MINI Complaints

JUST WANTED TO REPORT ANOTHER CASE OF THE "DEATH RATTLE". MY WIFE HAS A 2007 MINI COOPER S WE BOUGHT NEW IN SEPT. 2007. SHE COMPLAINED OF A LOUD RATTLE WHEN SHE STARTED THE CAR FOR ABOUT 5-10 MINUTES UNTIL WARM. THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A LOOSE EXHAUST COMPONENT UNTIL IT STARTED HAVING IDLE ISSUES. WE TOOK IT TO A LOCAL SHOP AND THEY "REBOOTED" THE COMPUTER AND THE IDLE PROBLEMS WENT AWAY BUT THE RATTLE PERSISTED. OUR CLOSEST MINI DEALER IS AN HOUR AWAY SO WE DON'T TAKE IT TO THEM UNLESS WE HAVE TO. EARLY LAST WEEK THE OIL LIGHT CAME ON. CHECKED THE OIL AND OIL LEVEL WAS FINE... ALTHOUGH THE DIPSTICK DID NOT WANT TO GO BACK IN THE ENGINE. OIL LIGHT WOULD COME AND GO OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. SHE TOOK IT TO THE LOCAL SHOP AGAIN TO HAVE THE RATTLE CHECKED AND THE OIL CHANGED SINCE IT WAS ALMOST DUE. THEY FOUND THE GUIDE FOR THE TIMING CHAIN WAS BROKEN AND LAYING IN THE BOTTOM OF THE COVER. THEY CALLED OUR CLOSEST MINI DEALER, SAID IT WAS A "COMMON PROBLEM" WITH TURBO MINIS, AND WE SHOULDN'T DRIVE IT. HAD IT TOWED TO MINI AND THAT'S WHERE IT SITS. THEY HAVEN'T WORKED ON IT YET AND THEY WILL CALL ME WHEN THEY DO, BUT AN EARLY ESTIMATE IS ~$1800 TO REPAIR, AS LONG AS THE ENGINE ISN'T DAMAGED (WHICH IT ISN'T AS THE CAR STARTS AND RUNS FINE). I ASKED MINI ABOUT IT BEING COVERED UNDER SOME SORT OF WARRANTY AFTER READING ALL THE HORROR STORIES SINCE IT'S A KNOWN PROBLEM BUT THEY SAID SINCE THE OIL LEVEL WAS LOW, AND LOW OIL LEVELS EXACERBATE THE PROBLEM, THERE'S NOTHING THEY CAN DO. HAD NO IDEA THE OIL LEVEL WAS LOW UNTIL THE LIGHT CAME ON. PRETTY SAD THAT THIS "COMMON PROBLEM" STILL HASN'T BEEN FIXED AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. WIFE IS NOW A FULL-TIME STUDENT AND HER SCHOOL IS OVER AN HOUR AWAY. SHE MAKES THAT DRIVE TWICE A DAY, THREE TIMES A WEEK. HOW THAT BROKEN PIECE DIDN'T GET TANGLED IN THE TIMING CHAIN AND DESTROY THE ENGINE I'LL NEVER KNOW. *TR

I WAS TRAVELING THROUGH CITY TRAFFIC AND THE POWER STEERING CEASED TO OPERATE. STEERING BECAME IMMEDIATELY VERY HEAVY. PULLED INTO PARKING LOT, LOOKED UNDER HOOD, LOOKED UNDER CAR FOR FLUIDS, BELTS, ETC., AND FOUND NOTHING VISIBLE. GOT BACK INTO CAR, STARTED IT UP AND IT BEGAN TO WORK AGAIN, AS NORMAL. TWO WEEKS LATER WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, POWER STEERING AGAIN FAILED ABRUPTLY. POWER STEERING PUMP IS SCHEDULED TO BE CHECKED/REPLACED TODAY AT DEALERSHIP TODAY. THIS COULD BE A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. HAD I BEEN IN A CURVE AT THIS SPEED, I'M NOT SURE I COULD HAVE MAINTAINED CONTROL OF THE CAR. *TR

MY 2007 MINI COOPER S THERMOSTAT HOUSING HAS STARTED LEAKING TO THE POINT THAT IT WOULD CAUSE THE ENGINE TO OVERHEAT AT PROLONGED STOPS IN TRAFFIC IF FLUID IS NOT PUT IN THE OVERFLOW TANK. I HAVE BEEN READING VARIOUS THREADS REGARDING THIS ISSUE AND SEE THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL REPORTS OF THIS FAILURE, HOWEVER MINI DOES NOT SEEM TOO WORRIED ABOUT THIS PART. *TR

