPER DEALERS ARE ASKING BETWEEN $5000 TO $9000.00 TO REPAIR/REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION. I HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT MINI KNEW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AS EARLY AS 2005. ASIDE FROM DOING WARRANTY REPAIRS NO ATTEMPT HAS BEEN MADE BY MINI TO NOTIFY OWNERS AND/OR OFFER TO REPAIR/REPLACE THESE FAULTY TRANSMISSIONS. *TR

LOUD ENGINE NOISE COMING FROM CHAIN TENSIONER AT STARTUP. SOUNDS LIKE DIESEL ENGINE. ALSO HAPPENS DURING COLD ENGINE START. *TR

AIRBAG SEAT SENSORS ARE FAULTY. THEY ARE TURNING OFF THE AIRBAGS EVEN THOUGHT THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER ARE SEATED. *TR

I HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY 2011 MINI COUNTRYMAN S ALL4 IN REGARDS TO CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR. I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR FOR SERVICE OF THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR 4 TIMES NOW. EACH TIME IT HAS BEEN CAUSED BY FUEL IN THE CHARCOAL FILTER SYSTEM. EACH TIME I HAVE BEEN TOLD IT IS FROM OVERFILLING THE FUEL TANK, WHICH I DO NOT DO. I AM CAREFUL TO STOP FUELING THE FIRST TIME THE PUMP KICKS OFF, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED. THE FIRST 2 TIMES THE DEALER CHANGED THE CHARCOAL FILTER AT NO COST. THE 3RD TIME THEY CHANGED THE FUEL TANK AT NO CHARGE. I HAD NO PROBLEMS FOR ABOUT A YEAR, AND THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR CAME ON AGAIN ON 12/18/13, I SCHEDULED SERVICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. TURNS OUT THAT FOR THE 4TH TIME FUEL WAS IN THE CHARCOAL FILTER. THE DEALER CAN'T SEEM TO FIND THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM AND THIS IS VERY ANNOYING TO SAY THE LEAST. WOULD LIKE TO TURN IN THE CAR NOW, LEASE ENDS IN 7 MONTHS, AND STAY AWAY FROM BMW AND MINI FROM NOW ON!! *TR

WE PURCHASED A NEW 2004 MINI-COOPER R50 AND PAID EXTRA FOR INSTALLATION OF A CVT TRANSMISSION. THE CVT ' (SPORT MODE)' FAILED IN 2010, JUST 2 YEARS AFTER ITS WARRANTY EXPIRED AND WITH ONLY 35,147 MILES DRIVEN. WE WERE TOLD THAT IT COULD COST BETWEEN $2,000 AND $9,000 TO REPAIR/REPLACE THE SPORT MODE' FUNCTION, AND SINCE THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IS STILL OPERATING, WE DECIDED TO AVOID THE UNCERTAINTY OF COSTLY REPAIRS AND MAKE SURE NO ONE ELSE DRIVES THIS VEHICLE. SINCE THEN, WE HAVE LEARNED OF OTHER PREMATURE CVT FAILURES AND THREE CLASS-ACTION LAWSUITS REGARDING THIS TRANSMISSION: AARONS V. BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC [XXX],BONOMO V. BMW[XXX], AND BOURNE-MILLER V. BMW[XXX]. PREMATURE 'SPORT-MODE' FAILURE CAN CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE TO A $9,000 TRANSMISSION WITH DEADLY CONSEQUENCES ON U.S. HIGHWAYS AT HIGH SPEEDS. CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS DO NOT ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM, AND WE HAVE 'OPTED-OUT' OF PARTICIPATION IN THEM. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THE EXTENT OF PREMATURE CVT FAILURES IN THE MINI-COOPER AND ISSUE A RECALL APPROPRIATE TO REMEDY THIS POTENTIALLY DEADLY DEFECT. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF MORE INFORMATION OR DOCUMENTATION IS REQUIRED. UNDER PENALTIES OF PERJURY IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA I SWEAR THAT THE FORGOING DETAILS ARE ACCURATE AND TRUTHFUL TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

OUR BRAND NEW, 2014 MINI COUNTRYMAN WITH 100 MILES DEVELOPED A FRACTURE IN ITS WINDSHIELD WITH NO APPARENT OR OBSERVED CAUSE. WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS DUE TO A DESIGN OR ENGINEERING DEFECT. THE FRACTURE IS LOCATED IN THE BOTTOM CORNER OF THE WINDSHIELD ON THE DRIVER-SIDE. IT IS APPROXIMATELY 8 INCHES LONG AND REACHES THE BASE OF THE WINDSHIELD. *TR