Purchased 2009 Mini Cooper S for **s 1st car in 2014, 42K miles for $14K. Its 5/8/15 now; Mini is sitting in shop in Cypress, TX. Repairs are now at $5K. Timing chain broken/plastic in the bottom of oil pan. We will drain our savings to repair the car then go straight to dealership where we will LOSE $9K that was supposed to be for **s college. Contacted Mini dealership in Houston: did 90% of original maintenance, confirmed there is a Class A lawsuit against Mini for this reason.

2006 Mini Cooper Convertable S... Bought brand new. New transmission at 35k and now its my steering fluid pump at 75k... Once the transmission went, its been a repair every 6 months or less. Thanks Mini!

I love the car and I have always wanted one. Its small and compact but plenty of room. Its excellent on gas too. You can go two weeks on a tank of gas. But I dont like that its a 2 door. When trying to put something in the back seat its hard to do. Ive had the car 2 years and the thermostat sensor has went out on me 2 times. I recently had to replace the thermostat and you have to replace the whole housing unit. Overall the car is fancy looking and if I was to buy another car it would probably be the same model with a little more options to it.

I bought my 2007 Mini Cooper S used in January of 2013 from a reputable and well known dealership in the Hampton Roads area. Since owning it, the timing chain failed at 50,000 miles and was repaired by the only Mini Cooper dealership in the area. At 62,000 miles, the oil filter housing began to leak and was also replaced by the same Mini Cooper dealership. Now at 75,000 miles, the timing chain, oil pump, and turbo has failed. The dealership is also advising me that my Mini Cooper might need a new engine. Really, a new engine at 75,000 miles? My Mini Cooper has been at the Mini Cooper dealership for almost two weeks as they try to fix this poorly built machine. This vehicle has always been maintained and has never been abused. Mini is aware of the issue with the timing chain and oil filter housing and yet they fail to take the responsibility to correct the issues for their owners. The dealership cant even provide you with a loaner vehicle because they have more owners with broke down Minis than they have loaners. So far, the warranty company has paid for all the repairs, but as of today the warranty is questioning if any more repairs should be done since the cost of repair is approaching if not exceeding the value of the vehicle. If you are considering buying a Mini, spend your money elsewhere and stay as far away from this poorly made, issue prone, and unreliable machinery.

Updated on 03/26/2019: The last time I posted my Mini was in the shop (at 55k) having the head gasket replaced. 8k later the head gasket had to be replaced again. The shop wanted to re-check the car 500 miles after the repair, which they did, and all was well. Decided as soon as the first sunny, reasonably warm day came I was going to clean/wax the car and get rid of it. The other day fit the bill so I went to the auto parts store to buy wax, etc. Got out of the car and noticed the fan was running. Managed to make it back home without any lights coming on, but the fan continued to run. 10 minutes later I went to start it to move it a few feet in the driveway and the engine light came on and the car didnt want to start. The car just turned 65k and has always been maintained. We have mechanical breakdown coverage through our insurance and frankly Im hoping the entire engine is bad and we can just get whatever they give us for it and be done with it. Absolutely a blast to drive --- but from a mechanical standpoint its far and above THE worst car Ive ever owned.Original Review: Although my 2012 (hardtop) Mini is a blast to drive I will NEVER buy another one. Just turned 55k miles and Ive already had to replace tires/rotors, ignition coils, and the water pump. It is currently in the shop with head gasket/engine repairs to the tune of $2,500.00. Thank goodness for the mechanical breakdown coverage we opted to buy when we bought the new Mini! Its absurd to have this many expensive repairs on a car with only 55k miles!!

I had a 2003 Mini Cooper back in 2009. It came to a tragic end in December of that year. I was coming home (not drunk), and I lost control of my car and hit a tree head on. I am still thankful to this day that I survived. In January, I went looking for a new Mini. So I went up to the one in Nashville and saw the one I wanted. It was brand new off the truck. Well, on November 11, my engine blew! I was furious! I take great care of my car. I was thinking, How can this happen?!” I got it towed to the dealership, and that cost me about $300, and the car was still under warranty too.They gave me a hard time because they didnt want to pay for the new engine. New engines cost about $15,000-$20,000 plus the labor, so basically get a new car! Well, I got that all sorted out. So in the meantime, they got me a rental car for a week! They told me it would take about that long. Well, it didnt. They wouldnt pay for the rest of the rental, so I had to pay for it, about another $350 because I didnt get my car back until January 15 of 2012! This time I was getting pissed! Well, in March, I moved to FL for school. About 15 minutes away from my new home, my transmission went out! It took them about 3 months to fix, and they also gave me hell.About August, my transmission blew again! They did the exact same thing to me (“We’re not gonna pay”, “Its your fault”, blah, blah, blah). Well, I had it. I wanted to get an estimate about trading in my car. They said $10,749 with 49,000 miles on it. I was super pissed. Now, my head gasket blew, and it’s not under warranty apparently. So Im done with Mini. Im calling corporate, and I will tell them the exact same thing I’m typing, and I will tell them I got a lemon, and I paid in full for this car by the way. I’m going to a Honda or a Nissan, better yet a Chevy!

I bought my 2005 MINI convertible in March of 2006 with only 4,000 miles on it. At that time, it was still under warranty. Every summer, I would take the car to the dealership because the top would not go down. Last year, Rasmussen MINI paid to fix it even though it was out of warranty because I have had continual problems with the top. This year, its broke yet again and MINI doesnt want to fix it because its two years out of warranty. But the top has never worked right. I only have 28,000 miles on the car. I even called the corporate office, but to no avail. In fact, the girl named Amy was extremely rude.

Beware, Minis have a tendency to have the water pump and tensioners go out at fairly low miles. Love my Cooper but I expected a BMW product to be better built.

I have a 2003 Mini Cooper, with only 44,000 miles. I have everything original, and have had extensive service and care since it was new. It never had track time, or abuse, only 2 sets of tires and original brakes. The car is a lemon, and BMW Mini knows it. I have contacted them about the following problems, and their answer is this is normal operation, and the vehicle is out of warranty, sorry. The problems thus far, have cost nearly $18,000 in repair, and it’s still not working as it was designed. The following has happened: transmission failure/manual; 2 AC systems; 2 power steering systems; navigation system; radio failure; auto temp control failure; left high beam headlight stays on (I had to unplug it); internal lights and gauges are not working; and power steering leak. I am a disabled combat veteran, and would rather be back in war, than deal with this thing one more second. BMW Mini is junk. Never buy one.

My husband purchased a new 2009 Clubman from Irvine (CA) Mini, which has ~50k miles. He did not have any major problems with this one (previous Mini was traded in due to engine fan problem), until a few days after the New Year. We noticed transmission oil leak on the garage floor and driveway. He took it in for service. Upon inspection of the transmission, the service rep informed him that the transmission pan was broken/damaged and welded. They claimed that they do not have this type of welder. We were subsequently advised that the repair would not be covered under warranty. We informed the service rep that the car has never been in an accident and they were the only dealer (service) that have touched (worked) on our car since it was purchased from their dealership as a new car. My husband called the corporate office. We were told they will not cover repair - cost was more than $1,000.00. The other infuriating part is that they will not guarantee their repair! I just spoke with another (2011) Mini Cooper owner yesterday, who coincidentally purchased hers from the same dealer (Irvine). Her car also leaked transmission oil. The pan was noted to have been bent/damaged. It was repaired twice because it continued to leak after the first repair. She was lucky it was repaired under warranty.

