MINI Complaints

TURBO COOLANT PUMP - LAST YEAR MY CAR SMELLED LIKE BURNT RUBBER AND SMOKE BEGAN COMING OUT OF THE TAILPIPES. THE SMOKE WAS SO BAD, THE CAR LOOKED LIKE IT WAS ON FIRE. I TOOK IT TO A BODY SHOP TO GET IT FIXED AND THE SMOKE STOPPED. ABOUT 9 MONTHS LATER, I WAS PARKED WITH THE CAR ON. THE RUBBER SMELL AND SMOKE APPEARED AGAIN. I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC WHO SAID IT WAS THE COOLANT PUMP FOR THE TURBO. HE SAID THERE HAD BEEN A RECALL FOR IT. I LOOKED UP THE RECALL, BUT MY VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. MY CAR IS HAVING THIS EXACT PROBLEM AND MINI WILL NOT FIX IT. IT COSTS $3300 FOR ME TO FIX, WHEN CLEARLY, IT IS A MINI MANUFACTURING PROBLEM.

TAKATA RECALL. I LIVE IN NEWPORT, WA. I AM APPROXIMATELY 6 - 7 HOURS FROM A MINI DEALER IN SEATTLE/TACOMA. MY CLOSEST CITY IS SPOKANE, WA. I HAVE A GREAT CERTIFIED MECHANIC WHO DOES ALL OF MY REPAIR WORK BRANDON MARTIN OF MARTIN'S AUTO SERVICE, SPOKANE, WA, WHO IS COMPETENT AT WORKING ON MINI-COOPERS. IT IS UNREASONABLE TO REQUIRE THAT I MAKE A TRIP TO SEATTLE FOR THIS REPAIR. I AM WILLING TO HAVE THE REPAIR DONE HERE AND BE REIMBURSED, BUT MINI WILL NOT ALLOW THAT. THEY ARE REQUIRING EXTREME TRAVEL AND EVEN AN OVERNIGHT STAY TO ABIDE BY THEIR OWN RECALL REGULATIONS. THEY DO SEEM TO MAKE THE RULES TO SUIT THEMSELVES; BECAUSE IF I HAD MADE THIS REPAIR PRIOR TO THE RECALL, THEY WOULD HAVE REIMBURSED ME, BUT NOW I CANNOT HAVE THE REPAIR DONE WITHOUT EXTREME ADDED EXPENSES INCURRED. DUE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF EXCESS TRAVEL, I RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT I AM ABLE TO MAKE THE RECALL REPAIR AND BE REIMBURSED FOR THE COST. THIS IS NECESSARY FOR MY SAFETY. DUE TO THE COMPANY'S UNREASONABLE RULE, I AM AT RISK.

POWER STEERING HAS BEEN AN ISSUE OVER A YEAR OR TWO. NO TOTAL FAILURES BUT IT DOES NOT QUALIFY AS POWER STEERING. THE COOLING FAN DOES NOT WORK. STEERING IS NOT GOOD....FOR POWERED STEERING THAT IS. SLOW SPEED STEERING IS HORRENDOUS AND NON EXISTENT.

OUR CAR WAS PARKED FOR APPROX. 10 MINUTES. THE CAR WAS OFF AND THE KEY WAS WITH MY WIFE. NO ONE WAS IN THE CAR, NOR WAS IT IN OPERATION ON ANY LEVEL. NO FLAMMABLE ITEMS WERE WITHIN THE CAR AND THE CAR WAS NOT PARKED ON ANYTHING FLAMMABLE. MY WIFE ALSO DOES NOT SMOKE. THE CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE NEAR THE FRONT OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED AND THEY WERE ABLE TO PUT OUT THE FIRE. THE CAR WAS A TOTAL LOSS. THE POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATED THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE AND IT WAS DETERMINED TO BE INCONCLUSIVE. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THE FIRE WAS SO INTENSE THAT IT WOULD BE INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE A CAUSE OF THE FIRE. BMW AND TWO OTHER INSURANCE COMPANIES THEN PERFORMED AN EXTENSIVE REVIEW AND ALSO DETERMINED THAT THE FIRE'S CAUSE WAS INCONCLUSIVE. FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, OUR MODEL HAD A TURBO CHARGER WITH AN AUXILIARY WATER PUMP. THESE PUMPS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO HAVE A TECHNICAL PROBLEM IN WHICH THEY DON'T STOP RUNNING. OVER THE COURSE OF TIME, THE PUMP ITSELF CAN OVERHEAT AND IN OUR CASE, IGNITE OIL AND/OR FUEL WITHIN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. MOST PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO SEE THE FIRE START AND EXTINGUISH IT QUICKLY BUT IN OUR CASE, WE WERE DID NOT SEE THE FIRE START. IN CONCLUSION, OUR CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE WHILE NOT IN MOTION OR OPERATION. NO ONE WAS IN OR NEAR THE CAR. THE KEY WAS ALSO NOT IN OR NEAR THE CAR. IT CAUGHT ON FIRE APPROX. 10 MINUTES AFTER BEING PARKED IN NORMAL CONDITIONS. NO WARNING LIGHTS OR CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS WERE PRESENT. NO MAINTENANCE HAD BEEN MISSED. IT HAD LESS THAN 30K MILES ON IT AND THE CAR ITSELF WAS ONLY ABOUT TWO YEARS OLD. VIDEOS CAN BE PROVIDED UPON REQUEST.

THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AT 55,005 MILES WHILE WE WERE DRIVING. WE TOOK IT TO BE SERVICED AND WERE TOLD THAT THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING /THERMOSTAT SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE IT WAS STUCK IN THE OPEN POSITION. THIS CAUSED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO BE ILLUMINATED. THEY MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS PART DATED 8/5/2016 ON THE SAME MAKE, MODEL AND YEAR, BUT OUR VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. HOW COULD THAT BE? THE CAR IS EXPERIENCING THE EXACT SAME ISSUE DESCRIBED IN THE RECALL. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOMEONE CONTACT ME ABOUT THIS ISSUE.

PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG, WHEN A PERSON IS SITTING IN THE SEAT, THE AIR BAG SENSOR INDICATES THE AIR BAG IS NOT ON.

AUXILIARY WATER PUMP FAILURE. SAME ISSUE WITH OTHER IDENTICAL CARS WITH A RECALL BUT THIS ONE IS NOT LISTED. RECALL NUMBER FOR THIS IS 18V248000. THE SAME ISSUE IS HAPPENING WITH MY CAR BUT MINI SAYS IT ISN'T LISTED.

WHEN YOU TURN ON THE CAR THE AIRBAG SENSOR LIGHT COMING ON AND OFF RANDOMLY ON MY DASHBOARD AND THE YELLOW PASSENGER AIRBAG WARNING SIGNS ON THE TOP OF THE CAR ALSO COMING ON AND OFF, SOMETIMES IT DISAPPEAR WHILE THE CAR IS RUNNING SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T. I CALLED MINI COOPER LOCAL DEALER, NO RECALL NOTED INCLUDING IN YOUR WEBSITE.

POWER STEERING PUMP FAILING, CREATING A LOUD WHINE WHEN RUNNING (MOVING, AND STATIONARY).

THE 2013 COOPER S WE STARTED HAVING ISSUES ABOUT A YEAR AGO, WHERE THE CAR HESITATED TO ACCELERATE, AS IT IS USUALLY DESCRIBED IN THE SERVICE HISTORY. WHAT HAPPENS IN REAL DRIVING SITUATIONS IS THAT WHEN YOU CRUISE AT AROUND 2,000 RPM AND THEN DECIDE TO ACCELERATE THE CAR LOSES THE POWER, COMPLETELY! SO BASICALLY, WHEN YOU'RE ON THE FREEWAY OR ON A TWO-WAY ROAD AND DECIDE TO OVERTAKE ANOTHER VEHICLE, THE MINI WILL NOT ONLY NOT ACCELERATE, BUT JUST COMPLETELY LOSE POWER FOR A SECOND OR TWO. IT IS AN OBVIOUS SAFETY CONCERN. AT THE BEGINNING IT WASN'T TOO FREQUENT, BUT RECENTLY IT STARTED DOING IT ALL THE TIME, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE MINI SERVICE REPLACED FUEL INJECTORS, PERFORMED SOME CLEANING AND ALSO SUGGESTED TO ME TO USE A FUEL ADDITIVE WITH EACH FUEL UP. NONE OF THOSE THINGS HELPED, THE ISSUES PROGRESSIVELY STARTED TO GET WORSE. IT ALL STARTED WHEN THE ODOMETER WAS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 75 AND 80 THOUSAND MILES. THE VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY AT AROUND 97,000 MILES THEREFORE SLOWLY REACHING ITS WARRANTY END (100,000 AND/OR 6 YEARS). DURING MY RECENT SERVICE APPOINTMENT AT MINI OF RENO I INSISTED ON REPAIRING THE PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD THAT AT THIS STAGE MINI OF RENO, NOR MINI USA KNOW HOW TO FIX THIS PROBLEM AND ONLY THING THEY CAN TRY IS ATTEMPT ON CLEANING THE CARBON BUILD-UP, WHICH THEY QUOTED ME $1386,86, MAKING IT CLEAR AT THE SAME TIME, THAT THIS IS JUST AN ATTEMPT AND THEY CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL FIX THE PROBLEM. CONTACTING MINI USA YIELDED NO RESULTS, THEY DIDN'T OFFER TO FIX OR REPLACE THE VEHICLE.