Table 1 shows one common steering related problems of the 2019 Mini Cooper.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Steering problems |
Car sent a message about vehicle stabilization initiation in the middle of the road. I could barely turn the steering wheel and change the lane. Authorized dealer service center tells me it’s a click and drive wiring malfunction issue. I was on the way to the airport via toll road and highway. Continue to drive with the stabilization in progress could caused me an accident for not being able to move the wheel smoothly.
I am writing regarding the failure of the steering column on my 2019 Mini Cooper hardtop. The incident occurred on December 31, 2022. I drove my car to a residential location in seattle, parked and locked the vehicle. When I returned to my car and started it up to move it, I realized I had no control of the car because the steering wheel was spinning uncontrollably. When the car was towed to seattle Mini, the aaa tow truck driver and the dealership service department personnel receiving the car said they had seen nothing like this before. Seattle Mini takes the position that the steering column was forcibly broken due to an accident which is not the case. I’m very concerned about the safety of this vehicle and not comfortable with seattle Mini’s theory as to the cause of the failure since no accident or “great force” event occurred as described in the service department video. If this had occurred while I was on-route to the location where the car was parked, the outcome could have been catastrophic. We would like to confer with you this coming week on the best course of action to address this situation. Thank you.
This is second incident that occurred with brand new Mini Cooper 2019 with same exact issue that again almost caused a near fatal accident. While driving on highway, at highway speed the car precipitously malfunctioned and car locked up and would allow me to maintain speed- nor accelerate. I was unable to maintain speed of the car therefore started to lose speed and decelerate. The vehicles behind me could not tell that I was suddenly losing speed and I was almost involving a near fatal collision again. I had been driving on the highway for about 5 -10 minutes prior to this precipitously occurring. This was the same situation I experienced with a brand new Mini Cooper 2019 model a week earlier. The car was towed to the dealership and they noted that the crank shaft speed pulse generator sensor was no good and had malfunctioned. As this is a repeat issue and very serious as it almost caused 2 near fatal incidents, I am concerned that the maker of the vehicle is not doing their due diligence to ensure that other 2019 models are safe. I have been told other Mini models were has experienced same malfunction. This incident and the other both occurred at highway speed which creates a very dangerous set up after the vehicles had been driven for a few miles on the highway and in wet conditions.
This is a brand model and brand new car that I had just purchased and was driving home from buying it- I had not even owned for a couple of hours. While on my way home vehicle malfunctioned and had near fatal collision. While driving on highway - at highway speed I was unable to control car and maintain speed. Engine seemingly locked up and as I was unable to control car almost caused a near fatal collision as car behind me did not realize I was losing speed. Taken to dealership and they noted the crankshaft speed pulse generator sensor had malfunctioned.