I was so excited when the Mini came to the US and bought one of the first off the boat in SF. Little did I know the nightmares to come. My husband and I were US Park Rangers in the west when we started to hear a whirring noise coming from my Mini. We were about to transfer to a Eastern NP September 2009. We have always had the car serviced and people would remark how well we took care of our car and how it looked new!The government moved us but we drove our vehicles to Virginia. The whir seemed more prevalent when arriving. It was quite upsetting, as we knew we were on a tight budget. I have not been working for a year due to illness. My husband starting doing investigation on the web and was reading about so many people with transmission problems. He got very upset when he saw the costs to replace it. He then wrote to a ask the mechanic online, paid his fee, and he also said it sounded like a transmission problem. We did not have the funds since we had to find a rental, put down deposits, etc.Our daughter had a new baby who was premature and I offered to help while she went back to work for a month until he was strong enough for daycare. I kissed my husband good-bye as I headed to Florida. Little did I know that it would be the last kiss of our 38-year marriage.He was so worried about the car and if I would make it. He called around to dealers to find out pricing of a new transmission and we were shocked! I found a nice mechanic, not a dealer in Florida to at least drive and confirm if it was truly the transmission. It was, I remember calling to tell my husband. It was nearly the end of the month and time to return. He did not want me to drive alone back to Virginia. He decided to have my son follow me home. Yes we were upset and worried about the costs but decided to at least get it back to the area. I tried consoling him on the phone that night, all was going to be Ok, and we would just have to take out a loan. It was stressful enough just moving and starting a new job. I was going to return home in 9 days. I never heard him so upset.The following morning, my cell phone rang. I received the dreaded phone call. He was found dead in bed. My nightmare began. After many E-mails and phone calls to Mini USA, I was told they would surely look into helping me. Before they could give me any assistance, I needed to take my vehicle to Mini Sterling first for a diagnosis. She seemed compassionate. I needed to fly back to Florida and drive it back. It had been only one month since my husbands death and kept in contact with Mini USA to let them know my progress.I spoke with a local Mini Dealer and they also seemed compassionate. I really thought I would be compensated for a bad transmission. There were so many articles and complaints online regarding faulty transmissions.I made a appointment, they took apart my car, and I wound up paying full price less a 10% coupon discount off of the labor. It devastated me! I was led on that there might be help by both Mini USA and local MINI. My cost was close to $5,000. I was informed that it would be in my best interest to have the clutch done at the same time, even though it was not needed because in the future it would be costly. I was told it would cost thousands of dollars to have to drop the engine, transmission, etc to get to the clutch. I agreed. I knew, with no income it would be even more difficult in the future.I had close to a nervous breakdown, had to meet with a therapist and was put on medication. This was too much for me to handle.Lets now fast forward to the present regarding this costly transmission and clutch! I moved to Pennsylvania to be closer to my 90 year-old mother. A couple of months ago, I noticed that the car seemed to shutter when letting up on the clutch in first, second and reverse. I could not get it into the shop earlier since I am having health issues and my time is filled with doctor appointments and therapy. Finally, I looked at the warranty on the clutch and saw it would be running out in March and figured I needed to get it to a dealer ASAP.Last week, I took it to PA mini, gave them all the invoices and told them it was under warranty. I get a phone call that day saying Sorry, it is your flywheel which is not under warranty and that will be $2,100! I am disgusted! I have been online. I have talked to mechanics and everyone says that it should be under warranty. Mini VA should have seen if there was any problem with the flywheel when they did the clutch and transmission. I was also told that a problem with the flywheel is caused by the clutch not working properly! I nearly had another breakdown. I am so disgusted. Does MINI never stand by their work? Do they always find something else to blame it on? Why do I think this way? Let me tell you about the last problem I had with their dealer in VA.When I had the clutch and transmission done they also did an oil change, oil filter, and air filter. The very next time I went for an oil change, I used a local shop that worked on Minis. It was closer, I did not have to drive nearly one and a half hours and they were cheaper. This was a very reputable place. I sat and waited in their office. The mechanic came out and asked who did the last oil change? I said minii and he said, they stripped the oil pan screw. I was upset, immediately called Mini, spoke with the service manager and he said they probably stripped it. My guy said you dont strip a screw taking it out, only when you tighten it. Mini said bring it in. Then, my guy could not even change the oil filter. It was so tight. He did not want to break anything so I said just leave it. He physically showed me. His mechanic worked for 35 years and never had this problem.I took it to Mini. I explained that I needed this done ASAP because I was just informed I had cancer and needed to drive to Floridas Cancer Hospital for Women. I also wanted them to check over the car that everything is in good shape.Can you just imagine what happened? They said it was not their fault for the screw and that it happens after time and I need a new oil pan and gasket. The bill would be around $1,200! This was unreal. They said I also needed a shaft seal and element if I wanted to safely go to Florida. They said they checked out the car totally and that is what is needed. I felt they should replace the oil pan for free, they would not but did not charge me for labor on that job after really losing it! So I had them both done.Now here is the kicker. When I went to MINI PA and found out about the flywheel they do a inspection. On the paperwork I received, they suggested a new crank seal and oil pan. Just what I had done! I told the manager that and he apologized and said he had not seen that I had it done but there were some dried oil drops.Can you now see how I do not trust any of the dealers? I am out thousands of dollars and still have a car that needs a new flywheel. Is this the way an owner should be treated?

MINI USA apparently got my address as an incorrect address from a customer who bought a MINI. They failed to confirm my email address, instead immediately putting me on their email list, and also sent my email address to 2 other companies (which fortunately honored unsubscribe requests). I have tried to unsubscribe and complain to MINIs customer service, but I continue to receive emails from them for 3 weeks now. They need to fix their customer service and their IT infrastructure to honor unsubscribe requests immediately.

We purchased a 2019 Mini Countryman 3 weeks ago. A overheating issue came up and coolant was leaking. Dealer says rocks punctured the radiator so it was not covered under warranty and we are trying to go through our insurance or we have to pay for it. My concern is that the makeup of the vehicle is such that a rock or rocks while driving on regular roads can cause this damage. This has to be extremely uncommon for any vehicle and curious if anyone has had this experience.

I had a Cooper S 2008 which had few issues only. Oil leaks. AC compressor failed. Gear box will not go after 3. Talking fair. NEVER buy this crappy product. I will not pay a penny for 2015 brand new with 10 years warrant. THANKING you and hope readers will know its good if you have 2 cars and you work for the agent.

Our engine light came on on our 09 Mini with only 18000 miles on it. Took it to the dealer and they told us that there was excessive carbon build up on the intake valves and it would cost $1000 to grind the valves! I asked why this happened to a new Mini with such low mileage on it and was then asked what gas we used. We use Costco Premium almost all the time and then we were told that this is the problem. They said Costco gas was poor quality gas, it caused the problem! What BS!!! Its poor quality engine! We are also seeing other people having this same problem, so it is just not us. Mini should stand behind this problem!

First, I am not a fan of BMW products. We owned a 2006 X3 which was purchased CPO from a BMW dealer here in NH in 2008. Had the car 6 years and it was at the dealer 11 times during the first 3 years of ownership for warranty repairs. Torn engine mount, failed sunroof controller, failed ECM, failed radio, failed drivers seat memory module, failed rear door latch, failed brake light, failed airbag wiring harness, broken rear coil spring, phantom check gas cap lights, multiple instances of gross engine misfiring when started which the dealer was never able to diagnose. And then after it went out of warranty, the troubles continued: broken other rear coil spring, failed CV joint, leaking oil filter mount. In 2014, I convinced my wife to get rid of it at 105K miles because it was evident it was going to be a money pit. She then saw and fell in love with a used 2012 Mini Clubman S. Low miles, well taken care of, fun to drive. Seemed to be a good car and I stupidly thought that, perhaps, BMW had addressed their quality problems so we decided to buy it. The Mini had 23,000 miles and was still under warranty so I thought, OK. The car is a daily driver that is not abused in any way and only driven on paved roads.Car went in for a service at ~28,000 miles; nothing wrong. Went in again just after the warranty expired for a bad ABS sensor in the right front wheel and the dealer was nice enough to fix it at no charge. Run flat tires were replaced with non-run flats at around 40,000 miles. Always hated the run flats because of the very harsh ride. You could feel every imperfection in the road. New tires were great and gave a much improved ride quality.Right around 50K started hearing a droning sound from the front end and the tires started wearing oddly. I am an excellent mechanic and have been doing all my own car repairs for 40+ years. Oil changes, brakes, shocks, engine repairs, transmissions, torque converters; you name it, Ive done it. So I quickly found that both front wheel bearing assemblies were bad. I mean wobbly, sloppy loose bad. Car was out of warranty and I knew Mini would charge an arm and a leg for the repairs so I did them myself and saved $$. Not happy about wheel bearings going bad at 50K but, oh well, it wasnt an expensive fix because I did the work myself. Probably caused by the crappy run flats transferring shock and vibration to the suspension.No further problems... until now. Car has 60K on it. The other day all three of our cars were in the driveway and my sons and I were standing there when we heard a loud ping sound. Couldnt localize where it came from but I know the sound of metal snapping. So we quickly checked over all three cars but didnt find anything. A few minutes later I asked my son to move the Mini so we could play basketball. He starts the car, puts it in reverse and the moment he started moving backwards, the left front dropped 4 inches with a bang. Got the car up on the jack, pulled the tire off and saw that the coil spring had snapped about 1 full coil up from the bottom. I was dumbfounded!! I couldnt believe that a car with 60K would have a spring break let alone break while sitting still in the driveway. Other than the BMW, Ive never had a car or know anyone whos seen a coil spring break like that. Thank God it happened in the driveway and not on the highway as Im sure that the sudden change in the steering geometry would have caused a potentially fatal accident. Called the Mini dealer 35 miles away in Bedford, NH and explained the situation and that I wasnt happy about the coil spring breaking at 60,000 miles and potentially putting my wifes life in danger. I asked them to send a wrecker and get the car and replace the spring for free because a close inspection of the break clearly shows it had cracked at some point, rust had invaded the crack and weakened it. This is clearly a defective spring. And, while they were at it, they should also replace the right spring too because now it couldnt be trusted either. They refused to do anything. Said it was normal for springs to break. Told me it was my problem to get the car to them if I wanted them to repair it but they would be happy to sell me a new strut assembly (which they didnt have in stock anyways) if I wanted to do it myself. We went round and round about the defective spring being Minis problem, not mine, but they wouldnt budge. Suggested I contact Mini USA which I did. After waiting 3 days I was told that I had to get the entire car to Mini of Bedford, at my expense, for them to diagnose the problem but that there was no guarantee Mini USA would pay for the repairs. I told the nice woman that the diagnosis was very simple: The defective spring broke! I explained that it made no sense for me to pay $250+ to have the car towed to the dealer, have them diagnose the broken spring at $120/hr, then tell me I would have to pay for repairs (another $300+ for the part(s)/labor) when I can get new strut assy for $125? So I would potentially be out $500+ for their defective spring. And, if I chose to repair it myself, then Im on the hook for another $250 tow back to my house? She said Mini USA would not consider doing anything until the car was brought to the dealer. I offered to take pictures of everything and send them to the dealer and anyone else inside Mini/BMW. I offered to remove the strut assembly and bring it to the dealer for them to look at. I offered to do all the repair work myself if they would pay for the parts, since, after all, the spring is defective. She refused it all. I asked if we could escalate this issue higher inside Mini USA. She said no, she was the highest person who would deal with this.Mini/BMW does not stand behind their products at all and does not give a crap if their defective parts could cause fatal accidents. I am through with BMW forever. Ive learned the hard way that they build cheap cars with cheap parts and that they could care less about driver safety. A coil spring is a vital part in any suspension and for one to break with so little miles is totally unacceptable to me. Theres no way you can convince me that its normal for a coil spring to break under normal use.When the X3 had the broken rear spring I did a little research and found that BMW used to use a German company for their springs but had switched to a Romanian company in the early 2000s. Since then, hundreds of reports cases of broken suspension springs across all their models. I dont know why there hasnt been a NTSB investigation/recall yet.

