MINI Complaints

AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT COMES ON BECAUSE OFEXCESS WEAR ON THE WIRING UNDER THE DRIVERS SEAT. REPAIR HAS BEEN MADE THREE TIMES. A SIMPLE SOLUTION NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED. AUTO IS 2002 MINI COOPER MFD IN JUNE OF 2002. *AK

AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK

WHILE DRIVING MY 2003 MINI COOPER, I NOTICED A CRACK IN THE BOTTOM MIDDLE OF THE WINDSHIELD. THE CRACK BEGAN UNDER THE TRIM, MOVED UP, TURNED A FEW INCHES UP, AND THEN SPREAD TOWARD THE PASSENGER SIDE. TWO WEEKS LATER, I BROUGHT THE CAR IN FOR IT'S FIRST SCHEDULED OIL SERVICE, WHERE I ASKED THE SERVICE ADVISOR, PETER WARK OF MINI OF THE MAIN LINE IN BALA CYNWYD, PA, ABOUT THE WINDSHIELD. HE PROCEEDED TO TAKE THE POINT OF A SMALL SCREWDRIVER AND RUN IT ALONG THE CRACK. ABOUT A QUARTER OF AN INCH ABOVE THE TRIM, AND IN A PLACE WHERE IT WOULD BE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR A ROCK TO HIT, THE SCREWDRIVER CAUGHT A SMALL NICK IN THE GLASS, ABOUT THE SIZE OF A GRAIN OF SAND. HE INFORMED ME THAT THAT NICK WAS CAUSED BY A ROCK, WHICH CAUSED THE CRACK, WHICH WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY. HE THEN TOLD ME ABOUT HOW THE PROCESS THEY USE OF GLUEING THE GLASS ON CAUSES THE ENTIRE BOTTOM FEW INCHES OF GLASS TO BECOME VERY WEAK, AND THAT ANYTHING HITTING THE GLASS IN THAT AREA, EVEN A TINY ROCK, WOULD CRACK THE GLASS. I FOUND THIS TO BE UNACCEPTABLE, SO I CALLED THE MINI CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE AT 1-866-ASK-MINI. I SPOKE TO A "MARTY" WHO MERELY REPEATED OVER AND OVER THAT HE WAS "SORRY THEY MADE THAT DETERMINATION, BUT A ROCK CHIP IS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY." AFTER RECEIVING NO HELP FROM THE COMPANY, I HAD THE DEALER REPLACE THE GLASS. I FEEL THAT THE REPAIR SHOULD BE COVERED BECAUSE THE WAY THEY MANUFACTURE AND ATTACH THE GLASS CAUSES WEAKNESS, AND THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT, WHICH IS THE PRIMARY REASON FOR SUPPLYING A CUSTOMER WITH A WARRANTY. I HAVE VIDEO AND PHOTOS OF THE CRACK AND NICK, AS WELL AS RECEIPTS FOR THE REPAIR. THE CRACK WAS FIRST NOTICED AND SPREAD AUGUST 12, 2004 AND MY SERVICE APPOINTMENT WAS AUGUST 24, 2004.*AK

SPONTANEOUS CRACK FORMING IN MINI COOPER WINDSHIELD. OVERNIGHT, A CRACK APPEARED IN MY WINDSHILED STARING AT THE BOTTEM CENTER OF THE WINDSHIELD, MOVING DIRECTLY UPWARD ABOUT 5 INCHES THEN ANGLING 90 DEGREES TOWARDS THE DRIVER'S SIDE OFR SEVERAL INCHES. THIS IS THE 2ND TIME IN 6 MONTHS THAT THE SAME FRACTURE HAS APPEARER OVERNIGHT. FIRST WINDSHIELD WAS REPLACED.*AK

