MINI Complaints

I BOUGHT MY USED MINI COOPER S (64,686 MILES) FROM HONDA DEALERSHIP - SERRAMONTE (DALY CITY, CA) ON MARCH 13, 2012. I'M THE SECOND OWNER OF THIS VEHICLE. THE STEERING PROBLEM FIRST OCCURRED ON JUNE 2012, BUT IT WAS TEMPORARY. WHILE DRIVING THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME HARD TO MANEUVER FROM LEFT TO RIGHT. I HAD TO PULL OVER AND STOPPED THE CAR TO SEE WHAT'S WRONG. IT CAME BACK TO NORMAL AFTER I TURNED ON THE ENGINE. THE STEERING PROBLEM WOULD HAPPEN OCCASIONALLY, I WOULD DO THE SAME PROCEDURES AND THE STEERING WOULD GO BACK TO NORMAL AGAIN. TODAY (3/27/13), WHILE I WAS DRIVING AT 35 MPH IN THE RESIDENTIAL AREA, I NOTICED MY STEERING WHEEL STIFFEN LIKE LAST TIME. I STOPPED AND TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AND FIRED IT BACK UP. THIS TIME, IT STAYED STIFF PERMANENTLY. I HAD TO DRIVE THE CAR BACK HOME DURING RUSH HOURS. LUCKILY I MANAGED TO GET HOME WITHOUT GETTING INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. I CHECKED THE STEERING FLUID LEVEL UNDER THE HOOD AND FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS FULL. I GOOGLED THE STEERING PROBLEM ON THE 2004 MINI COOPER S, I CAME TO FIND OUT THE SAME PROBLEMS WERE EXPERIENCED BY MANY MINI OWNERS. I NEED YOUR ADVICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE ON HOW I CAN GET MY CAR REPAIRED BEFORE IT CAUSE A MAJOR ACCIDENT ON THE ROAD. THIS IS THE ONLY VEHICLE I HAVE TO MAKE A LIVING. BECAUSE OF THESE COMMON STEERING PROBLEMS, I HOPE MINI WOULD TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON A 2 LANE 2 WAY (1 PER DIRECTION) RURAL ROAD VERY WINDY ON MY DAILY COMMUTE INTO MY OFFICE I LOST POWER STEERING. I WAS ON A STRAIGHTAWAY AND LUCKILY NOT IN A CURVE BECAUSE THE STEERING INSTANTLY BECAME TIGHT AND AT LOW SPEEDS IS ALMOST UNABLE TO STEER. I SAY ALMOST BECAUSE I I AM ABLE TO DRIVE WITH GREAT EFFORT AND ATTENTION HOWEVER ANY EVASIVE MOVEMENT FOR AN EMERGENCY MAY CAUSE ME TO BE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. I HAVE SEEN MIMI HAD A RECALL FOR THE EXACT ISSUE IN CANADA BUT HAS NOT HAD A RECALL IN THE USA WHILE WE ARE HAVING THE EXACT PROBLEMS. MINI ALSO CHANGED THE STEERING PUMP/FAN/WIRING IN THE 2006 MODELS WHICH IS THE LAST YEAR OF PRODUCTION ON THE EXACT MODEL I OWN. OBVIOUSLY THEY (MINI) IS AWARE AND TRIED TO FIX THE ISSUE ON THEIR END WITHOUT A RECALL.

PROBLEM WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION ON 2005 MINI COOPER S. NEEDS REPLACEMENT $8000+. ONLY 90K MILES. HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ON LINE REGARDING CVT TRANSMISSION DEFECT. MINI COOPER/ BMW NOT ADMITTING PROBLEM TO PUBLIC. *TR