I was hesitant to buy in first place. I bought new. It was a cheesy car. Everything was fragile. Window switches, seat belt labels, transmission shift mechanism, plastic trim, oh well. But its had four (4) different turbos at $3,500 each. Its had a number of service bulletins/campaigns/recalls depending on what persons or entity you talk to. One turbo was under warranty, the rest were not. But then BMW Mini rebates the $3,500. A different recall changed some turbo related part. The day after I picked the Countryman up, it wouldnt start; Dead battery. I just put my charger on it. Started fine. The service advisor suggested probably drained while in shop. The battery was relatively new. It needed to be jumped or charged 5-6 times in next few months. Then I found out that the recall, service campaign or whatever resulted in electrical consumption after shutting off engine hence the battery drain. Now I need a new battery; $300. INSANE. New FRONT brakes $700.00. REPAIR LEAK AT OIL FILTER MOUNTING FLANGE $1,300. I have owned a number of vehicles including Yugo, Smart, Mercedes, Porsche, THIS IS MY BIGGEST MISTAKE! My local dealer is immune to any logical argument about what is wrong or more importantly how it came to be so. Shame on them. The service costs are pathetically high- its not a Porsche, performance is mediocre. I believe in drive like a sport, pay like a sport. But this isnt that sporty. Next car; Toyota!

Since March, 2018 I have been attempting to resolve an issue with the timing chain in my 2008 Mini Cooper S. The timing chain failed while the vehicle was in motion on the highway, causing the vehicle to lose power. A dealership has confirmed that the timing chain is in fact the problem with the vehicle (it may also be the case that the timing being off is causing issues with the valves). Conversations with the Mini USA customer relations and even BMW North American (their parent company) lead nowhere, and the manufacturer refuses to take any responsibility for the defective timing chains in these vehicles. There was a class action lawsuit regarding these timing chains, but Mini somehow got away with not having to issue a recall despite the obvious safety issues caused by timing chain failure when a vehicle is in motion. It is criminal that Mini refuses to issue a recall and refuses to assist customers with necessary repairs associated with their defective manufacturing. These cars are fun to drive when theyre operating properly, which isnt the case most of the time. I would rate them lower if I could, but 1 star is the minimum. Buyers beware! Mini is a shifty and dishonest company that will not stand behind its product.

I bought the 2007 Mini Cooper in March 2012 and every month I have to take it to the mechanic for one thing or another. Now, it completely dies in the middle of driving (when I have the A/C on). All the lights come on for a second and then it turns off (cant even take the key out). So far I have spent over $3000 since I bought it in March! I am not working and this is taking a toll on me!

I purchased my Mini from a Mini dealership four years ago. It was a used certified car. In the time that I have had it, I have replaced every major part, including clutch, alternator, water pump, thermostat housing, all coils, timing chain, cooling fan motor, blower motor, both rear electronic locks, headlights, brakes, and even the passenger seat (the airbag detection sensor went out). Even though I did most of the work myself, Ive spent over 6500.00 on it. If I had a shop do it, it would have been well over 10,000.00. I DO NOT recommend anyone buy a Mini. I am paying it off and selling it. Im done.

I bought a used 2007 Mini Cooper in July 2010. At 69,000 miles, I was driving it home from work which is about 40 minutes from my home when it started losing power. At that time, the engine light came on and I just didnt have the time to get to the side of the road before the power completely went out. It was unable to restart and there was an earthquake type of rocking/knocking in the engine area. Upon having it towed away, there was dark oil on the pavement. The mechanic that I took it to was unable to diagnose the problem but stated that there was an oil leak that seemed to start from the gasket area. They quoted me $8,600 to repair and I owe $8,300 on it. I have never in my life had such a lemon of a car. Even in high school, my junky $200 car lasted longer than two years! There is no recovery per my insurance or through Mini of Louisville. They basically said I am SOL due to the warranty being over at 50K miles. It was nearing its next oil change but other than that, no warnings. There must be something illegal about a company that sells such an overpriced product that doesnt meet up to the standards of what the product should do.

If I didnt like the car type, I never would have bought it. But it has been a nightmare to work with BMW on fixing something that is clearly their fault. BMW refuses to provide a satisfactory solution with a recall on a known flaw in the thermostat gasket on 2006 Mini Coopers. Thousands of consumers in United States, and even more across the world, have spent thousands of dollars and countless hours to find/fix radiator fluid leak through both dealers and special mechanics only to find out that the original gasket starts to leak through ever so slowly. A drop here and there at about 20,000 miles (more or less) due to the cheap mesh material. Because it leaks ever so slightly, the fluid falls, blows, drops down onto various parts of the engine and throughout the engine compartment. Even though the company, dealers and specialized mechanics are well aware of this known issue, they take full advantage of the consumer by pretending to speculate that it is caused by a leak in a hose or the radiator itself or some other issue, all of which allow these individuals to charge outrageous amounts to fix or replace parts that down need it. Most places have a minimum labor cost just to look at it. Add the unnecessary parts with additional labor on top of the base cost and you drive away without fixing the issue, only to return again and again until they finally bring up the real issue and charge you yet again to fix something they knew and should have fixed all along. It is a known issue for crying out loud. If they just fixed that, the parts themselves are less than $50. Add a minimal labor cost and you are still under $200 total. But no, BMW has systematically ignored the issue in an effort to sell parts, charge labor, and collect vast amounts of unnecessary dollars because it make them more money. The truth is, after the 2006 models, BMW intentionally changed the design to a poly urethane gasket. No recall, no recourse, no satisfaction! BMW should recall these or reimburse the wasted costs created by those that represent their firm. Thieves!

We bought a 2016 Mini Cooper. Jan 2020 It had 46000 mi. 1 year and 4 Mos later we had it serviced at 48000 mi and were told engine mount failed-cost $786. Repair manager said he has seen this happen many times with the mini. I called several other repair places who said the same thing. Our friend who just bought a mini said it happened to him.Our $2000 4 year extended warranty excluded coverage for this. We dumped this warranty and called mini to get some type of reimbursement for this obvious design flaw. They offered nothing- not even a partial refund. Looking to sell our mini cooper asap. BUYER BEWARE- MINI CORPORATE DOES NOT STAND BEHIND ITS PRODUCT

