Manual Transmission Problems of Mini Cooper

The contact owns a 2006 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that the vehicle clutch was defective. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the clutch and fly wheel needed to be replace. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who offered to pay for half of the costs. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 47, 000 and the current mileage was unknown. The VIN was unavailable.

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Transaxle on the Mini Cooper failed. Unit contains sealed bearings (so I'm told), that are not serviceable. Therefore, I had to buy a complete new unit at a cost of $3,000 ()included $900 labor). I understand this is not an uncommon failure for Minis, and that Mini and BMW are refusing to work with consumers to address this problem. However, they have apparently changed the design, recognizing the poor design of the original unit.

See all problems of the 2005 Mini Cooper 🔎.

Sudden failure of the manual 5 speed transmission causing car to come to a sudden stop in an intersection, endangering the driver and blocking traffic. Something internal fails in the transmission, car comes to t sudden stop, cant be pushed as the wheels lock up and must be towed from the road. Appears to be a common problem on message boards on the web. Transmission must be replaced.

See all problems of the 2002 Mini Cooper 🔎.

2003 Mini Cooper. 5 speed manual transmission. Car transmission flew apart while driving.

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I bought a new 2003 Mini Cooper with a 3 year 36k warranty 6/26/03. While under warranty and receiving recommended maintenance through the dealer, the car required repair of the driver's seat which was frozen in the reclined position. Shortly after the warranty expired, and 10,481 miles after a dealer maintenance check, the brake light indicator began flashing. I took it immediately to the dealer. I was told the entire brake system needed replacement for $886. 60. At the same service visit, I was told the front struts needed replacement to the tune of $1600. My male friends who are mechanically inclined and/or engineers said that one would need to be doing stunts in a car to need that kind of repair at 50,293 miles. It was not clear why the indicator only tells when brakes are totally shot, or why the most recent service check had not shown worn pads and disks. Later, at 53,007 miles, the driver's side window failed and that cost $497. 51 to replace. At 62,516 miles the air conditioning system died which cost $1173. 58 to replace. The automatic door lock on the driver?s side does not work and lord knows how much that repair will cost. Now at 69k, the manual transmission needs replacement. My present mechanic (cheaper and more reliable than dealership) says the replacement of the transmission and clutch with a remanufactured system will be >$4000. This is an outlandish amount of repair and repair cost for a $19,000 car with 70k mileage. I have had 2 previous hondas that were cheaper than the Mini and never needed a clutch or transmission. My son drove my $14,000 '95 Honda civic until last month and it had 200k miles. I will never buy another Mini, or BMW for that matter, based on this experience. I will be sure to discourage others from buying one. I hope a class action suit is formed.

Purchased a used 2002 Mini Cooper about 3 1/2 yrs ago w/ about 12k miles. At around 15-17k miles the transmission basically exploded while I was on the highway. I was told that there was a crack in the transmission. Mini replaced it with I'm guessing a rebuilt transmission. At the time of the repair I asked them if they were putting in a new clutch and they said no, which I found strange. Now at 60k miles the clutch is basically done. When the car is cold it shifts pretty normally, but after 15-25 minutes of driving the first two gears become hard to engage and they slip. This is not my first five speed and I'm shocked that this clutch is done after such little mileage. Should they have replaced the clutch when they replaced the transmission? I'm not a mechanic but to lose a clutch at 60k miles doesn't make any sense. My driving habits are pretty normal. I'm not lighting up the tires at traffic lights or racing people. This is an everyday car mostly used on the highway. I'm bringing the car in to have it looked at the Mini service center in freeport NY on 12/29/08. Also had a problem with overheating about 4 months after car was purchased. And air bag light stays lit. Have had this problem corrected once or twice. But the light still stays lit.

Transmission blew at 34 thousand miles.

I have a 2002 Mini Cooper with 52k miles, the transmission has went out twice in the past 2 years the first time at 31k miles. The clutch has also went out as well as the sunroof motor, left front brake caliper, windshield wiper motor with a host of sensors, gauges etc. . . Parts are impossible to get and service on a 24k car (when new) is as much as my 70k BMW 7 series.

I will be installing what will be the third manual 5-speed transmission in my Mini. Same problem, seems to be the final drive bearing is failing likely due to lack of lubrication. I have records of all service and check it regularly and it has never been low. The bearing is apparently not getting a proper supply of fluid. Problem number two, my power steering pump failed on me once. It exploded while I was driving. The hoses basically got too hot and blew up. I fortunately was able to limp it to a shop without any fire. On another occasion the power steering fan continued to run even when the ignition was shut off, needed to replace the entire pump this time which cost me $500 installed with a remanufactured pump. Third, I have had to put three windshields in the car. None of these repairs were warranted! Mini needs to suck it up and claim responsibility for these shoddily made cars, they have made their money and don't care to help with anything. I am a loyal BMW customer but I think I will stick with the older models now as they aren't impossible to work on and find parts for. God knows I will not pay 23 grand for this nightmare again.

Car stalls randomly when comming to a stop. This happens on on manuel transmission. When depressing the clutch it revs down and idols low and stalls when approahing a stop. After an inital stall power is reduced and is sluggish when the gas is depressed.