general problems of the 2003 Mini Cooper S

8/13/2014- I was stopped at a stop sign in a mall parking lot and smoke started billowing out from under the right front side of the car and at the same time started coming through the vents into the cabin of the car. I tried to shut off the car, but it would not turn off. A bystander came running and opened the hood, smoke poured out, told me to call roadside assistance as he was opening hood and then told me to hang up and call 911 that my car was on fire. Flames were coming out of the engine area but there was too much smoke. The engine fan was still running. Another passerby had an commercial extinguisher and emptied it on my vehicle. The fire dept. Was pulling up as they were trying to push it aside, the car re-ignited and it took the fire department approx. 15 to make douse the fire without it re-igniting. All of these people looked my vehicle over and could find no reason for it to ignite. I purchased the car used about 4 weeks ago and have put about 3000 miles on it without any issues. My insurance company had it towed to a mechanic down the road and they are to contact me tomorrow to see if they can see why this occurred. Luckily, my daughter and I were able to exit the car and be in an area close to the fire department and good samaritans.

I had noticed that the power going up hills had been slowing down for sometime but as we were driving in town and lost it's number three cylinder, took it to shop and with several days of work found out I would be better off scrapping it than fixing it. Mechanic who deals with BMW said that he could put in a new engine but he sand that the issues that he has seen on this years Cooper Show it is just a money pit. He said, just scrap it and take your losses. The only thing is I bought it used and still owe over $3,000. On it. I have no car and can't afford to replace it and have two payments as I am disabled with a low income from injuries. I finally got my car of my dreams and it because my nightmare. Missing my Mini.

Turning from a left hand turn lane on to a side street as I have done at least 4 times a day for over 10 years, I lost all power and the ability to control the vehicle. In the middle of the turn the loss of power, the loss of steering, and the loss of brakes caused me to run into the curb. This accident resulted in the right front wheel and assembly being replaced. Not long after getting my Mini Cooper S the hesitation of the accelerator when stating off in first gear began. I was told by the service rep at the Mini dealership that there was no fix for this problem. I've had too many near accidents because of it. Going back as far as 2005 I have complained about my steering and the noise it makes. The whole steering unit has been replaced 2 times, yet in 2009 I experienced a total loss of power while traveling at speeds of 65 mph. The power loss was electrical even though my engine was still running. The final outcome was Mini replaced the alternator and battery. I've complained time and again yet with no help unless it's coming out of my own pocket. Since owning this Mini Cooper S I've spent nearly 6000. 00 in repairs. Because of the interdependent nature of the asc/dsc on the vehicles braking, electronics, and even starting acceleration from a stop; has this feature been properly studied as the culprit for the many and varied problems this particular car has? in the uk there is a blog called watchdog that has 180 people who posted between February and April 2009 that all had the same problem with the power steering that I and hundreds of others have reported. How can such a serious problem go unresolved for so long. There is no doubt that this problem alone falls under the united states code for motor vehicle safety (title 49, chapter 301).