MINI Complaints

MY AIR BAG LIGHT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE IS ON. MINI DEALER SAYS IT IS A BROKEN SENSOR IN THE SEAT. I CHECKED ONLINE FORUMS AND THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM LOTS OF COMPLAINTS. MINI WILL NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM UNLESS I PAY. IT SEEMS AS IF THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND NOT AN ISOLATED CASE. I WOULD THINK BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL. *TR

DURING THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS, THE AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT WOULD COME ON. AT TIMES IT WOULD STAY ON FOR A LONG PERIOD, OTHER TIMES NOT AS LONG. THIS WEEK THE SEAT BELT INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON AFTER A PASSENGER LEFT THE CAR AND THE ALARM SOUNDED FOR APX. 10 MINUTES UNTIL I STOPPED AND SHUT OFF THE CAR. THE AIR BAG INDICATOR ALSO CAME ON. I TOOK IT FOR SERVICING TODAY BUT THE GARAGE COULD NOT GET ANY CODES FROM THE SRS CONTROL UNIT. *TR

FIRST NOTICED THE RATTLE WHILE DRIVING THE CAR. EVERYTIME SUBSEQUENTLY AFTER THAT WHENEVER I TURNED THE CAR ON I WOULD HEAR A LOUD RATTLING NOISE UNDER THE HOOD. CAR IS A 2009 MINI COOPER S WITH 38,005 MILES ON IT. TIMING CHAIN AND ASSEMBLY NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. DEALERSHIP QUOTED ME $5,000 TO REPAIR. THE CAR WAS JUST OUT OF WARRANTY AND MINI USA DIDN'T WANT TO HELP OUT WITH REPAIR COST. SEEMS LIKE A LOTS OF THESE FAIRLY NEW CARS HAVE THIS ISSUE. DEALERSHIP THAT QUOTED ME SAID THEY HAD 5 THEY WERE WORKING ON JUST THIS WEEK. THEY EXPECTED MINI TO ISSUE A RECALL BUT WERE SURPRISED THEY HADN'T. GUYS IN THE PARTS DEPARTMENT WERE ALL TO FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE PARTS THAT WERE REQUIRED TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THEY HAD THEM READILY ACCESSIBLE AND EXPRESSED THEIR SYMPATHY OF HAVING TO PAY $$ TO FIX WHAT UNQUESTIONABLY IS A MANUFACTURE DEFECT. PLEASE HELP US GIVE MINI A FRIENDLY NUDGE INTO ISSUING THIS RECALL. *TR

MY DAUGHTER HAD BEEN DRIVING MY CAR WITH NO PROBLEMS, WHEN SHE PARKED TO PICK ME UP I PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE AND WAS BARELY ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE PARKING STALL THE STEERING WAS SO HARD. I THEN HAD TO DRIVE HOME USING EVERY OUNCE OF STRENGTH I HAD, WHILE MAKING SURE NOT TO HIT ANYTHING. I TOO HAVE RESEARCHED THIS AND AM TRULY DISAPPOINTED WITH BMW. *TR

I HAD MY OIL CHANGED AND AUTOMATIC SHIFTER REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY RITE AROUND 49500 ON ODOMETER. I HAVE A 100K MAINTENANCE CARE PLAN THAT COVERS ALL ENGINE OIL CHANGES, BRAKES AND ROTORS. BUT RIGHT AROUND 53000 I KEPT GETTING THE SERVICE IN 1700 MILES LIGHT WHEN EVER I START THE CAR AND GOES AWAY. THE MILES STARTED REDUCING SOONER THAN THE ACTUAL MILES DRIVEN. I WENT TO MINI SHOWROOM TO CHECK WHAT WAS GOING ON AND THEY SAID I NEED A OIL CHANGE ACCORDING TO KEY FOB (THEY CHANGED MY ENGINE OIL JUST 3K MILES BACK) . I GOT THE CALL THAT AFTERNOON SAYING MY TIMING CHAIN TENSOR WAS BAD AND LEAKING OIL. IT'S A CAR LESS THAN 4 YEARS OLD WITH 50K MILES, THIS SHOULDN'T HAPPEN. THEY SAID IT CAN GRENADE THE CAR IF I DRIVING WITHOUT FIXING. THE PARTS WAS $33 BUT LABOR WAS $400. WTH MINI. PEOPLE ARE NOT BUYING WARRANTY FOR THIS. IN THE MORNING I WAS PROUD OF HAVING A MINI THAT COVERED ENGINE OIL CHANGE UNDER MY 100K WARRANTY. BUT EVENING $450 RIPPED OFF MY BANK ACCOUNT. CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE. HAPPY I DID NOT GRENADE MY ENGINE. BUT NOT HAPPY TAKING THE $450 CHARGE. SOME PEOPLE HERE GET THE SAME PROBLEM EVEN AFTER FIXING THIS ISSUE IN 20K MILES AND MINI DOESN'T SEEM TO KEEP UP THEIR WORD ON THERE 2 YEAR WARRANTY ON THEIR REPAIRS. I THINK I'M GOING TO CHANGE MY CAR IN A YEAR. I LIKE THE DRIVE BUT CAN'T TAKE THIS REPAIR BILLS. *TR

THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT WEIGHT SENSOR FOR AIRBAG ACTIVATION FAILED. DUE TO THIS, THE FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG WILL NOT DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT. THE ONLY FIX IS A $2000 REPLACEMENT OF THE ENTIRE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT. *TR

I WAS ON AN EXIT RAMP FROM THE HIGHWAY AND AROUND THE CURVE I FELT THE STEERING STIFFEN. WHEN I HAD TO TURN RIGHT I HAD TO SWING VERY WIDE INTO THE OTHER LANE BECAUSE I HAD NO POWER STEERING. THANK GOD NO ONE WAS THERE! IT RETURNED AFTER I SHUT MY CAR OFF AFTER PULLING INTO A PARKING LOT. THEN THE NEXT DAY IT DID IT AGAIN. TODAY IT WENT OUT AND HASN'T RETURNED YET. MY HUSBAND CHECKED TO MAKE SURE THE FAN WORKED AND IT DOES. THIS IS A KNOWN TO BMW PROBLEM AND NO RECALL IN THE USA. CANADA HAS A RECALL. TELL ME PLEASE, WHY WE DO NOT? *TR

I WAS THE ONE THAT REPORTED THE "DEATH RATTLE" ON MY WIFE'S MINI COOPER A FEW WEEKS AGO. I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THE ENGINE WAS NOT DAMAGED AND MINI FIXED IT FOR $1800, WHICH WAS RIGHT IN LINE WITH THEIR ESTIMATE. THEY REPLACED THE TIMING CHAIN (IT WAS STRETCHED 70MM... 70!!), THE TENSION PULLEY, THE GUIDE, CHANGED THE OIL, REPLACED THE AUX WATER PUMP (WAS A RECALL SO IT COST $0), RETIMED THE ENGINE, WASHED THE CAR, AND CLEANED THE ENGINE BAY. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE CAR RUNS LIKE NEW. THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME HE CALLED MINI ON MY BEHALF AND THEY GAVE US A $500 DISCOUNT ON THE REPAIR SINCE THE CAR WAS "ONLY A COUPLE OF YEARS OUT OF WARRANTY". PERHAPS THAT MEANS MINI IS FINALLY WAKING UP TO THIS PROBLEM? I'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND HOW BETWEEN THE TIMING CHAIN STRETCHED 70MM, AND THE BROKEN PIECE OF GUIDE RATTLING AROUND FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG, DIDN'T DESTROY THE ENGINE... BUT I'M NOT COMPLAINING. ANYWAY, JUST WANTED TO LET OTHER MINI OWNERS KNOW THAT THERE'S HOPE AFTER ALL. AND $1300 IS BETTER THAN $1800 ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. CAR RUNS GREAT AND NEITHER MY WIFE AND I REALIZED HOW MUCH POWER THE CAR HAD LOST. WE'RE STILL GETTING RID OF IT THOUGH... ENOUGH IS ENOUGH... EVERY TIME SOMETHING GOES WRONG WITH THIS CAR, IT'S DRAMA. AND THIS WAS THE LAST STRAW. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE. *TR

I HAD BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE POWER STEERING IN MY CAR GOING IN AND OUT AT RANDOM TIMES. TO FIX THIS PROBLEM I WOULD JUST TURN THE CAR OFF AND THEN BACK ON. NOW, HOWEVER, THE POWER STEERING IS ALWAYS OFF. I HAVE MANAGED TO DRIVE JUST FINE FOR MONTHS WITHOUT, BECAUSE I SIMPLY DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO GET THE SYSTEM REPLACED. IT HAS FINALLY COME TO THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN I HAVE TO GET MY INSPECTION RENEWED, AND I HAVE NOW LEARNED THAT THE CAR WILL NOT PASS INSPECTION IN MY STATE BECAUSE OF ITS LACK OF POWER STEERING. IF THE CAR CANNOT PASS A STATE INSPECTION WITHOUT THE POWER STEERING, HOW IS IT THAT THERE HAS NOT BEEN A RECALL MADE BECAUSE OF THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM FAILURE MAKING THE CAR UNSAFE TO DRIVE? THERE IS CLEARLY A DESIGN FLAW WITH THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM. IT IS ENTIRELY UNFAIR THAT NOT ONLY HAS THERE NOT BEEN A RECALL MADE FORCING BMW TO FIX THIS DESIGN FLAW, BUT THERE IS ALSO LAWS IN PLACE THAT FORCE ME TO EITHER STOP DRIVING, GET A NEW CAR, OR SPEND MONEY I DON'T HAVE TO GET IT FIXED. *TR

PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG SEAT WEIGHT SENSOR BEGAN TO INTERMITTENTLY TRIP PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG LIGHT AND AIR BAG LIGHT. ADJUSTING WEIGHT ON SEAT WOULD INITIALLY EXTINGUISH; HOWEVER, PROBLEM IS NOW CONSTANT. COST PROHIBITIVE TO REPLACE. *TR