WAS DRIVING DOWN A 2-LANE CURVY ROAD AT NIGHT, DRY WEATHER, 75 F AT 30 MPH WHEN CAR BEGAN TO WHINE WHENEVER STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNED. AS I DECELERATED TO 10-15 MPH TO MAKE A 90 DEGREE RIGHT TURN AROUND A CURVE, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME SUDDENLY EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN. ALMOST T-BONED A CAR TRAVELING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AROUND SAME CURVE. WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR BACK IN MY LANE, AND GET IT HOME, BUT NOT WITHOUT A LOT OF EFFORT. CALLED BMW SERVICE, THEY ACKNOWLEDGED THEY'VE SERVICED A FEW MINIS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM, AND WAS MOST LIKELY A POWER STEERING PUMP FAILURE. CAR WILL BE TOWED TODAY. *JB

FIRST OCCASION - WINDSHEILD CRACKED ADJACENT TO VIN # LOCATION. SEPERATED FROM VEHICLE BODY. DEALERSHIP REPLACED BUT TOOK 5 TO 6 WEEKS. EXCUSE WAS SUPPLIER CHANGED. SECOND OCCASION - ROCK CHIP ON INTERSATE. RESULT. SURFACE CHIP AND LAMINANT CRACK (1/4" TO 1/2" LONG). HAVE NOT REPLACED WINDSHIELD. WATCHING FOR ANY PROGRESSION IN SIZE. I'VE OWNED OTHER VEHICLES THAT HAD ROCKS AND SUCH COLLIDE WITH THE WINDSHIELD, BUT NONE THAT CRACKED SO EASILY.

OUR MINICOOPERS, 2004, RECEIVED A VERY SMALL CHIP. THE NEXT MORNING HALF OF OUR WINDSHIELD CRACKED FROM THIS CHIP. MY HUSBAND SPOKE WITH STEVE, A MINI REP IN HOUSTON, AND WAS TOLD THE WINDSHIELD HAD BE RECALLED DUE TO LARGE AMOUNTS OF STRESS ON THE WINDSHIELD. HE TOLD STEVE THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAS HAPPENED BECAUSE THE CHIP IS SO SMALL LOCATED AT THE BASE OF THE WINDSHIELD. WE WERE TOLD WITH THE CHIP THAT THE WARRENTY WAS VOIDED. WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY TO REPLACE THE WINDSHIELD. STEVE WENT ON TO TELL OF 5 DIFFERRENT STORIES OF MINI OWNERS HAVING TO REPLACE THEIR WINDSHIELD IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS. IF YOU LOOK AT MINI CHAT ROOMS, IT IS FILLED WITH MANY PEOPLE HAVING TO REPLACE THEIR WINDSHIELD, SOMETIMES MULTIPLY TIMES. IT JUST DOES NOT SEEM RIGHT. SO MANY WINDSHIELD CRACKING DUE TO ROCK CHIPS. WE WOULD HAVE HAD THE CHIP TREATED, IF IT WEREN'T SO SMALL, SO A CRACK WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED, BUT THERE WAS NO TIME, IT CRACKED OVERNIGHT. *AK

WINDSHIELD CRACKED ON MY MINI COOPER FROM DEBRIS ON THE HIGHWAY. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH MINI COOPERS. DOZENS AND DOZENS OF MINI OWNERS HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS ON THE MESSAGE BOARDS ON WWW.ROADFLY.ORG. THE WINDSHIELDS ON THESE CARS ARE PRONE TO CRACKING. I'VE ONLY HAD MY CAR FOR 1.5 YEARS AND ONLY HAVE 5000 MILES ON IT. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE HAD SOMETHING HIT MY WINDSHIELD. IF SO MANY OWNERS ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS, IT SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO WARRANT SOME SORT OF INVESTIGATION INTO THESE WINDSHIELDS AND WHY THEY ARE SO PRONE TO CRACKING. *AK

COMPUTER(S) FAILURE RESULTING IN A LOST OF ABILITY TO MOVE FORWARD OR REARWARD. THE ENGINE COMPUTER(S) HAVE BEEN REPLACED AS WELL AS THE TRANSMISSION.

I OWN A 2003 MINI COOPER S AND LIKE MANY OTHER OWNERS OF MINIS, MY WINDSHIELD IS CRACKED IN TWO DIFFERENT PLACES. I DO BELIEVE MINI SHOULD COME UP WITH A NEW DESIGN AND DO A RECALL. *AK