On 05 December 2011, I took my vehicle, a Mini Cooper JCW 2009, in to BMW Leo Haese Centurion. For a faulty clutch, I then received a quotation for R41 886.07 after telling me that the flywheel and turbo needed to be replaced. I went to the dealer and discussed the quotation as the vehicle is just out of the service plan. The workshop mechanic took me to my vehicle and showed me the turbo and said that the axle was lose and off center. Even after inspection on the turbo that was not the case, but still he insisted that it needed to be replaced. After discussions with the dealership, they sent me a new quotation to repair my vehicle for R8261. They also informed me that they will still replace the turbo and that not all the parts are in stock. I ask them if I can get my car back the next day, so to use it. The next afternoon, they phoned me and informed me that there was a new problem with the steering column, but I can still use it and that it is safe to drive and only the hooter will not work. On arrival, I noticed that the sensor on the dashboard was also removed. On inspection of my vehicle I found that none of the safety features in the vehicle is operational as well as any of the controls on the steering wheel plus the wipers were constantly working. The next day, I took the vehicle back as it was unsafe for me to drive. I was not happy that the whole truth was not told to me about the state of the vehicle as I would have never taken it. How could they give me a vehicle that is clearly unsafe to drive?On the 08 December, I paid the bill of R8261 and asked for the spare parts that were replaced on my vehicle, but they told me to get the parts, I must pay a further R2000 for it. My question is, why I must pay for my property. Is this the case or not? The sensor on the dashboard was not replaced as the part was not in stock and up to today, I have not received that part. On the 11 January, the turbo started to whine on the vehicle. I got an appointment on 16 January 2012 to book in the vehicle. I requested them to go with me to the vehicle so I could show them that the pipe from the air filter to the turbo was loose and that was not fitted properly and that I wanted them to remove a special wheel nut on the right back wheel. They told me that that will not be necessary for me to show them, they know what to do.On picking up the vehicle, I noticed that the wrong nut was removed. After informing them, it took them one and a half hour to bring a nut and told me that that is the nut removed. At closer inspection, that was not the case and that the nut was still not removed. I already paid them R376.20 for the work done. I decided not to leave. Before the work was done at around 18:30, they told me that I must leave and that I must sign the job card which I refused. Then they asked me and not in a friendly manner to leave with I did. On arriving at home, the turbo was still singing and I noticed that everything I asked them to do they did not do. Now, why must I pay for work not done and what did they bill me for? On the 01 February 2012, I took my vehicle for the Mini call back (water pumps) to Nelspruit BMW. They also inspected the vehicle and phoned that the turbo needed to be replaced, not understanding what was going on as the turbo was replaced less than 2 months ago. The workshop manager explained to me that when they, Leo Haese Centurion replaced the turbo, they did not fit the air intake pipe correctly and or the seal was pierced and broke off and went through the turbo, thereby damaging it. I now need to replace a turbo again that was not faulty in the beginning and was not installed properly. After all this, I have to ask the following: 1. Why must I replace the turbo because of bad workmanship? 2. Why did I have to pay for work not done? 3. Why was I treated so badly when I was not happy with work done or the lack thereof? 4. Why was I lied to and told that the nut was removed? 5. Why did they not listen to me when I wanted to show them the work? 6. Why was I over quoted on 05 December? 7. Why did they give me a vehicle that was unsafe to drive? 8. Where is the dashboard sensor?9. Why would I ever want to go back or recommend someone to go there?My vehicle broke down on the 20 Feb 2012 in Nelspriut. After inspection of the vehicles turbo, we found that the piece of pipe was in the turbo fans and that the pipe that was damaged. I phone Leo Haese Centurion. After talking with them, they told me that whey will not help me in this matter.I am standing before you for help in this matter as I do not know how I will be able to resolve this problem and I am disgusted at Leo Haese for their treatment of me, a paying customer. They really put the name BMW, which in the past stood for service par excellence, in disrepute. I hope you at BMWSA can help me in this regard and right the wrong that was done to me

So I bought this Cooper second hand from Carmax and not even two months after having it, the transmission has given out in it. So tomorrow will begin the journey into having to find out how deep this rabbit hole really goes.

I own a 2006 Mini Cooper convertible (mileage: 56,561). Since within the first year of ownership, Ive had problems, but the car was under warranty, so I didnt pay as close attention as I should have to all the things that began going wrong or breaking down. However, that first year the entire computer/electrical system failed and my windshield developed a stress fracture. Every year there was something: the struts, the ball joints, the brakes, etc. I never knew what else would be the problem and it always cost a LOT of money to repair or replace (once the warranty wore out).But now, this is the end. After already spending $1,852.13 on November 9, 2011, on a week-long repair process, I was forced to return the Mini because it was still performing poorly. One of the major problems that I described when I dropped the car off on Nov. 1 was still occurring: The car was hesitating between 20/mph and 30/mph, the tachometer needle would quickly move to the middle of the dial, and then the car would jump or buck into the desired speed. After an hour or two of examining m car (again), the mechanic called and said the problem is now the transmission. But the real shocker was the price$10,000 to replace it. I nearly fell on the floor. I was expecting to hear $1,200 maybe even $2,000, but $10,000. I asked him if he was smoking crack!Whats really annoying is that Im sure the people at Westchester BMW/Mini knew from the beginning that the major problem was the transmission. However, they kept my car a week and replaced the thermostat/Hydraulic Suspension, replace leaking engine mount, replaced Drive Belts and Belt Tensor, fixed the broken convertible top, and much more. My gut says they scammed me out of $1,852.13. If Id know from the beginning that the transmission was the real problem, at $10,000 a pop, why would I spend nearly $2,000 to fix other stuff? Something they were very much aware of they took my money, and now no one will answer my letters.

The fan kicked in the day I bought it in 2009, just after leaving dealer. Little did I know, it was in need of servicing then. $4,300 in repairs in under a year and still the vehicle overheats. Fan, water pump, thermostat, reservoir tank, all were done and now its going to be serviced yet again at local Mini dealer. They say the parts are warrantied but what part fails after eight months of regular use? The closest repairs are two hours away. I continue to rely on my insurance towing to get the car to be serviced as the vehicle will not make it there safely.I cannot recommend this brand to any one walking on a Mini lot nor can I express a positive remark about my experiences to family or friends. BMW should listen to all of the blog entries and issue a manufacturers recall on the entire line up. Faulty fans, transmissions and water pumps isnt enough to convince you to shop elsewhere? Then try your luck but there are plenty of warnings. A lot of disgruntled customers blogs had been available prior to my purchase. Had I read any of them, I would have steered away in a more reliable vehicle.

Purchased a new 2004 MC hatch, only minimal issues until 2007 while still in warranty, the car slowed until full stop on the busy highway intersection. We were literally put in the danger since the traffic was heavy, and car could not be even started or moved. Towed to the local dealership, they changed transmission fluid, and we were assured the engine was checked and re-checked and driven miles, all is fine. It was for a while although experienced problems with automatic window and two other engine issues, but no lights went on and the dealership claimed this sometimes happens and not to worry. Once off the warranty, the same stop on the highway, overheated engine, stopped, towed back to the dealership and this time (although explained that the scenario was exactly the same and sanctioned by them as fine before), now the Cooper has a major issue and we need to pay around $8,000 for replacing CVT transmission. We were fortunate that on either occasion nothing happened to either us or the drivers in the traffic around us. MINI/BMW would not even listen -the only fix is to replace the CVT transmission.Took the car to an independent Euro repair-shop that did confirm that CVT is not properly working, but we also learned that MINI has known about this issue for years and this is far from individual problem. In fact, there are many complaints and pending class-action lawsuit related to this issue. Our MC with little over 40,00 mileage and after always being maintained and properly checked, has been sitting in the garage and would not drive it beyond a very short distance around the block. Other issues: faulty wheel, had to replace battery prematurely, CV player stuck, front seat unable to move, and the list could go on. We are the first owners, always driven by two family drivers with good experience, yet have never owned a car with so many problems, and excessive charges for any minute repairs. Will join any nationwide class-action lawsuit if available. Owned European cars before, but this one was built with faulty CVT transmission and BMW knew about it although they keep insisting this is a problem they havent heard about before? I doubt it. It is all over their website, even non BMW dealerships are well aware if this. How is it possible that BMW would not stand behind their product, this is not understandable. We hope that MINI/BMW would be forced to pay for CVT faulty transmissions they put into these cars and while they reject any assistance with repairs, we hope that class action lawsuit would justify the owners big expenses or those who have cars standing around and could not drive them. Shame on this company.

My name is Chuck Conway. I’m investigating consumer complaints regarding the premature failure of BMW Mini Cooper CVT automatic transmissions. If you’re interested in possibly joining a class action lawsuit and would like to share your experience, please email me at **. Please include contact information (phone number, email address and state of residence).

Horrible Mini Service Experience: On Wednesday, May 24, I called a Mini Cooper dealership in Burlington, VT. A mechanic I use down here in Southern Vermont told me I need new rotors and brake pads. Before I drive two+ hours to Burlington, I want to be SURE these items are covered in the extended warranty I purchased. After a pause, I was told Yes they are - well change your oil and get you new rotors and pads. I wanted to be 100% sure. So after hearing this, I cancelled work on Thursday and left on the TWO HOUR drive to Burlington. This is the result:I waited in the waiting room for an hour and a half while my car was being serviced, at which point someone from the Service Dept came out - and handed me an estimate for over $1,100.00. Your calipers are seeping. I said I didnt want the new calipers - I planned on trading the car in soon. I didnt hear anything else: Okay was the reply from the Service Dept Rep. He came back 30 minutes later and said Youre all set. But the funny thing was the lack of any indication of rotors and pads on the bill. I went out to my car, and saw there was no brake work done, at all. I was not informed of this - I could have driven off thinking I had new brakes. Instead I still had the dangerous situation I drove the two hours to Burlington to have fixed.I went back into to Service dept and wanted to know why they had not replaced the rotors and pads. The reply was: This is tricky - just what you want to hear from an auto dealership. Your calipers were seeping, and this voided the warranty. Before I could go any further he then dropped another bomb: And your warranty doesnt cover the rotors and pads anyway.So that was three hundred miles and five hours of driving - for absolutely nothing. Im getting out of Mini Coopers as a result of this experience, and I would strongly advise anyone to STEER CLEAR of any and all Extended Warranty offers made by any car dealership - it is a complete con job. And you might want to consider this as well: after 70,000 miles, these cars become incredibly unreliable and expensive to own: AT 70,000 miles, things started to go expensively wrong: another dealership, a Mini dealer in Albany, NY, told me I needed a new thermostat - and wanted $1000.00 ($975.00) for the repair.I said no thank you - and took it to a certified independent BMW mechanic, and got the exact same job done for under $500.00. I neednt tell you - if you have the deep pockets and dont mind being ripped off on a continuing basis - by all means keep using the Mini Cooper dealerships. They are more than happy to have your business. They will never get mine again.

