general problems of the 2003 Mini Cooper

No air or blower or heat to defog windshield. Water in driver-side foot well. Power steering intermittent fault. Engine continues running and panel gauge lights remain on with ignition off and key removed.

I purchased the car in dover PA . Inspection sticker had same milage as on car so I shoulda knew he slapped a sticker on . Drove 150 miles dash lit ip like chrismas tree. 1st thing left window wont work , then left lock wont work had to lock from passenfger dide. Then door wont open at all . Have to get ou t passenger door . Know that wont open have to put down passenger window pull handel to get out . Car is possessed light work whren they want does all kinda crazt stuff . Batter has problems . Charge and still cant start it . And hatch locks so I cant get to battery. Power steering leaking going bad . Timing belt making noise . No power on hills . Cracking noise in right front pulls to right had . Hazard to me ive been locked inside three times could get out of car I coulda sat in heat and died or cold and froze . Cant get out of car when it ts electric doors dont work . Car sucks . This has been gradual thing these events from Feb to may . Now I just hate the car.

While traveling north on us 221 from bent mountain, va to roanoke va my hydralic steering totally failed. As I travelled a short distance my brake light warning lights, abs light, other brake system light, battery light and air bag warning light came on. I looked at the engine temperature guage and the temp was normal. I pulled into a parking lot, raised the hood, checked the fluids in the engine compartment and reentered the car. While sitting in the drivers seat I heard a loud explosion, looked forward and noted thick steam coming from the engine compartment. I turned the engine off, exited the car and when the steam dissipated I noted that the cooling system filling/overflow tank was split in half damaging a protecting cover on the firewall and sprayed a building wall and window with engine coolant 10 feet away in front of the vehicle. I had the car towed to martin's german service in cave spring, va. Because the closest dealership in located in north carolina 150 miles away. Due to service volume they will not be able to evaluate the problem until 24 may 2016.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper. While driving approximately 15 mph, the power steering seized. The battery and temperature gauge warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15v660000 (steering); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 168,000.

Our 2003 Mini Cooper was driven in October 2015 in first and second gear, in bumper to bumper slow traffic, uphill for about a mile. When we shut the car off and got out of it, a fan in the engine compartment continued to run. We went back into the car, started it again, then shut if off for a second time, and the fan continued to run. The fan ran about 5 to 10 minutes while the car was parked. We have been told that the stage 1 cooling fan has failed and that the stage 2 cooling fan was running to cool down the engine.

After driving the car under normal circumstances a short distance and parking the car, a fire ignited in the engine bay. The fire extinguished itself prior to the fire truck arriving. Vehicle was towed to local dealer who, upon inspection, indicated the power steering pump and/or associated hardware had failed and caused the fire.

I parked my car in a parking garage after driving approximately 20 miles. I walked to a dentist down the street for an appointment. While at the dentist I get a call that went to my voicemail that my car (while parked with the engine off) was on fire and was filling the parking garage with smoke. Upon receiving the message I rushed home to find that the fire was already out, but the smell of smoke was still very strong. I noticed that the inside indicating lights of the car were on as if the key was in the ignition of the car. I immediately disconnected the battery and inspected the car to find the source of the fire. Upon inspection I found that the flames had come from behind and slightly below the motor. There was a metal shield that was blackened by the flames that I could not see around so I jacked up the car and removed the driver side wheel to further inspect the source of the fire. After doing so I could then clearly see that the source of the fire was the power steering pump due to the surrounding burn marks. The total amount of damage has yet to be assessed by my insurance company. They towed the car and are inspecting the car on Dec 13, 2012.

While I was driving Mini 2003 (odo: 74k) on I-90 highway at 70mph, suddenly the power steering wheel stopped working on June 28, 2012. I barely made to exit from the highway, and got home. Next day, the car was sent to the BMW-Mini dealership, and assessed the failure of power steering pump. They know this happens frequently with Mini, but it was not covered by manufacturers. The only option was to replace the part. The part was replaced and the cost was $1,200.

Drain hose from sunroof drain running down a-pillar came dislodged through "normal wear and tear" causing massive flooding to the interior of my car. It was rendered unserviceable and totaled, on June 16, 2014, but uncovered by insurance. This was nothing that I was aware of that was an issue, nor were any recalls ever issued on this issue. I had it in to the dealership in 2012, 2 years ago, for electrical failure, and they thought it was merely the battery, so they replaced it and it seemed to be fine, but they said to keep the battery as a back up "just in case" because it still appeared to be a good battery. Then later in 2013, I took it back to the Mini dealer for general service and I said I noticed water in the boot (trunk) and for them to check the hatchback seal to see if there was any leaks, they said no, and no further investigation was done for either event. I believe that both these events were results of the faulty drain hose from the a-pillar being dislodged for so long. Today, the automobile left my possession, to an auction house. I wanted to file this complaint so that you, the NHTSA can perhaps have Mini issue a recall to fix this issue and have them change their vehicle's sunroof drainage system so that someone else doesn't have a car totally ruined by flooding due to this defect in engineering and design. After viewing some Mini forums, I am not the only person who has had this issue has happened to their Mini Cooper. I'm very sad, because I happened to really enjoy this car, and it was totally fun to drive. I was advised by a friend who is a motorcycle mechanic and my insurance agent to file this report with your organization, in hopes that something will be done about this. Too many people don't speak up, and I am not one to let something done wrong to me go without a fight! do all you can to rectify this issue with Mini!.

Upon turning on my driver's side heated seat, one part of my back seemed to be getting extremely hot. Upon turning around, I saw a small hole had been burned in the seat cover and was smoldering and smoking. I immediately turned off the seat warmer. It took many minutes to cool down and stop smoking. Thankfully the vehicle was stationary when this happened. If it had been in motion, my safety would certainly have been comprised, as I could have sustained burns before pulling the car to the side of the road. The distraction of a burning seat is also not an insignificant safety hazard as well.

My 2003 Mini Cooper has almost caught on fire several times, replaced transmission, electrical harness, power steering pump, a/c hoses and a/c service, wheel bearings, injection plugs etc. . . . . . . I still cannot find the real problem why is causing a short, it has almost caught on fire several times, this car has been the most dangerous car I have ever own, I have never spend so much money on trying to fix any vehicle, right now I'm about $11,500 in costs of repairs, this is a crime to the consumer, I have been reading about a class action lawsuit that is in progress, I hope and pray that we get justice from the maker of Mini.

Windshield cracked from the bottom where it meets the hood of the car. Driver's side window does not go down. I only hear a clicking sound. Water pump, oil pan and valve cover gaskets failed prematurely. I can't shift the car into first gear without multiple attempts.

I was driving home one day when several lights lit up in my car. I was scared because these lights were: low tire pressure, low brake pads, traction control light, & abs break light. I pulled over and shut off the car, and when I turned it back on, they still were lit up. I am not sure what caused this as I wasn't driving erratically, just normal. I still do not know why exactly they are on, however I figure it is something to do with the computer.

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.

Mini Cooper 2003 stop dead at the the intersection for the third time. The car was towed to the dealer.

The computer system doesn't seem to be working properly. My car just stopped running while driving in rush hour traffic (this happened twice. ) my key-less entry doesn't work. Finally, the tire failure light comes on when the tire pressure changes but it doesn't light up when I had a flat.