PASSENGER SEAT AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT WON'T GO OFF. I DO NOT KNOW IF THE AIRBAGS WILL WORK IN A ACCIDENT. *TR

I PURCHASED A 2003 MINI COOPER FROM A PRIVATE PARTY IN THE DALLAS,TEXAS A FEW YEARS AGO. I JUST RECEIVED THE DREADED NEWS TODAY THAT MY TRANSMISSION IS GOING OUT AND IT WILL COST ME $6000 TO REPAIR. ACCORDING TO MINI THIS VEHICLE HAS ALREADY HAD THE TRANSMISSION CHANGED DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD SO THIS WOULD BE THE 2ND TRANSMISSION FOR THIS CAR. THE REPAIR IS EQUIVALANT TO THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE VEHICLE 2 OR SO YEARS AGO. I CAN NOT AFFORD TO PAY THIS PRICE AND UNDERSTAND THIS IS A COMMON OCCURENCE WITH THIS YEAR VEHICLE SO IT WOULD SEEM THAT A RECALL WOULD NEED TO BE ISSUED. OTHERWISE I HAVE TO ATTEMPT TO SALE THIS CAR AND TAKE A LOSS. *TR

POWER STEERING PUMP FAILED WHILE DRIVING. IT IS A COMBINATION ELECTRO/HYDRAULIC PUMP. ELECTRICAL BURN SMELL WAS EVIDENT. I ALMOST GOT IN AN ACCIDENT, AND LUCKILY THERE WAS NO CAR IN THE OTHER LANE OR I WOULD HAVE HIT THEM. CANADA HAS MADE BMW MINI RECALL THESE AS IT IS A COMMON PROBLEM. *TR

THE POWER STEERING PUMP DOESN'T SHUT OFF WHEN THE CAR DOES. THE PUMP RAN UNTIL THE BATTERY DIED. *TR

I CURRENTLY HAVE AN OIL LEAK DEVELOPING FROM THE TURBO OIL LINE THAT HAS RESULTED FROM A FAILED O-RING WITHIN THE LINE ITSELF. DUE TO A DESIGN FLAW, THE HEAT FROM THE TURBO WEARS AWAY THE O-RING, WHICH RESULTS IN OIL LEAKING FROM WHERE THE LINE IS BOLTED TO THE TURBO VIA A BANJO BOLT. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM BECAUSE IF THE LINE FAILS, THE TURBO BECOMES STARVED OF OIL AND BURNS UP, WHICH ULTIMATELY CAUSES THE WHOLE TURBO UNIT TO BE REPLACED. ALSO, THE OIL LEAKING ONTO THE TURBO HAS A POTENTIAL TO CATCH FIRE, SINCE THE TURBO BECOMES VERY HOT DURING NORMAL DRIVING. ALSO IF ANY OIL LEAKS DOWN TO THE EXHAUST PIPING UNDERNEATH THE TURBO, THOSE PLACES ALSO POSE A FIRE HAZARD. MINI RECOGNIZES THIS TO BE AN ISSUE, BUT REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN ADD A HEAT SHIELD AROUND THE CONNECTION TO THE TURBO. THE LINE STILL HAS A RUBBER O-RING IN IT THAT WILL FAIL OVER REPEATED HEAT CYCLES, AND THE LINE NEEDS TO BE REDESIGNED. *TR

THE STEERING WHEEL STOPS TURNING WHILE MID-TURN. I TOOK THE CAR TO MINI OF SAN FRANCISCO AND FOR WHATEVER REASON, THEY COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM. THE STEERING CONTINUES TO BE A PROBLEM, HAPPENING RANDOMLY WHEN THE CAR IS FIRST STARTED UP. *TR

I WAS CHANGING LANES TO PREPARE TO EXIT OFF THE INTERSTATE WHILE ON MY WAY TO WORK. AS I MADE THE LANE CHANGE NOTICED STEERING WAS TIGHTER. AFTER EXITING THE INTERSTATE, THE VEHICLE WAS VERY HARD TO STEER AT THE TOP OF THE EXIT RAMP. THE TURN MADE WAS VERY WIDE NEARLY MISSING ONCOMING TRAFFIC. SUSPECT POWER STEERING PUMP HAS FAILED. *TR