My 18-year-old begged me to buy a used Mini Cooper. I told him there was problems with their transmissions and he shouldnt buy one. But of course, I gave in, reminding him I didnt like it and thought it was a mistake. He and I signed for the loan (of a 2003 cooper with 70,000 miles) and he was a happy camper for 100 days. Then he backed out of the driveway and the automatic transmission went out. Needless to say, I got to say I told you so. Now I called a dealer and talked with their service, only 8000 dollars to replace the transmission. My son doesnt know what to do, hard lesson for an 18-year- old but needless to say, I dont think he will ever buy a Mini or BMW product again.

I purchased 4 Mini Coopers for our company. 2 of the Minis experienced serious braking issues. 1 of our engineers got in 2 low impact collisions when the brakes locked and failed to stop. The 2nd Mini, our engineer was on the freeway, going 70 MPH, when traffic started stopping. He put on the brakes and they went to the floor. Completely failed. He used the emergency brake to slow down and the brakes started working.Both cars were towed to Crevier Mini. I complained to Crevier & to Corporate. Corporate investigated and found nothing wrong. Crevier went through the software logs and found nothing wrong. However, these cars were in US a couple of months before these incidents happened - which makes them intermittent problems. Our engineers refuse to drive these cars. I wanted them returned - but to no avail. I asked Crevier to buy them back - I cant in good faith sell or turn these cars in as a trade-in if I feel there are serious problems with the car. Crevier offered to purchase them back at an approximately $18k loss. I am so unhappy with this whole experience.

Mini Cooper S 2006 Convertible - New radiator and cooling system at 5k, 3 new convertible roofs due to rotting weather stripping, one rat attack, one harmonic balancer, one transmission, engine mounts, transmission mount, control arm bushings - all at 65k.

October 3/11 I purchased a 2007 Mini Cooper with 50,000 kms from the BMW/Mini Cooper dealership in Winnipeg Manitoba. It had at the time one year left on the warranty. In 2012 the timing chain and Vano sensors went while we were in Winnipeg. It went to BMW/Mini Cooper Winnipeg, the timing chain and Vano sensors were replaced under warranty. February 13/2015 the car died again. It was found that the timing chain went again and Vano sensors. BMW/Mini Cooper Winnipeg did that work again. Told me the reason that the timing chain went again was that a bolt was loose. I asked why had not that bolt been torqued? I got no answer. They did that work under warranty however they charged me for some seals and a hook seal cap. They also told me I needed a new alternator which is odd since my alternator was replaced June 26th 2014. The car still did not work properly so I had to have it towed from BMW/Mini Cooper Winnipeg to the shop where I work. My technician found that my new Wilson alternator had been trashed and there was 6.0 liters of dirty oil in my car. My car only takes 4.0 liters. When it got towed from Morden to Winnipeg it had 3.5 liters of clean synthetic oil in it because it just had a service job and the alternator was working fine. We sent the Wilson alternator into Wilson to be repaired. They did not repair it. So I ended up ordering a BMW alternator over $900.00 and a new battery. My technician was very upset with BMW/Mini Cooper. Tried to get answers from them about the alternator and dirty oil, he never got any answers. My technician got the car going however it still did not sound well. It got towed back to BMW/Mini Cooper Winnipeg. They did a diagnostic. It was still related to the whole timing chain situation. They said it was fixed.Both my husband and I took an afternoon off from work, drove into Winnipeg to pick up the car. I didnt even get the car off their lot when the engine light came on. They pulled the car back in. Did a diagnostic, said a hook seal needed to be replaced. This hook seal comes in a unit that costs $4000.00. So that is $4,000.00 plus $150.00 per hour labor. Now the car is still at BMW/Mini Cooper Winnipeg, not running. I am still paying $357.00 per month car payment on a car that is not running. BMW/Mini Cooper said the used car department would buy the car from me for $3500.00 but I would still have to pay $2840.00. Or they repossess the car and screw my credit. My question is there such a thing as a hook seal worth $4000.00? We cannot afford the so-called hook seal and the labor. What is going on here?

I have had my Mini Cooper for only three years now. I bought the MINI COOPER - 2009 / CPO with 22k on it. LOVED the car and it was a nice ride which QUICKLY became a NIGHTMARE!!!! The first almost two years of ownership, it was just maintenance on the car which was fine but quickly became a PROBLEM.1. With key FOB issues the car would not start with the FOB, but on other occasions it would. After going to the dealer in Massachusetts several times and pushing the issue that it might be the FOB, the dealer decided to try keeping my car for a week and said they didnt see the issue the car was fine. Just painful!!!! Finally after several attempts and being stranded a few time, it was the FOB and I had to pay a deductible and got the new FOB car then was fine.2. Window malfunction, light came on during the dead of winter and then the car COMPLETELY shut down and wouldnt start. Again, back at the dealer for another few days and they decided it was a computer that caused the problem. Replaced the computer.3. Car started stalling for no reason, VERY rough idle.. Surprise, back at the dealer. Another week the car was in, they couldnt figure it out. First they said it was the battery REALLY!! It wasnt after a week they decided it was another computer and had to replace that.4. Again car is running rough and RPMs are dropping and the car is ready to stall then my mini started having the RPMs ramp up at a complete stop and no foot on the gas... Weird. So I got concerned and knowing that the mini means business, the car is back at the dealer for another week. Actually is still being worked on. So far they said I have timing chain tensioner is gone and INTERNAL VACUUM LEAK IN ENGINE/CYLINDER HEAD NEEDS TO Be REPLACED so far.... OMG. I have never experienced a car like this in my life. Again I have owed the car for three years. Although the dealer is trying to fix the mini as the problems arise. This is NOT ACCEPTABLE for any CAR to have these issues so early in ownership and VERY disappointed.

I bought a mini cooper s clubman 2008 model in September 2013 from a private seller financed by one of the major banks in South Africa. The car had only 58000 km on it. In Jan 2014, only after travelling 3000 km the engine light showed. Took it to bmw for inspection and I was told it needs a new turbo. Called mini South Africa and even sent a mail and I was promised feedback. To this day, they have not come back to me. The turbo was replaced and to my horror when testing the vehicle, the turbo blew again. I was told that the thermostat housing is faulty and has to be replaced. I had to fork out R4500 to get that. I was also told that that the water pipe needs to be replaced as well. Another R1000k. I am currently paying an installment of R4800k on this car every month for the next 5 yrs and within the 7 months I had to replace such expensive components and the manufacturer was not helpful. This morning I phoned the technician to find out how its going with the new turbo and I am told the oil pipe now has a fault. I am of the strong opinion that Mini/BMW should be taken to task as these are their products and why should it be the consumers problem to fix faults on their products. I say a lawsuit should be taken on against mini/bmw as I am extremely frustrated with their product and I am losing money everyday with all the problems that keep cropping up not budgeted for and especially with warranties that only cover certain aspects and not others of the same component.

I have a 2013 Mini Cooper Convertible (47k miles) which already had following problems: busted Spark plugs, Ignition coil replacement, Engine Leak, Blower motor and blower motor resistor, trunk latch sensors, etc. and Customer Service. My biggest problem is one of the most pathetic customer service of Mini USA. I will make sure that none of my family members or friends ever buy mini. #**Mini They sell you car and then dont give a ** about it. All they ever do is we will document your complaint and we will handle it internally. WTF does that mean? If you dont have warranty on this dud, be ready to spend your hard earned $$.

My 2009 Mini Cooper S Convertible with only 41,000 miles was experiencing the death rattle associated with the timing chain problem. My local Mini dealership at first told me they did not hear what I was hearing. I also had the problem with misfiring and rough idling. After I took the service technician for a drive and he acknowledged hearing the same things I did, the dealer quoted over $2,000 dollars in repairs which including timing chain replacement and carbon build-up removal.At the time, I was mystified at how we could go from no problems to that amount of money with no further diagnosis being conducted. I did take my car back to the same dealer for service and they ultimately fixed both problems at no cost. Unfortunately, I still have a high oil consumption problem and was told by the Mini Service Manager that I will need to add oil after about 750 miles. Based on past history, this is another known issue that Mini is just not yet willing to admit to.

I bought a Mini Cooper and it has 90,000 on it and didnt do my home work on them. Bad mistake. The cost for parts is very costly and labor is outrageous. It took all I had to get it out of the shop... I had to replace the alternator, 1800 to tell me that I need a transmission and that would be another 8000 thousand dollars. And then may have more things could be wrong. I would think that the manufacturer would want to know what made it go bad with low mileage so they could work out the bugs. You pay so much for a car that everything goes out on it with low mileage. I believe that you would have so much maintenance and high cost to buy one of these cars... and now I noticed that they dont have a warranty of 10 years or 100 thousand. If you cant afford to pay to drive then you need to stay away from buying a Mini Cooper. You better have a great big wallet $$$. Hope this helps someone else... thanks for reading.

Recently my own Mini Cooper taught me more than I ever wanted to know about interference engines. Apparently when the timing chain tensioner fails it destroys the engine completely. So my Mini, which I love, which was my only way to get to work and help keep this country free is now sitting on a $12,000 repair bill. Now I am left to explain to my wife why she will not have a vehicle available to take my 2 and 3 year old to the dentists because I need to make money to pay off the car loan on a vehicle that is essential worthless. So needless to say I have done my research and have found a plethora of issues concerning the timing chain design problems that plague minis. From my perspective it just does not seem fair. I want to get this issue resolved. Better yet I would like to get this issues resolved without the necessity to take out a second mortgage.

