general problems of the 2002 Mini Cooper

The contact owns a 2002 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that the headlights and cabin lights would remain illuminated after the vehicle was shut off. In addition, the contact stated that he would often become locked inside or outside of the vehicle intermittently. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer and they advised him that the control module would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

The contact noticed that if using the remote to lock the doors and if anyone was inside the vehicle they were unable to get out of the vehicle. The handles nor the door lock will unlock the door. Consumer has to use the remote. The contact felt that this was some type of computer defect. He took the vehicle to the dealer and demonstrated to them the problem, and they agreed with the consumer that this was a safety defect. Dealership contacted the manufacturer, and they said that there was nothing they could do about this was just the way the car was manufactured.

The consumer accidentally locked the vehicle with the remote key while occupants were still in the vehicle. The occupants could not manually unlock any of the doors to get out of the vehicle. The dealer said there was not a remedy for this problem. Please provide further details.