WHEN ACCELERATING FROM 30 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR/SHIFTING FROM 3RD TO 4TH GEAR, MY TRANSMISSION WOULD REV UP THE RPMS AND MY CAR NO LONGER ACCELERATES. IT WENT FROM ABOUT 2 TO 5.5 RPMS, EVEN AFTER I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE GAS PEDAL. ONCE IT FINALLY DOES SHIFT, IT LURCHES THE CAR FORWARD VIOLENTLY. IT TAKES A WHILE FOR THE TRANSMISSION TO START ACTING UP, BUT ONCE THE CAR IS FULLY WARMED UP, IT SEEMS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE IT NOT HAPPEN. IT'S EVEN MORE FRUSTRATING AND FRIGHTENING BECAUSE I DO ALL CITY DRIVING, WHERE I SLOW DOWN AND SPEED UP SO I AM CONSTANTLY HAVING TO GET WITHIN THE 30MPH RANGE. MY CAR STOPS ACCELERATING SO I AM AFRAID OF MY TRANSMISSION DYING IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC OR SLOWING DOWN SO MUCH THAT IS CAUSES AN ACCIDENT. BOTTOM LINE: MY CAR DOES NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY AND POTENTIALLY ENDANGERS ME, SO I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR. *TR

WE PURCHASED THIS CAR IN LATE SEPT./EARLY OCT. 2012 WITH 29K MILES ON THE CAR. MY WIFE DRIVES THIS CAR, AND WHILE TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE, AS SHE WAS ENTERING THE OFF RAMP IN FOREST LAKE, MN HER CAR STARTED TO JERK/RUN LIKE CRAP (LATE JANUARY 2013). SHE WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR HOME, I TRIED TO FIGURE OUT THE ISSUE, BUT EVERYTHING I CHECKED TEST GOOD, SO I BROUGHT IT TO A LOCAL IMPORT TECH, AND HE DIAGNOSED THE FAILURE TO BE THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER, ALLOWING THE TIMING TO JUMP. HE SAYS HE STARTED UP THE MOTOR TO TEST FURTHER, IT IDLED FOR LESS THAN A MINUTE BEFORE THE MOTOR DIED AND NOW WILL NOT START. I NOW, AFTER OWNING THE CAR FOR 3-4 MONTHS, HAVE A MAJOR ENGINE FAILURE. I DO NOT CARE TO THINK WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THIS HAPPENED WHILE MY WIFE WAS TRAVELING DOWN THE INTERSTATE AT HIGH SPEEDS.... THANKX *TR

AFTER A SHORT TRIP, I HAD JUST PARKED THE MINI. FORTUNATELY, IT WAS OUTDOORS AND WITHIN 50FT OF MY TOOL CHEST. ON TURNING OFF THE IGNITION AND REMOVING THE KEY, I NOTICED AN UNUSUAL NOISE; THE [ELECTRIC] POWER STEERING PUMP CONTINUED TO RUN. A FEW SECONDS LATER, SMOKE APPEARED. I RACED TO MY TOOL DRAWER, GRABBING THE FIRST SUITABLE TOOL, CHANNEL LOCK PLIERS, AND PROCEEDED TO HASTILY DISCONNECT ONE OF THE BATTERY TERMINALS. SMOKE WAS HEAVY AT THAT POINT. DISCONNECTING POWER PREVENTED FURTHER DAMAGE, AND WAS FORTUNATELY DONE IN TIME, BEFORE THE WIRING HARNESS WAS INCINERATED, OR THE SITUATION BECAME A SELF-SUSTAINING CONFLAGRATION. APPARENTLY, ALTHOUGH THERE IS A 100A FUSE PRESENT, THE FAULT PROTECTION ON THE POWER STEERING PUMP CIRCUIT IS INADEQUATE. I REMOVED THE POWER WIRE TO THE PUMP, TO ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO BE DRIVEN, WITH HEAVY [NON-ASSISTED] STEERING, PENDING SERVICE. SINCE THE OUTCOME IS NOT SO BAD, WHY SHOULD I COMPLAIN? CONSIDER IF THE VEHICLE WERE PARKED INDOORS, AND/OR IF THE SAME EVENT WERE TO HAPPEN TO SOMEONE WITH LESS ELECTRICAL APTITUDE. I DON'T EXPECT ACCESSORIES TO LAST FOREVER; THE VEHICLE IS 11 YEARS OLD WITH 123K MILES. I DO OBJECT TO THE FAILURE MODE, IN WHICH THE POWER STEERING PUMP CIRCUIT BECOMES AN INCENDIARY DEVICE... *TR

