Mini Cooper owners have reported 21 unknown or other related problems since 1996. Table 1 shows the 1 most common unknown or other problems. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's unknown or other (21 problems). For details of each of the problem category, use the links in the table.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other problems |
My power steering fan continues to run even after the care is turned off. It completely drained my battery so I replaced the battery. Two weeks later the same thing happened and I learned that my power steering pump and fan are defective. Also intermittent loss of power steering while driving and needless to say this can be very dangerous.
Loud and persistent whinning noise from power steering pump, intermittent power steering failure. Had past problems with the power steering fan (June 2011).
Car impacted the rear end of a Jeep at low rate of speed (was braking to avoid crash in the front). Upon impact the car burst into flames. The air bag deploided. Luckly the occupant of the vehicle was able to get out of car. Within minutes the car was totally in flames. No one was killed or seriously injured but if the occupant did not get out when they did the occupant would have died due to smoke or flame injury. My complaint is that this low front end impact should not have resulted in imediate fire and large flames. I have photos of the car just after the occupant got out of the vehicle and also photos of the car after it was towed back to wrecker yard.
My car would not start one morning. I installed a new battery. As soon as I connected the battery cable, smoke started pouring out from underneath the engine. The smoke was acrid, like smoke from an electrical fire. The engine continued to smoke as long as the battery cables were connected. Concerned about the possibility of an engine fire,I disconnected the battery and had the car towed to a repair shop. The shop determined that the electric power steering pump and pump cooling fan were defective. There had been no prior indication that either that there was anything wrong with either the power steering or the battery.
My daughter got out the passenger door and walked around to the back of the vehicle to get grocery bags from inside of the trunk area of the hatchback. As she leaned forward to grab bags from inside of the hatchback area which was opened by myself she suddenly was taken back by a stinging feeling on her lower leg. As she started to scream I asked what the problem was. She told be that her leg felt like it was on fire. As I looked down I saw a crescent shaped dark red area on her lower leg that was caused by the tail pipe that protrudes slightly from the bumper. She developed a burn on her lower leg that not only hurt but she is afraid she will leave a scar. This should be corrected in some manner to prevent anyone from suffering from burns either using a heat resistant metal or a shorter tailpipe. Any questions please feel free to call or write nnpschwab@yahoo. Com.
Technically there were 3 incidents with my 04 Mini Cooper. Out of nowhere, while driving down a busy street, the power steering just stopped working. Luckily I was in the far right lane, and slowed enough to veer to the roadside and call for assistance. When the car was taken to a mechanic, I was told the power steering pump was bad and needed to be replaced. Also, I was told that it happens frequently with Mini's. However, I did not ask them to replace my pump, I wanted a second opinion. Out of nowhere my car started to drive without any issue whatsoever. I got a second opinion and was told in about a year, it would need to be replaced, but they too mentioned this issue with Mini's. I was shocked. Weeks later, I was making a left turn and the power steering went out. I barely missed a bus stop on the corner, full of people. Shaken, I again called Mini and asked about a recall or any procedures toward having one made. Obviously, they were unhelpful, but they too divulged that this is a common problem. My car started to drive normally once more, but I drove as little as possible while I continued my research. A third time, I couldn't even get my car out of the driveway and I decided that was it. I was just going to take it to a Mini dealership and have the pump replaced. When I called with my situation and then told them I believed my power-steering pump was needing to be replaced, they didn't argue or say they'd look into it, they basically agreed, and gave an estimate. I took it in and they again asked no questions, they didn't look into the problem. $1200 later, I left with no questions answered, with a hole in my pocket. If this is a common problem, it needs to be addressed ASAP. What if I had hit that bustop full of people, or worse? I can still tell there's something wrong with my steering. Mini needs to do a recall. Yesterday.
Power assisted steering will cease working while driving, making the car very, very difficult to steer/control. This problem is currently intermittent, but when it does happen it is very scary.