We had a 2016 Mini Cooper S, very zippy and responsive, stereo was wonderful...BUT it is horrible in snow, the seats hurt your back and neck. It rides like a potato cart. We traded it in for a Ram truck. We spent 40 days, with over 5 hours on hold WAITING to get confirmation of payoff. They lost the first check even though it had proof of delivery. After 3 weeks of no check, Ram stopped the first check, REISSUED another, more proof of delivery, they lost that one too. The local consumer advocate, and threat of lawsuit inspired them to locate the 2nd check. They were rude and short with me, the customer, because I was weary of no action, and NO answers, and NO RESULTS. MY ADVICE dont spend the money on a Mini Cooper. If you do, good luck. Lynae **.

We bought our 2009 Mini Cooper new, and enjoyed it for the first 20,000 miles, or so. Problems so far are: 3 trips for Oxygen sensor. Fixed on the third trip when I suggested the Pennsylvania Lemon Law, gave the dealer three attempts to repair. The next: Aluminum brake rotor replacement. Who knew that a complete four-wheel brake job would run over $2,200?! Then: At 47,000 miles, water pump needed replacement ($900.). Now, at about 48,000, we have a transmission shifting hesitation and lurching. Happy Motoring is being an oxymoron. Oh yeah, the passenger window would go down on its own, like a ghost operated it. It took dealership over 3 hours hooked to a computer to upgrade the software.

I have (had) been a loyal Cincinnati Mini customer for the past 10 years. I have owned 2 vehicles and feel that that should have warranted me as a loyal customer. However, after my latest vehicle had over $15,000 in repairs, causing it to be worthless to both me, Mini and anyone else, I am not a happy customer. ($3000 repairs in February. Repairs in May estimated initially to be another $3700 (transfer case issue due to All Wheel Drive poor design), ended up being the transmission failure (additional $7000 estimate plus $4500 clutch that was shot after they put the transmission back in). I was willing to accept my loss, but the dealership decided to rub my nose in the issue by charging me an additional $590 to tell me the news. (And they expected me to be grateful for not charging me restocking fees for the parts they could not use).I was told by the service department manager (Steve) that he would look into my loyalty dollars and see about getting me a deal on a new mini. (This was on Friday afternoon). By Monday, I had to call them to find out what the deal was. Basically it was a used demo that had no special features and would cost me over $30,000. I was basically treated like a piece of garbage. I ended up paying the $590 to tow it away (sold it for parts for $700). MINI offered to “keep it” in exchange for my $590 bill. How kind. There was no way I was going to give it to them to fix up and resell to an unsuspecting customer. I’m amazed that there hasn’t been a lawsuit come down about All Wheel Drive transfer case. Steve shared several times that it was a design flaw MINI was aware of. (I have been so upset by this experience it has taken me several months to calm down to report it. Do yourself a favor and really research the dealer and the car before buying).

My Mini is only 6 years old (bought new) and it already needs a new transmission. Since you cant just repair the broken part, you need a completely new one!? Random plastic pieces have broken inside the car - part of the seatbelt, the end of the gear shift, the sunroof screen - and there no standard parts. Everything has an upgrade. A year ago, there were SIX oil leaks at the same time! Oh, and if you pay for the extended maintenance program, and its about to expire, and you take your car to the dealer for one last round of FIX EVERYTHING that is covered, they wont do it. Two weeks after taking it in, I had to take it to a mechanic (not the dealer) to have spark plugs replaced and they told me I had 10% left on the front brakes. Yeah, Mini didnt replace them, even though they are covered.

In the summer of 2016 I bought a used 2013 Mini Countryman S from a Mercedes Dealer at 75,000 KM (just under 50,000 mi) thinking it is German and therefore, quality. I also bought a 3 year extended warranty through a 3rd party carrier and thank god I did. The car is now at 105,000 km and we have had the vehicle into Mini BMW 4 times. The thermostat, solenoids, spark plugs, water pump, hoses, pipes, chains, belt and the headlights have all gone in that time. Every time I go in I have to pay the ridiculous diagnostic fee and the $300 deductible. Some of those repairs are routine maintenance, sure, but I also own a 2013 Kia Soul at 160,000 km which I’ve only had to replace a couple lights and the brakes and tires on. I’m going to sell the Mini as soon as I get a reasonable offer for it. It’s an absolute piece of garbage. I would never buy a Mini product again, and by proxy would never buy BMW. I’ve heard they’re just as bad.

After reading some of these reviews, I am now holding my breath. I have owned my brand new 2015 Mini S now for 8 months and truly could not possibly love it more. Any questions I have or any needs have been met right away from all Mini dealers in Tucson and Phoenix. Sounds silly but I even enjoy writing the check monthly for her. Yep, I am most definitely twitter patted (as Bambi or Thumper once said) with my Mini (even named her Itty Boo) (yeah, I know, over the top! ).

2nd Post here - venting out frustration of owning 15 Cooper S. Late 2015, was looking for a sporty car for office commute. GTI, WRX and Mini were my shortlist in that order. Test drove MINI. It spoke to me and with all excitement I bought it. This was the only time when I had excitement buying a car. I was very much skeptical about MINI’s reliability – but learned that with 3rd generation it’s all good. Even the dealer assured me.Day of the purchase drove home and parked with a huge grin. Only to find white smoke from the hood. Called the dealer, they said it might be water evaporating after the wash. Since I knew better, I took it to the dealer next day and they diagnosed that it was oil leak. Brand new car with oil leak!! Dealer was intending to repair. Being frustrated, contacted MINI (corporate). They were awesome. Felt me valued. Gave me free extended warranty or return the car back. Seeing how I was treated, I didn’t return it. It was absolutely awesome customer experience. Things like these can only be found in marketing text books. Already started planning for next MINI then – Clubman or JCW or perhaps a BMW? Who doesn’t like a M3?All well. Until one day check engine light came ON. Panicked, stopped the car. Called the dealer. Luckily there was no power loss. They insisted me to send a photo of the light – to make I am talking about the same. Took to the dealer, they didn’t find any issues. Returned the car back. After a week again the light came ON. Took back again, they said they have to replace environmental sensor (along with radiator). This was a moment where I was very glad that my car had problem on the first day of purchase – extended warranty!! Dealer fixed it. On a routine service, dealer found problem with rotors and replaced all 4 around 25k miles. I was shocked about it. Replacing rotors? And that too at 25k miles? Anyway I am not paying for it, so went with it.Coming to present. Thursday evening from office - cold north east weather. Again the dreaded check engine light. Feels like it is the same old sensor. Going to the dealer on Saturday. Getting very much tired of this. All of this in 2 years and 32K miles!! Does not give me much confidence of keeping this car for long. Not a single car I owned had this many problems. No way could I keep this car beyond extended warranty. And because of the history of all repairs, I am not going to get much either when I try to sell it. MINI is build like a race car. It is awesome when it works. But we use MINI as a daily driver, we need it to last. It needs to be reliable. Owning MINI is like being in an unhappy marriage. You had some wonderful moments, but you know you can’t let this go for long… You will ruin your life… Talks a lot about BMW family as well… so called German engineering perhaps!!!

My 2006 Mini Cooper S convertible has the same transmission issues as others here. Very dangerous to drive. Hesitates and then slams into gear and lurches forward without warning. I have been without a vehicle for about 6 months. I was hoping to get a rebuild on the transmission through a third party, but was turned down for most of the financing. My situation has changed since I purchased the vehicle and I am no longer in a full-time paid position because I am traveling back and forth 3000 miles two to three times a year to care for parents who recently lost their mobility.Now, I find myself in a similar situation because of a car company that did not care about putting out a quality product and denies the problem. What they didnt tell me when I shelled out the 36,000 for their vehicle 6 years ago was that in 3 to 5 years the car will theoretically be totaled and there is nothing you will be able to do about it. I would not have bought the car. One of the reasons I bought the car was that I thought BMW was a good make. I was familiar with their motorcycles. When I first bought the car, I raved about it to everyone who asked. I can no longer recommend Mini Coopers to anyone, and I’ll let people know whenever I can not to buy their vehicles. There should have been some kind of back up plan for the failed CVT transmissions. It is not like it is a $2000 fix. It is a $6,000 to $9,000 fix, and even a new or rebuilt one is the same situation. No guarantees, really.

Broke down within two weeks of purchasing new car and had to be towed. Issues that were brought up on many occasions while under warranty were ignored or told were not unusual. Only to find that post-warranty, I am told the car engine is damaged and car is not worth fixing. This is German engineering? This Mini Cooper was garaged and serviced religiously. Either we got a Lemon or Mini Cooper is all marketing. Needless to say, I will never purchase another BMW car!

I privately purchased a 2006 MINI John Cooper Works with very low miles of 11,000 and was still under warranty at the time. Within a period of owning this car, the gear box has locked up three times a year. The third time it happened, I took the car in to get the value of the retail price. I felt that I needed to sell the car because it was undependable. While they were test driving the car, it happened again. The clutch went to the floor and was stuck. They told me that the repair would be costly now that its out of warranty. I would not leave owning this car so they made me an offer way below retail. I accepted the offer because I could not sell this car with integrity to a person without them knowing the problem. The bottom line is that Im disappointed in the MINI Cooper. I take care of my cars and drive them for many years. This car was not dependable for a long time.