DURING THE FIRST INCIDENT I WAS DRIVING IN TOWN, SUDDENLY THE STEERING HAD A HARD RESISTANT MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO DO A RIGHT TURN. I HAD TO MUSCLE THE WHEEL IN ORDER TO KEEP FROM VEERING INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. WHEN I PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER TO DO AN UNDER THE HOOD INSPECTION AND CHECK THE STEERING FLUID LEVEL, I SAW NOTHING THAT INDICATE DAMAGE. ONCE I RESTART THE VEHICLE, IT SEEM TO CORRECT ITSELF. I THOUGH WAS IT WAS MAYBE A FLUKE. LATER ON, MY WIFE INDICATED SHE HEARD A WHINING NOISE THAT CAME FROM UNDER THE HOOD, AND ASK ME TO LOOK INTO IT. AFTER LOOKING IT OVER, I ADD SOME BELT DRESSING, BECAUSE I THOUGHT COULD HAVE BEEN THE PROBLEM. IN THE MEANTIME I MADE SEVERAL CALLS TO THE MINI DEALERSHIP IN TEMPE, AZ. THE SERVICE MANAGER STATED THIS NOISE COULD BE SEVERAL INDICATORS, SUCH AS AN AGING STEERING PUMP, A MIXTURE OF NON-RECOMMENDED FLUID IN THE RESERVOIR OR THE PUMP COULD BE GOING OUT. I DISMISSED THE MIX FLUID INDICATOR, BECAUSE THE LEVELS WERE ALWAYS WITHIN RANGE AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE WAS NEVER TAMPERED WITH OR TOPPED OFF. AS SEVERAL MONTHS WENT BY, THE VEHICLE CONTINUE TO OPERATE WITHOUT INCIDENT, OTHER THAN THE WHINING NOISE, WHICH WAS HEARD WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED FOR THE FIRST TIME OF THE DAY, OR WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS RUNNING IN IDLE. RECENTLY, MY WIFE CALL ME FROM WORK AND INDICATED WHILE SHE WAS DRIVING TO WORK FOR THE 2ND TIME, THE STEERING SEEM TO LOCK AND WAS DIFFICULT TO STEER. SHE MANAGE TO DRIVE HOME WITHOUT INJURY TO HERSELF OR OTHERS. THAT SAME DAY, WHEN I LOOKED OVER THE VEHICLE FOR LEAKS, DAMAGE OR FLUID LEVELS AND THE VEHICLE STEERING AGAIN LOCKED IN PLACE. AFTER A LITTLE RESEARCH, I FOUND THIS HAS BEEN A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE WITH THE 2004 AND 2005 MINI COOPERS, WHICH HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED BY MINI OF CANADA WHO ISSUED A RECALL. ON THE FLIP SIDE, MINI CORP IN THE US AND LOCAL DEALERS DO NOT. PLEASE ADVISE WITH A REPLY. *TR

I AM THE CURRENT OWNER OF A 2005 MINI COOPER S. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IN 2006 FROM MINI OF IRVINE WITH 3,000 MILES. I HAVE RECENTLY BEEN EXPERIENCING ISSUES WITH THE CVT TRANSMISSION. THE CAR JERKS WHEN CHANGING GEARS AT ANY SPEED, AS WELL AS WHEN SWITCHING FROM DRIVE TO REVERSE. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO MINI OF SAN DIEGO TO BE DIAGNOSED AND HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $8,000. THE VEHICLE CURRENTLY HAS 73,000 MILES AND FIND IT COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS FAILING SO EARLY ON. *TR

TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILURE ON 2008 MINI COOPER LEADING TO LARGE OIL LEAK UNDER PRESSURE. LOSS OF ALL ENGINE OIL, OIL SPRAYING ONTO HOT EXHAUST SYSTEM, ENGINE OIL PRESSURE LOSS AND OIL WARNING LIGHT. COULD EASILY LEAD TO COMPLETE CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE/SEIZURE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND ACCIDENT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE STEERING BECAME EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER. THE FAILURE RECURRED AS THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING PUMP WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 64,000. *TR