Power Train Problems of Mini Cooper - part 1

My Mini Cooper has been showing repeated warnings stating “start-off assistance inactive. Caution: vehicle may roll back!” for some time. This issue appears to relate to an existing recall involving potential electrical and starter/rollaway defects. The vehicle also has a persistent front parking light malfunction and intermittent electrical issues with the windows, which stop mid-way and roll back down automatically when the car shifts gears or moves slightly. In addition, the battery repeatedly dies, even though it was replaced with a brand-new one a few months ago. This suggests an underlying electrical drain or short, which could increase the risk of electrical fire or vehicle failure while driving. These malfunctions create significant safety concerns, as the vehicle may roll backward when stopped on an incline and could pose a fire risk due to the known recall. The car has not been safe to drive. The closest Mini dealership (flow Mini of raleigh - about 2 hours away) confirmed that the recall is open but refused to provide or authorize a tow, even after I explained that the vehicle could not be safely driven to their location about 2 hours away. The problem has been ongoing for several years, worsening over time. Warning messages appear intermittently but frequently, especially during start-up or when stopped on slopes. Mini USA has not inspected or repaired the vehicle, and their representatives have stated they will not assist with transport to the dealership despite the known recall risk. I called Mini USA directly, and recorded the whole ordeal. I was forwarded to 5 different departments, and the last person stated that because my car is out of warranty that there’s nothing they can do to help me - that any tow I opt for would have to be out-of-pocket. I was in the middle of explaining to her that my car has these very specific warnings and issues associated with this recall that is solely the fault of Mini, and she hung up on me.

See all problems of the 2011 Mini Cooper 🔎.

Selector lever wrongly not locked in park. Put up a code for transmission (egs). I believe it falls under the transmission control unit recall on Mini Coopers 2 door hardtop.

See all problems of the 2015 Mini Cooper 🔎.

Drivetrain error occurred. I pulled codes and found p0015. I added oil, cleared code. The next day the drivetrain error popped back up. Pulled codes and found p0366. I took the vehicle to mechanic for diagnostics and to find the issue. They found faults: 130f11 and 120408. When replacing engine oil and filter, they found metal shavings in the oil; bearing material. They are recommending replacing the engine. Doing research, it appears this has been a common occurrence with these vehicles/engines. Is there a current recall on some of these engines, or a possibility for a discounted replacement due to the issues being widespread? the car has less than 74,000 miles, and the mechanic said it looks like it may have been going on a while. I purchased this car from a used dealership less than 3 months ago, and have already encountered so many unexpected issues. I really expected more from the Mini brand. Thanks.

See all problems of the 2016 Mini Cooper 🔎.

2017 Mini Cooper - selector lever magnetic shift interlock mechanism.

See all problems of the 2017 Mini Cooper 🔎.

The clutch has been a problem. The clutch wears out prematurely, causing loss of acceleration, which caused loss of power trying to merge into freeway traffic, which nearly resulted in a collision with a semi. Looking up repair or replacement information, it appears this is a common problem that Mini has, some people were replacing the clutch 3 times before 50,000 miles, and also refusing to honor their warranty, claiming it’s the user fault. I got a quote from Mini Cooper in tacoma, to replace the clutch, and I was quoted $3400. I paid $12,000 for my Mini Cooper. To change it myself is about impossible due to ‘special’ tools required. I think this is scam set up to get money. It is very unsafe to lose acceleration in places where it’s vital like freeway merging. If people cannot afford to get these these fixed then that’s another safety issue. I’m now stuck figuring out how to get this fixed. Please look into this.

See all problems of the 2012 Mini Cooper 🔎.

Freeze plug randomly popped out while driving causing vehicle to stall in the middle of traffic almost causing a major accident and or death. Research indicates there has been numerous complaints by Mini Cooper owners experiencing the same issue of a premature unexplained failure with no action taken from Mini to mitigate this safety issue. I’m lucky to be alive.

See all problems of the 2013 Mini Cooper 🔎.

Error signal "secure vehicle with parking brake when stopped" Mini dealer says "common problem" with Mini transmissions and always due to fluid leaking thru shifter onto gear shift mechanism. Lots of forums stating this is common. Unclear why Mini not taking responsibility for this due to poor design. How many cars ever get a failure such as this? none that I can find except Mini and BMW with similar transmissions.

Originally problem started with a about five warning messages, a brake system one, a chassis stabilization one, collision warning one, pedestrian warning one, and a drive train message. They were would appear while drive at any speed but, would go away after the car was shut off and restarted. A couple of months later the car started to shut off and put itself in park while driving, this problem has occurred multiple times and at speeds around 30mph. I started trying to get this fixed by a dealership in December of 2023. It went in and out a couple of times before they were able to replicate the problem. First they replaced the eme module and that worked for about 2000 miles before it started acting up again. Took it back to the same dealership in April when it started acting up. They updated the eme software and replaced a high voltage connector that was corroded. This repair took them until July 2nd. I went to pick up the car and made it about 3 blocks from the dealership it shut itself off on me. Took it back right away. They have had the car since then. Lastly I informed them about the most recent recall back on August 29th and it still shows as incomplete.

