MINI Complaints

ON AUGUST 15, 2011, I DROVE MY VEHICLE TO WORK AS I DO EVERY MORNING. ON THE WAY, I STOPPED FOR GAS. AFTER FILLING UP THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT THE ENGINE WAS VERY, VERY HOT AND THE COOLANT OVERFLOW TANK WAS OVERFLOWING. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE CLOSEST DEALERSHIP AND, AFTER INVESTIGATING, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE ENGINE WAS STARVED OF OIL, HAD SEIZED, AND WOULD NEED TO BE COMPLETELY REPLACED. THIS VEHICLE HAS ALWAYS RECEIVED REGULAR SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE SINCE IT WAS PURCHASED NEW FROM MINI IN 2008. THE LAST SERVICE WAS PERFORMED BY THE DEALERSHIP ON A LEAKING OIL PAN GASKET. FURTHERMORE, THERE HAD BEEN NO WARNING SIGNALS WHATSOEVER THAT THE ENGINE WAS IN DANGER. *TR

PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT. WAS MAKING A RIGHT TURN INTO A SPOT AND LOST ALL STEERING. I TURNED OFF THE CAR AND RESTARTED AND IT WORKED AGAIN, BUT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER WITHOUT THE POWER ASSIST. I SEE THIS MORNING THAT THIS PROBLEM IS NOW COMMON AND I HESITATE TO GO INTO MINI TO HAVE IT FIXED RIGHT AWAY SINCE IT WILL COST MORE THAN $1000 TO FIX! WHY ISN'T THIS A RECALL? *TR

I DROVE THE CAR FOR LESS THAN A MILE AT CITY SPEEDS AND PROCEEDED TO PARK TO RUN ERRANDS. ABOUT 5 MINUTES LATER I NOTICED SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT OF THE CAR, UPON CLOSER INSPECTION I REALIZED THE CAR WAS ON FIRE AND CALLED 911. BY THE TIME THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED TO THE SCENE (ABOUT 5 MINUTES LATER) THE FIRE HAD SPREAD THROUGH THE VEHICLE. THE CAR SHOWED NO WARNING SIGNS BEFORE THE FIRE STARTED AND ALL SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE HAD BEEN PERFORMED. THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE IS TO BE DETERMINED. *TR

DRIVER AND FRONT PASSENGER SEATS GET STUCK IN POSITION. POSITION FOR DRIVERS SEAT IS TOTALLY STRAIGHT UP. MY BROTHER REPAIRED BUT SEAT STILL DOES NOT POSITION CORRECTLY AS I MUST USE A PILLOW BEHIND ME IN ORDER TO DRIVE. THE SAME THING HAPPENS TO THE PASSENGER SEAT AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK. SO FAR I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET THE PASSENGER SEAT BACK INTO POSITION AS THERE IS A "TRICK" POSTED ONLINE THAT INSTRUCTS HOW TO REPOSITION THE SEAT. YOU MUST SIT ON YOUR KNEES ON THE SEAT AND TRY TO MANEUVER BOTH SEAT CONTROLS AT THE SAME TIME TO UNLOCK THE POSITION. THIS TRICK DOES NOT ALWAYS RELEASE THE SEAT UNTIL TRIED MANY MANY TIMES DAYS APART. *TR

THE POWER STEERING FAILS WITH NO WARNING. THE CAR BECOMES EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. IT HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING AND AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. IT MAY LAST JUST A FEW MINUTES OR MUCH LONGER - HOUR OR SO. USUALLY DOES NOT OCCUR WHEN JUST STARTING THE CAR BUT NO OTHER KNOWN PATTERN. IT HAPPENS 1 TO 2 TIMES A MONTH OR MORE. *TR

AIR BAG LIGHT STAYS ON. IT CAME ON A FEW MONTHS AGO AND STAYS ON. HAS BEEN CHECKED BY DEALER BUT NO KNOWN CAUSE. *TR

TEMPORARY LOSS OF POWER STEERING. AFTER DRIVING FOR ABOUT 2 HOURS, I STOPPED TO FILL UP AT A GAS STATION. I THEN STARTED THE CAR AND BEGAN TO DRIVE OUT OF THE GAS STATION. I SOON NOTICED THE POWER STEERING WAS NOT WORKING. I PULLED INTO A PARKING SPACE, OPENED THE HOOD, AND PROCEEDED TO CHECK THE POWER STEERING FLUID. THE POWER STEERING FLUID RESERVOIR WAS FULL. I RESTARTED THE CAR AFTER ABOUT 5 MINUTES AND THE POWER STEERING WAS WORKING AGAIN. THIS TEMPORARY POWER STEERING LOSS HAS OCCURRED 3 MORE TIMES OVER THE LAST MONTH SINCE THE INITIAL INCIDENT DESCRIBED ABOVE. DURING THE LAST OCCURRENCE, I DROVE A SHORT DISTANCE BACK TO MY HOME WITH NO POWER STEERING. I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT STEERING WAS VERY DIFFICULT, NEARLY UNDRIVEABLE AROUND SLOW SPEED TURNS. THE STEERING EFFORT WAS MUCH MORE THAN MANUAL STEERING CARS I'VE OWNED IN THE PAST. *TR

IT STARTED WITH LOUD NOISES AND RPM JUMPS TO BETWEEN 5 AND 6 WHEN ACCELERATING. IT NOW MAKES UNBELIEVABLE SOUNDS WHEN TRYING TO GO BEYOND 50 MPH. I TOOK IT TO A LOCAL MECHANICS AND HE TOLD ME THE TRANSMISSION IS GONE AND IT HAS TO BE REPLACED. BMW DOES NOT SELL PARTS. IT WOULD COST ME ABOUT $5400 AT LEAST FOR A REBUILT TRANSMISSION. THIS CAR HAS ONLY 55000 MILES.

MY DAUGHTER EXPERIENCED COMPLETE POWER STEERING FAILURE WHILE SHE WAS DRIVING HER MINI COOPER, NEARLY CAUSING A COLLISION WITH AN ONCOMING VEHICLE. I DROVE THE CAR AFTERWARD AND COULD NOT BELIEVE HOW HARD IT WAS TO STEER THE CAR (COMPARED TO A MANUAL STEERING VEHICLE). I CALLED MINI AT THEIR TOLL FREE NUMBER AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY HAD NO RECALL NOTICE FROM THE NHTSA, THEREFORE THEY HAD NO OBLIGATION TO FIX THIS INCREDIBLE DEFECT. I HOPE IT DOESN'T TAKE A BODY COUNT FOR THE NHTSA TO RECALL THE 223,000 MINI'S EFFECTED BY THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS DEFECT. *KB

POWER STEERING FAILURE WHILE DRIVING; HAD NEW STEERING RACK/PUMP INSTALLED AT 90,000, WORKED FINE FOR A YEAR AND NOW THE POWER STEERING HAS FAILED FOR THE SECOND TIME; A NEW STEERING PUMP/RACK NEEDS TO BE INSTALLED... *KB