I was pressured into buying a car that I didnt need... purchased car because warranty was running out. I asked if I could extend... they lied, saying that I could not pay for an extension.

Mini Cooper knows there is something wrong with the air bag seat tensioners in their cars in the first generation and now in the 2nd generation because of all the online complaints and act as if nothing is wrong. I have a 2007 mini coopers with 54,000 miles in excellent condition. Back seats sat in twice and front seat around 6-8 times and that dreaded air bag seat beat tensioner light is on. Oh yeah, whenever I was my car. It wont crank either. What the hell is that. This car is too expensive to have these problems. BMW/Mini.Cooper need to take Care of their customers or stop making these cars. I contacted BMW/Mini and they were like sorry, l cant help you. I wanna file a class action lawsuit against them.

I have a 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman still in warranty with 45,000 miles on it and I have owned the car purchased new for less than 3 years. First, the airbag light came on. I took it to the dealership in Memphis, Tennessee. I was told that the sensor got wet and it was not covered under warranty. I am not sure how an important sensor such as an airbag sensor would even be in a place that water could touch it. Even better, how about making a part that is water-resistant? It is the air bag sensor for Gods sake! Even though I provided recall announcements on the sensor, the dealership would not cover it. At 42,000 miles, my car began hesitating almost to the point of losing power when increasing speed rapidly to move from an interstate ramp to the interstate. I brought the car in and I was told that the oil needed to be changed (out of general maintenance so I declined the dealerships oil change due to elevated cost), brakes were now dangerous (now not under warranty but 4 weeks ago, they were in good working order and I drive 10 miles/day). They checked the hesitation issue and stated that the car was showing electrical voltage changes and they tightened the battery cables. As I was driving from the dealership, the car immediately began to hesitate. It continued to worsen. I called the dealership and I was told to check the gas cap for a tight fit, then take it to other service stations because the gas had water in it. Blah, blah, blah. The emission light came on and then the engine light. I had it towed to Roadshow BMW in Memphis, TN where I bought the vehicle. For 2 days they tried to find a diagnosis. The shop foreman was called in, the service manager was looking at it, and even a regional technician was contacted. Finally, I was called by a service rep. She stated that the turbos needed to be replaced at a tune of $3,000.00. Yes, this problem was covered under warranty, but because they did not do the oil change when they were to fix the problem in the last visit, the turbo replacement would not be covered under warranty. The dealership, in my opinion, is anything but honest. I am hiring an attorney and beginning my correspondence with Mr. McDowell, president in NJ at Mini USA. Fun car but if the dealership is slippery as a snake, it is not worth the money and headache.

My cars power steering will intermittently fail while Im driving. When I turn the car back on, its fine again. I already had one pump since owning the car, number 2 will be next. When will Mini recall for this problem?

My daughter was driving our 2008 Mini Cooper which has around 85,000 miles. No warning lights were on other than the airbag light that stays on all the time because the passenger seat sensor is no longer working. That is another matter. When she stopped at a red light and tried to take off again, the car died and would not restart. We had it towed to the Mini Cooper dealership and they said it had over heated causing the engine to lock up and break the timing chain. The cost for repair would be $10,915.00 including parts, labor and tax. (We are unable to pay that kind of money so we have a cute piece of yard art). We later found out that lots of Mini Coopers have had the timing chain break which is inside the motor and when that happens it can ruin the motor. We believe that is what happened because there was no sensor light on showing the car was getting over heated. We have never had to add water or coolant except at regular maintenance times. They are just trying to blame it on us so there is no way they can be held responsible. There are just too many other people that have had the same problem. Apparently Mini Cooper has known about this problem with the faulty timing chain since 2008 and have not issued a recall. This is horrible!! They should also issue a recall for the passenger seat sensor because that is a safety hazard.

I bought my Mini used with 39,000 miles on it, the dealership I bought the car from offered a 90 day 3000 mile warranty on everything and thank god because 75 day and 2500 miles in the timing chain and tensioner had to be replaced at cost of $2300 .Since then I have had a recall on the cooler for the turbocharge, just recently I had my thermostat housing and sensor replaced. Now Ive been dealing with major power lost as if the turbocharger isnt working at all....I bought the car to save money and it has been nickel and diming me more than my 15 year old Ford F150... And the car uses more oil than any car that I have ever owed and Im pushing 50...BMW/MINI needs to fess up and fix these design flops because its a reflection on both companies....

Summary: My Mini had bad quality, and almost killed me twice in 3 days; horrible service; completely unacceptable. Car situation: 6 months old, around 4,000miles, purchased Aug. 2016 from mini of St. Louis. Details about car quality: 2/26 Sun.: When I drove on highway, my car lost power immediately. Luckily I could make it to road shoulder. Car was towed to Mini at the same night. I got my car back on 2/27 and was told that this issue was caused by bad gas. But I only went to Sams Club to get premiums gas. After I got my car, I drove home directly. This morning 2/28, I drove my car to work. My car was broke down again when I was driving on highway around 7am which was rush hour. This time, I couldnt make it to road side, because there was too much traffic and I was using most left lane. Due to drivetrain malfunction which was shown on the panel of the car, the car stopped on most left lane. I almost got killed by this situation. I had to call 911 to get help. Policemen came over to shut down the highway and pushed my car from the left lane to the road shoulder.How could my car broke down when its just 6 months old and only has 4,000 miles? How could Mini of St. Louis gave me the car without fixing it and put me in life threaten situation??? Whats really wrong with my car??? Whats Mini quality??? My Mini almost killed me twice in 1 week!!! Details about service: Mini road service: 2/26 Sun. When I called Mini road side service, they used 1 hour to locate my car, when I was stuck on highway. Your road service finally located me and told me the tow car would show up in 50 mins. After 50 mins, your customer service called me and told me the driver cancelled it. And she told me they couldnt find any tow car and asked me to leave my car and would tow my car next morning on the highway. I refused it. I told her I was on the highway, nowhere to go and worried about my car would be hit by other cars. Finally she agreed to help me to find another tow car which showed up around 1 hour later. Totally, I sat in my car around 3 hours on highway to get your help. Thats unacceptable!!! This morning, when my car broke down again on highway, I called Mini of St. Louis to get help. But they answered my call and refused to help me and asked me to call Mini road side service. When I called Mini road side, your customer service asked me to call local service and told me that I could get service quicker. How could both sides just kick me around when I was forced to park on the high speed lane. Finally, road side service agreed to help me and the tow car shown up around 9 am. Total 2 hours. Police station has this record, since they came over to shut down the highway and moved my car.Mini of St. Louis dealer shop service: gave me back the unfixed car and put me in danger. This afternoon, I went to Mini of St. Louis and told the sales manager what happened again and requested to changed to another new car. Because what has happened to me, I couldnt continue to trust this Mini. The sales manager refused to replace my trouble vehicle with new Mini. And he told me I was unreasonable!!! This car and service threatened my life twice, and the response they gave me was totally unacceptable.

I bought a 2011 Mini last this year, it drinks oil like no other car Ive had and makes a thumping sound after driving it for a while. Any knows what that is about? This car is scaring me, Im thinking about trading it in, I cant afford any major car repair bills right now.

I took my car to Rasmussen Mini, where I purchased it, and they forgot to put the plug back in after changing the coolant. I took it back in because it was losing coolant. The same thing but I took it to another mechanic and he found a crack in the radiator. I was told by Rasmussen Mini that they have a problem doing the radiator and the overheating after the coolant ran out wasnt their fault because the plug wasnt replaced. I emailed Rasmussen Mini people, ten or more times, but not one single answer. They dont seem to care after the warranty is off. If Minis have trouble with the radiator, they should just come out and say so.

Took the car in for a recall on tensioner chain, found out also had active recall for heat shield. Service called and stated when heat shield was being put on, found there was an oil leak. They said 928.00 to fix. I told them I thought that was why the heat shield was being applied, because it caused oil lines to leak, the o ring hardens and begins leaking. They said the recall is only to add the heat shield??? I contacted BMW and they said they would research and get back to me in 3-5 days. I dont understand how the two are NOT related.

I have a 2010 Mini Cooper S with 24k miles. I hardly drive the car and maintain the car well. All of a sudden I realize oil is leaking. I turn the car on ready to get it examined. The car is making a loud noise and starts to stall. I stop the car and get the car towed to the Mini Dealership. Six hundred dollars later and no real answer but it could be the cylinder, the timing bolt or the engine. Repair would run from six thousand to ten thousand dollars. After reading many blogs I see Mini Coopers are known for these problems and the car co. will not offer any discounts or take responsibility. I have a car which is not working and will be taking up space in my driveway.

I bought a Countryman in 2012 with the technology package that included iPod integration and the Navigation system. The car consistently resets the iPod, forgetting where it is in the playlist, rebooting the iPod, forgetting settings (i.e., Random) and generally being garbage. The nav system frequently confuses north and south, indicating that Im going in the opposite direction as I am, off roads, into rivers, and generally being useless. The folding side windows frequently do not deploy all the way. Ive had to turn off the ignition at a stop light and turn on the car again in order to get the mirrors out. Dont buy this car.

