Automatic Transmission problems of the 2002 Mini Cooper

I was driving from east los angeles to west los angeles (playa del ray) on the 105 west hgwy when the cars transmission went out. This happened in the middle of the freeway in la during rush hour. I had to slowly move over to the right hand side of the highway until I could find an area with a shoulder. I barely made it to the shoulder and could have died from one of the cars speeding past me. Luckily I made it. I called aaa and they brought a tow truck which towed the car into a shop which stated that they would not be able to rebuild the transmission. They said I would have to replace the whole thing which would cost $7,000 Minimum. I called multiple other dealers and shops, whom all gave the same estimate. I donated it to my local npr station because I did not want to pay that amount of money to replace a faulty transmission, with another faulty transmission.

Just driving along and car began to sputter, and then transmission let go. Engine revved, but the gears were gone. No forward or reverse. Nothing.

The automatic transmission of my 2002 Mini Cooper failed while my friend was driving my car. She was on a winding coastal road and the car died on a blind curve, putting her at great danger. Fortunately nobody was hurt. The car was towed to the san francisco BMW dealership, where I was informed I needed a $8500 "refurbished" transmission, as the transmission is not even made anymore. Research on line shows that this becoming a frequent problem with "first generation" Minis with the "cvt" automatic transmission. I declined the repair and sold them the carcass of my car. This is a dangerous problem and BMW/Mini is not accepting responsibility.

Back in Feb 2008 the steering on my 2002 Mini Cooper just went out with no warning. I was left without power steering in the middle of the 101 freeway, which is very dangerous! I fixed the problem, which was very expensive as it was the entire steering system that failed and filed a complaint with Mini, I never heard back but continued to drive the car. Recently, September 2008 the transmission in that same car needs to be replaced. I have had nothing but major problems with this car and feel it may be a lemon. Mini is unwilling to help me as my car is no longer under warranty. I feel as though these problems could result in serious injury as there is no prior warning and I am concerned for all present and future Mini Cooper drivers.

I recently was driving home from sacramento when my car stopped driving on the freeway. . . . Luckily I was able to pull off to the side and call for help. . . The car was still running and the rpm's were going up, but would not drive or reverse. I had no idea what the problem was especially since I had just had the second inspection service on the car on 4/10/2007 at the cost of $850. The car had not been driving funny, no lights had come on, nothing was abnormal. Aaa took my car to Mini of sacramento dealer where I had to leave it over night (the service department was no longer open) and check myself into a hotel. I called the next morning and they said because I did not have an appointment they would be able to take the car on an emergency basis and take a look at it around 5:00 pm. I was called later that day and told the car needed a new transmission and it will cost $7,500. . . The car has roughly 59,000 miles on it. Updated 02-21-08.

I just found this web site and after reading through the various issues other people are having with their Mini, I decided I should also go ahead and share my issues as well. Back in April of 2004, I was hit on the front passenger side by a Honda accord traveling about 50 miles an hour and my airbags failed to deploy. I never had a check engine light or an airbag light for that matter but it's a scary thought not having your airbags deploy, especially at such a high speed of impact. I used to be in love with Mini's but I have been so "soured" by them as of late with all of the issues I have been having. My automatic transmission is shot and because of that, I can't even start my car.

When the air conditioning is on, car stalls or stumbles while starting movement in first gear. This causes merges, left turns to get dangerous. Hot weather increases the occurrence of the problem.

I am having a problem with my 2002 Mini Cooper, it is experiencing problems with the transmission and it has been in the service department in three separate occasion totallying 54 days, the last time that it was in the service department it was 40 days. They finally said the problem was corrected, but it took them that long to figure out what was wrong. I called the dealership and told them that I wanted to be compensated only for the days the car was at their shop, also I informed them that if the Mini has to be taken to the shop again, that will force me to enforce the lemon law. Melissa steffy, the general manager, said for me to send her the letter and she wil see what she can do, but that it was unlikely that they would compensate for anything. I don't think it's fair because I purchased the car to use it, not for them to have it in the dealer's service department. I would appreciate if you could assist me with this matter. Thanks leyda ramos for edid batista : lrmia@aol. Com.