Timing chain failure. This is a known issue commonly referred to by Mini owners as "the death rattle". The dealer claims the issue is caused as a result of being 1. 5 quarts low on oil. But dozens of other owners are reporting the same problem without being low on oil. I suspect the low oil level is a cover allowing the manufacturer to not take responsibility for the problem. No oil indicator light is triggered at that level. Mini is taking action on this issue but has stopped short of issuing a recall. As such, thousands of Mini owners risk serious damage to their engine at speed as a result of potential timing chain failure. Furthermore, most owners have had to pay for the repair (between $1,200 - $1,700) to prevent the timing chain failure. This is a defect. It requires corrective action by the manufacturer.
The steering wheel on my Mini Cooper has become hard to steer on and off for the last couple of days. At the onset, I was going at about 15 to 20mph and turning right. The steering got hard to turn and I was having difficulty staying out of on coming traffic. I pulled off to the side of the road, turned off the car and hood under the hood to see if there was anything to explain what was going on. I was not able to identify anything to explain this occurrence, so I restarted the car and it was back to normal. Since then it has done this on and off several other times. I call the mechanic and was told these vehicles have lots of problems with the steering pump, cooling fan and rely switch.
The power steering pump is defective. I had a local firestone car repair shop diagnose an unusual noise emanating from the engine compartment that intensified when the steering wheel was turned. They noted the defective steering pump and that it would cost at least $1,223. 39 to replace. They said if I did not replace it, I could lose control of the car at any point while making a turn. I researched the problem online and found hundreds of other people having the same or similar issues with the steering pump. The ones who left the issue unresolved ended up losing control of their vehicle mid-turn when either the pump randomly shut off, or if it had already failed, randomly turned back on mid-turn. These situations are dangerous enough, but there were also reports of the electrical components catching fire. In light of this, I could not risk the safety of my family or myself, and took it into a local Mini dealership to repair the problem. They confirmed that the pump was failing and that it was good that I brought it in before it failed. The diagnosis and replacement cost was $1,417. 49. They acknowledged that they were aware of the defect and were awaiting the results of the NHTSA investigation before committing to refund the cost of the defective part(s). Thankfully, thanks to all the reports of this problem online, I was able to fix this problem before anyone was seriously injured.
2005 Mini Cooper sudden loss of power steering. Due to defect in design power steering cooling fan fails, causing pump to overheat and relay gets fried. Mini refuses to acknowledge problem, and fix. Cost for replacement of pump, fan, labor is $1300-$1400. Vehicle has 59000 miles. Curiously they have redesigned fan with cover to protect it and pump has also been redesigned. Why hasn't there been a recall.
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.
The power steering has failed twice, once when I parked while running errands and once while driving at low speed. On-line, I read that this is a common complaint for Minis produced between 2001 and 2007, but primarily those from 2004-05 and that it is related to the hydraulic power steering pump. My understanding is that the lack of heat shielding of the pump electronics permits flaking of carbon, that settles on the conductors and forces the pump to fail, until it cools off or until the flakes move on. Mini USA is not offering any solutions, nor is the dealer that sold me the vehicle, two months ago.
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.
While driving on the freeway my power steering pump died I could hardly change lanes on the freeway, it felt like my steering wheel had locked, turning in any angle was very hard worst than driving a truck, I kept a firm grip with one hand while trying to control the gears, my arms, back, and hand is still hurting, had no warning signals, it wheel just locked up and was very hard to managed I wasnt able to handle the car did not feel safe, did not have full control of handling the steering this is serious protential accident waiting to happen I called the dealer and was told that there were recalls but not for my VIN 2004. My Mini is now in the repair shop to have the pump replace and the fan. This is a deadly issue and Mini should recall and pay for this problem for those of us who had to pay out of pocket we should get refunds, so far out of pocket is over $1100. 00, I hope this send a message to the manaufacture that lives are at stake here, great car but not safe to drive without full control. I'm so thankful I didnt have to move quickly out of the way or I would not be here to report this bad experience I lost a day of work trying to get this resolved and the cost of a rental car.
Sunroof spontaneously shattered. No impact or other incident. Simply driving on highway 85 in santa clara, California. Loud explosion sound, covered in glass with hanging sunroof. Reported incident to 911 then to chp. No assignable cause.
