Two problems related to radiator have been reported for the 2009 Mini Cooper S. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
A few weeks after I bought the vehicle, I noticed that there was a noise when starting the engine cold. This "rattling" noice would continue until the engine heated up & go away. I took the car in they changed the oil & told me that the coolant was low. He asked if the car was overheating which it was not. He told me to keep a close eye to see if the car overheats. I made an appointment to take the car to a local mechanic just to be safe. A few days later, driving 65mph on the freeway I noticed smoke coming out of my exhaust & the hood, closer to the windshield not the front by the radiator. Smoke started coming from the vents and smelled "rubery". The thermstat symbol appeared & then the oil light. I took it to carmax who said "sry, no extended warrenty, no help". I took it to the local mechanic. He told me initially that the thermostat was blown and there was a material failure of the housing (it was cracked), he replaced all the pipes from the coolant: $482. The mechanic called & said that he could not "burp" the vehicle & that it made a weird sound so they have to "bleed it overnight". This did not solve the issue so they had to take the engine apart & find the problem. The head casket was blown & quoted me a repair bill of $5000+ . The owner of the shop called BMW and asked if they could do a "good faith" replacement which they said they would do if the car had less than 80,000 miles on it. . . Mine had 85,000 miles on it. . . From what I am reading on the complaint board, this is a very common issue!! as a rn if there is a failure in any product we implant in patients, there is an immediate recall, so why, when BMW clearly knows this is an issue do they wait for hard-working people like me to be put in this horrible situation!!! I hope that BMW steps up an honor it's "good faith" beyond 80,000 miles and replace the car.
The contact owns a 2009 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated that coolant was leaking from the radiator. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the vehicle was repaired by the previous owner under NHTSA campaign id number: 12v008000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 44,000.