See all problems of the 2020 Mini Cooper 🔎.

About two days ago I noticed my Mini started showing an error every time I got into the vehicle saying "secure vehicle against rolling" I have seen numerous different discussions online but none seemed to come to a solution or single cause of this error. Everything still shifts completely fine in the car, the parking brake engages, and the car shifts into park fine. Seems to be a common problem, it's a shame Mini has not addressed it as a recall.

While driving the car at aproximately 25mph, the engine and the car stopped running. All dashboard warning lamps were off prior to the engine failure the car rolled to the side of the road to get out of the way of other traffic. The service engine warning lamp was on after the engine shut off and stopped running. The car was towed to a service station, and they too could not get the car to start. The mechanic's troubleshooting ultimately found the engine's internal timing chain had broken, causing multiple of other internal engine components to become damaged. The engine required detailed repair to replace the damaged engine parts to get it to start operating again. The costs for the repairs were over $5000. 00.

See all problems of the 2008 Mini Cooper 🔎.

The contact owns a 2017 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle rolled backwards. The contact applied the parking brake. There was an abnormal scraping noise detected while starting the vehicle. The roll back warning light was illuminated. There was a message stating “transmission, not secure” was displayed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 43,198.

"secure vehicle from rolling" comes up in instrument cluster and millions of Mini/BMW's have this problem due to a faulty gear shifter selector knob going bad due to a spring in the gear selector box. Annoying because the part fails over time and dealer wants $3000 for the fix. Please help!!.

While driving, the car shifted into park on its own coming to a sudden stop from about 30mph. The car reported “drivetrain error”. After turning off then back on, the error code disappeared and the car drove normally.

See all problems of the 2022 Mini Cooper 🔎.

I purchased this vehicle on 9/03/2019 with 29,871 miles. I had to replace the clutch on 5/11/2020 at 39,690 miles. I am now having to purchase yet another clutch on 10/17/2022 with 58,850 miles. Two clutches within 3 years is just unacceptable!.

When refueling, nozzle kept shutting off, a gallon was pumped after nine attempts, also fuel erupted as the fill tube was filled with gas. Reluctant to drive this car not knowing how much gas is in the tank. The needle shows less than 1/4 and miles remaining fluctuates between 80 and 110 miles. We are told that this problem exists in many Mini automobiles, dealer has replacement gas tanks, but same problem exists parking our Mini, indication of "roll back" is possible when car is parked. Shifter unit was replaced due to torsion spring.

I had several repairs recently that I found that were part of a recall after the fact. This includes the electric auxilillary water pump and timing chair replacement and repair of damaged parts. They refused to reimburse me for the water pump repair that should have been covered. Secondly, when the timing chain fails as it did in my case can cause $2000- $5000+ in damages. My shop is stating this would be a very expensive repair. There is information that the timing chain warranty was extended because of a class action lawsuit and is now covered up to 100,000 miles. I am well within that range. My goal is to get compensation for the recall work and coverage for the timing chain.

Engine motor mount sheared, allowing motor to interact with and bounce directly on the frame, and stressing the other connections and components. Dealer indicated this is a very common problem for this car model and is likely a design issue, and even had another example of a sheared mount on display in order to show others with the same issue.

See all problems of the 2014 Mini Cooper 🔎.

Transmission/timing chain issue/engine malfunctions.

See all problems of the 2010 Mini Cooper 🔎.

On display I am getting warning " secure vehicle with parking brake when stationary" whereas my car is in park position with hand brake applied. The warning still shows up. The gearbox works fine the car drives fine. Its the warning that doesn't seem to go away. On diagnostics is shows code "420106" . Defective gear shift lever spring.

Transmission: secure vehicle against rolling. Warning is showing up. The battery died, and I put the car into neutral to roll it. Now this warning is showing up every time I put the car in park and turn it off.

During driving failure of the shift cable linkage was disconnected when investigated, the joint between the cable and the transmission shifter was disconnected due to a failure of the bushing on the cable side this caused a situation where the car was stuck in a single gear and not possible to be shifted into neutral or another gear.

Warning light to secure vehicle against rolling when placed in park. Alert of a danger situation.

The harmonic balancer aka crank damper went on my 2016 4dr hardtop 1. 5l Mini Cooper. Has 73,000 miles on it. It has been sitting at a garage now for almost a month waiting for BMW to have the part in stock (tentative date avail. Sept. 20, making it 2months wait time) tried every possible 3rd party parts dealer & not 1 harmonic balancer is to be found. I was told this part had already needed to be upgraded & modified making it a faulty part to begin with. Was told by garage it’s a common part to go on these cars. 1st my warning light came on saying the battery wasn’t holding a charge. Beings that I was 2 blocks from my house I drove there & as I was getting to my house another warning came on saying “carefully pull over & let engine cool” so I parked it & had it towed to garage to avoid any other issues.