My power steering fails intermittently without notice. Eventually a high pitched weeing sound was noticeable. The sound eventually stopped. We turned the car off for the evening. The next morning the battery (only 1 year old) was completely dead. After getting the battery charged and functional, I proceeded to do some research and phone calling to find out the cause of the noise. Come to find out the problem is the power steering pump and is something that will need to be replaced.
There was a "technical service bulletin" issued on my BMW regarding a broken or leaking valve which could break in low temperature weather conditions. I did break down, finding myself in a smoking car, both inside and out in 6 degree weather. It has been three weeks and my car is still at the dealership. They said I have a cracked valve cover. "all" of the parts ordered are not in yet as of this past Friday. I was told that they are waiting for the last part, a dip stick. A "vor" order was placed 3 weeks ago and I can't imagine what has happened to my car here, that in addition to whatever else, the dip stick broke. They are not charging me for the repair, which they say is $2000. I find this curious. I also had to bring my car back to the dealer in Dec. Because it was stalling in addition to a few other problems, they did not charge me there either, again, curious. My car, a 2001 3 series, has 45,000 miles on it. I take good care of it and just had it checked out in November when I had an oil change. Also last year, I had over $1000 of repairs done on it. I have been renting a car for the past three weeks for $60 a day. I wonder why they did not give me a loaner and I should have to pay for a rental. I would like to have been warned, or at least been given a choice as to whether or not I would like to have this problem corrected before it happened. I was lucky that I broke down in a safe area. I wonder, how many service bulletins are out there on cars that we are not advised of and could result in putting us in an unsafe situation. At the very least I think that the dealership should have given me a loaner or should pay for my car rental. Since they are not charging me for the repair, doesn't that mean that they are responsible for the damage? should have to pay for the rental, which is not up to $1260? loss when it comes to the car I don't really understand what is happening here, but it doesn't seem right. Can you help, me and other consumers out there?.
Consumer had 2005 Mini Cooper in shop for collision repairs that were not made. The consumers vehicle had been at the body shop for over 2 months, because the auto body shop received the wrong part 3 times.
Purchased car new 10/2004. In February 2005 it began to act as if it was going to die at low speeds, especially when first started. When the rpms are low it acts as if it is not getting fuel. Calls to the dealership this problem were met w/ "Mini knows about the problem, it is a software problem and there should be a fix by may. " I brought up my concerns regarding safety and was told to "be careful". Having the car die in mid-turns or when trying to drive across an intersection is not acceptable. I called the dealership again today and was told they have been told by Mini there is no fix to this problem and owners will have to wait until the gasoline in the USA is "better". I hope the NHTSA will be able to do something before someone is killed because of this "unfixable" problem. Number of failures noted was calculated by multiplying approx. # of days since this problem began by the Ave # of starts per day.
We were eventually able to speak to another technician, howard fuller, after extensively questioning mike winter. Howard fuller had not read any of the technical service bulletins (tsbs) about the car and is unfamiliar with the NHTSA complaints or with any similar complaints filed with Mini. After talking to howard fuller the next day, he had performed some Minimal research (read the NHTSA complaints) and stated that our problem was not the same and he repeated his interpretation of what he thought the problem was, which was incorrect. We corrected mr. Fuller and redirected him to the tsbs. He told us a Mini specialist was going to come in to examine the vehicle. However, he expressed doubt in the Mini specialist being able to reproduce the problem. In another disturbing incident, my husband contacted chico motley, the operations director. Mr. Motley was also highly combative and first stated that the virginia lemon law did not apply to bmws! after my husband, who is a 26-year veteran of the fbi, corrected him, mr. Motley stated that the virginia lemon law stated that the vehicle had to experience the same problem and be serviced for it 6 times. My husband again corrected him, quoting virginia law that it is 3 times. Mr. Motley stated that he made a mistake because he also manages a dealership in dallas, where he stated it is 6 times (which is also incorrect, it is 3 times in texas as well). He made it clear to my husband that whatever action his service department would take would be satisfactory and that no other option would be considered. In no instance did he ever express any concern over our safety or the nature of this serious complaint.