The air conditioning had stopped blowing cool air. Then when I was parked, and idled, my power steering stopped working while trying to back out. After wrestling with the wheel for a minute to get out of a parking lot area, the power steering came back on. The mechanic said one of my coolant fans does not work. This may be part of a recall that affect 2005 Minis with coolant fan/power steering, however my car was made just a few months past the recall.

See all problems of the 2006 Mini Cooper 🔎.

The power steering assist has all but stopped working, with steering now difficult at lower speed--especially when I first start the engine in the morning. The clutch doesn't respond well and the vehicle no longer goes into second gear. The rear left brake caliper seized in place, not allowing the brake pad to retract completely and therefore the brake pad continuously rubbed against the disc, but without noise. Not until the left rear brake made noise because of the metal on metal braking was the seized oem caliper identified, when I put on a set of new brake pads. None of the other three brakes had the seized oem caliper.

See all problems of the 2005 Mini Cooper 🔎.

12/19/19 I brought my vehicle to have 2 front tires replaced had them mount and balanced and a front alignment done. The dealer also completed multi point vehicle check. I get home. The car sits still Saturday. I start it Saturday at 1:30pm and get ready to pull out of drive way. Warning light comes on dash stating battery is not charging. Stop carefully. Consult nearest service center. I contacted service advisor. He stated to drive it back and they will give a loaner. I said no! the vehicle isn't drive able and I don't feel safe. He stated they close in 30 minutes. I wanted to speak to upper management. No one was available he stated. I said I would call back Monday december23 2019. I spoke to receptionist who makes appointments. She had available spot on Thursday december26,2019. I told her I will have it towed that Thursday. I get there told them about the message that came on dash. I was going to have to replace battery and needed a brake flush and OH by the way looks like your pulley went out. The vehicle only had 37,502 miles. I have never heard of a pulley being replace at this mileage. I contacted customer relations for BMW Mini that Friday. They said they will contact in 1 business day. They did say there is an open case. They will contact Jan 7. I was in a loaner for 6 days. I spoke to service manager tues 31,2019 which was new year's eve. She stated the dealership will give 20% discount and BMW Mini will still contact me if they are going to assist. I mentioned to them about the defected pulleys on 2002 thru 2006 models. They will look into it.

The vehicle was at a stop when the brake was released it lunged forward into oncoming traffic. Another time in driveway veh was bought to a stop in our driveway to turn around. The brake pedal was released and the car lunged into a wall and the tires continued to spin until brakes were heavily applied.

Hello, I am the original owner of a 2014 Mini Cooper countryman purchased new from irvine Mini, irvine California, on my way home to san diego from the purchase the rear passenger window stopped working, I pulled over called the dealership and was told to go in the next day for repair, it was repaired the next day, electrical failure. 2014, next was the engine would stay on when the key was removed, dealership x 3 but they could find nothing, 2nd year was driving uphill city streets and car lost power, starting smoking, pulled over after resting car was drivable, dealerships could find nothing wrong, we never received any notice from our dealership informing us of faulty transmission. My check engine light never came on but car started losing power a few weeks ago. I recently took it to dealer who told me the transmission has to be replaced, it wasn't a computer glitch and these transmissions cannot be serviced. What do I do now?.

Mini Cooper timing chain tensoner defect. I have a r56 hardtop 2010 Mini Cooper. My car started having issues like turning off while driving. A rattling noise under the hood, especially on the passenger side of the car. While I was driving I heard a loud snap noise and my car shut off. The engine would not turn over after that and when I looked under the hook there was a broken valve cover. The timing chain broke and caused massive amount of damage to my car. The Mini dealership in las vegas is not honoring the lawsuit. Not really sure how to proceed. They want $3,500. In repairs. My car is only at 83,000miles and just paid off. Not sure how to proceed.

2004 Mini Cooper purchased new aprox 62 miles on it and the cvt transmission is gone & there was a class action lawsuit for the replacement of this, I was never notified and want this fixed at no cost to me. At aprox. 50 to 60 mph the car engines goes way beyond the proper rpm.

See all problems of the 2004 Mini Cooper 🔎.

Light is coming on and transmission shifts smoothly but when you decelerate it bucks down. It happens anywhere on the roads when driving and you decelerate. The light that indicates issue with transmission, in the book it says I won't be able to shift out of park but there is no issue shifting out of park, so not sure if it is considered electrical or if it is powertrain.

See all problems of the 2009 Mini Cooper 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2019 Mini Cooper 🔎.

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.

While in bumper to bumper traffic car lunged while accelerating. Was at a complete stop then lifted off brake and began to feed in gas when the transmission shifted from first to second (automatic transmission) the car lunged or jumped forward. The action was so severe my first action after hitting brakes was to check rear view mirror thinking I had been rear ended. Car has 19700 miles and went into ottos Mini for evaluation and repair of other issues and was told transmission is in normal working order. However my service adviser told me that she personally had experienced the same issues and that its due to too much technology in the cars.

While in motion, car began to become jerky while excelerating, than the transmission disingaged. No gear would work thereafter.

See all problems of the 2003 Mini Cooper 🔎.