We should have known that it would be a mistake to purchase this car, when we were treated very rudely at the BMW dealership... but we really wanted a convertible. Biggest mistake we ever made. Less than a year old, and drivers side window motor had to be replaced. Less than a year old, and engine mount had to be replaced. 2 years old and the fuel pump had to be replaced. Multiple repairs spanning multiple years on the obviously flawed cooling system (out of warranty). At 5 years old, had to pay $7,000 for a REBUILT engine. 6 weeks after the rebuilt engine, and now the entire electrical system is gone. The dealer says its $400 just to diagnose it (and he cant get to it for a week, causing me to have to rent a car) and that he has no idea what is wrong, and has never seen anything like it.

I purchased a 2003 MINI (used) in 2004. Loved the car, but the engine was constantly overheating. While it was still under warranty, I brought it to the MINI dealer in Annapolis, MD. The service department would do various things to fix the overheating, such as, replace the radiator cap, replace the thermostat, replace fan motors, replace hoses and refill the fluid levels. Nothing they did under warranty was a permanent fix. After the warranty expired, and the problem continue to rear its ugly head, I was informed the head was warped. Several thousands of dollars out of my pocket later, that problem was fixed and finally the car no longer had overheating problems. Then I started hearing noises which I suspected were coming from the transmission. I changed the transmission fluid hoping that it would fix the problem and noise; however, the noise - albeit aggravating - continued, yet the MINI continued to operate at a normal rate. Then the unexpected happened: while driving at just over 30 mph, I heard a sound of metal breaking and the car was powerless. Under 90,000 miles and the transmission was gone!

2010 Mini Cooper - Had been wanting the car for quite some time. Bought a used one in Nov 2013. Had one previous owner and low mileage. Approximately 25K. Four months later in Feb 2014 had to change thermostat. Thank goodness it was under warranty. It was downhill from there. In Oct 2014 had a needed oil power flush to the tune of $165. Dec 2014 brakes and rotors needed replacement, yet no warning ever came on, $1300. Jan 2015 ignition coil $700. April 2015 valve cover gasket $600.Sept 2015 thermostat replaced again as well as defective tire sensors $700. Nov 2015 took in for oil change to find out radiator hose has detached, oxygen sensor not working, and engine vacuum pump is leaking oil. Got all but engine vacuum for lack of cash for $500. And still have to take back for engine vacuum for another $600. In almost two years Ive spent close to $5000 in repairs plus regular maintenance and oil changes. With what else to come. Seems like the cars werent built for longevity.

Have a real doozy! Had a 2006 Cooper with 70000 miles with no problems until early May, 2014 when steering became tight. Went to import mechanic friend who put in new power steering pump and then rack and pinion but didnt solve the problem. He recommended I go to dealer, which I did. They told me I needed a new steering column which was binding. They told me there were no steering columns in the U.S. And would have to order it from Germany which would take two months to arrive (7/15). Left the car at the dealer and service advisor would keep me up-to-date but never called me. Went to dealer on 7/15 and was told that the order had been cancelled by someone in Germany but they didnt know who and could be another 2 months before part might get in.Needless to say, I was quite frustrated and asked how much I could get selling the car back to them. Their appraisers offered $2,500(median blue book is $7,500) which I thought was unfair so went to sales manager(who did not know the history) who then offered $4,000 which I accepted. Had to get this off my chest.

I bought my wife a Mini Cooper 2006 R50 in 2010. It already had 52k miles on it. It now has 120k on it. I do most of the work myself because its simple, but very time consuming. If I dont do this Id look at spending about 40k dollars (overall) at the dealership to fix everything that wouldve gone wrong with it. And I should point out that Houston where I live is extremely hot so the more heat the more prone to failure. I usually go to the dealer for an inspection every 10k miles. They tell me what the problems are (charge a fair bit) but its worth it to get their knowledge. I think I was around 400 dollars, but had them replace the oil & filter as well etc. Then I go fix it myself.To avoid costly repairs the engine oil needs to be checked and topped off if necessary every month (about 6 or 7 hundred miles! Not changed).. Topped off to the max. If the engine oil goes low thats when plastic chain tensioners start to get hot and fail/break off causing catastrophic failure. I dont go for the oil change every 3k garble. I have the dealership do it every 10k (when they inspect it).Lately Ive had a misfire on cylinder 4. It cost me 20 dollars for a compression tester and will tell you that it has low compression (could be something else). Note 400 dollars if you want Mini to do it. Youll also be able to figure out if its the top end or bottom with a drop of oil (Google it). In my case it was a burnt valve on the head. As stated before its very simple to do these repairs. Its just very time consuming. The head was put to a machine shop though. Machine shops are pretty cheap.Over the 70k miles Ive had suspension issues, radiator fan issues, thermostat issues. Oxygen sensor issues. Engine mount issues. And numerous others I cant think of. 400 dollars to change a crank shaft sensor O-ring is a little excessive especially if youre changing the pan gasket at the same time. But in all its not complicated. It just takes time and some elbow grease.I have to say though I was tempted to buy a 40 thousand dollar BMW, but after the last time I took the Mini in and the guy said Its pretty good shape for a vintage that was the clincher for me. Its clearly obvious BMW do not want to work on cars over 5 years old, that is why they are charging so much. They want you to buy a nice new car every 5 years. So look forward to either spending 40k in repairs or 40k on a new car. I remember when Mini was Mini. Cheap and cheerful and would save on gas! Now its just spend spend spend. And can we please stop making plastic manifolds and plastic thermostat housings!!!!!!!!! Geesh Ill pay the extra 1k dollars and wont complain either!!

The car is scheduled for yearly oil changes. Because it was 2000 miles over the oil change time when it was changed, they refused to honor the new car warranty. I could not believe it and went to corporate, to no avail. The turbo went out and they refused to fix it on a 35K mile car purchased new from them.

I recently brought in my 2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible for some jerky shifting issues about three weeks ago. Mini told me that they connected it to a computer to modify the timing of the shifting and sent me home after telling me that they fixed the issue. After a few days, the jerky shifting returned and I drove the car back to Grand Rapids Mini to have it checked again. I was told 45 minutes later that I need a new transmission. My car has 68,000 miles on it and has been services consistently at Mini for ALL maintenance issues, during and after warranty. The cost, $10,580.00 with parts and labor. After doing a bit of research, I found that there was a class action lawsuit settlement regarding the CVT transmission in the older model Mini Coopers, of which my particular mini falls under the category.After posting a complaint on Minis Facebook page, I did receive a phone call in reference to my issue. Tina, a Mini Cooper motoring relations team member, called to tell me that she was instructed not to discuss my case with me until I have received information from Grand Rapids... A very unproductive discussion. Grand Rapids called to offer a whole 25% off the cost of parts and labor with the new $10,580.00 transmission. I declined and told them that the offer is unacceptable and frankly, disrespectful. I called Tina back to discuss this case with her further only to be told that the offer from Grand Rapids was the only offer that could be made. After requesting to talk with a supervisor or manager THREE times, I was forwarded to Simon ** at Mini Corporate.Simon talked over me several times, told me that there is no record of my car being serviced at Mini of Grand Rapids, which it has been serviced there and ONLY THERE since 2008, for which I have documentation, and told me that my car is too old to fall under the category of the class action lawsuit, even with only 68,000 miles on it. He stuck to the 25% discount on parts and labor and that was it.I cant believe that BMW/Mini Cooper can really pass by without a recall of this transmission considering all of the well-documented material online regarding the lawsuit. How can we get a recall? Does it take death? Are faulty transmissions not considered to be a safety issue? This is ridiculous. I will NEVER purchase another Mini again and I will advise my friends and family against it. Customer Service is horrible and not taking responsibility for your own manufactured issues is disgusting. Mini sucks.

I am very disappointed at the sales practice in Morristown Mini. I would advise DO NOT buy car there, I had to bear a loss of $17,000 because this dealer didnt disclose the tire information at purchase. As a loyal customer, we have purchased a Mini Cooper two years ago and were satisfied with the car. However, when we decided to replace another car and got a Clubman last Sept. in the same dealership, nightmare started not long after the joy of having a fully loaded clubman. First snow, which as a resident of NY and NJ for 20 years, was really nothing, my husband though couldnt even drive the car up to a small hill for my daughters music lesson, it was a dangerous zigzag. We couldnt figure out why. Until we sent car to dealer, they told us its performance tire and cannot be driven under 40 degrees. Since we bought it at 6k miles, no one bothered to disclose this information to us. And I tried to call dealership, the manager never called me back. We are caught off guard. We purchased a car not suitable for weather here. After that, the car is mostly stalled on the driveway, upon recent snow storm, when we had to go out during and after snow to get gas for generator. So, after 5 months of suffering, we terminated car with $17K loss... Bought a SUV with all season tire.

Purchase a Mini Cooper 2011 Countryman with 47,000 miles. I had dealer in north Scottsdale look the car over and was advised that mechanically the car is perfect. As the warranty ran out at 50K why would they want to find anything. At 56,000 miles the fuel pump in the fuel tank failed. I was told this is not unreasonable. The solenoid valve also failed and leaked out into the electrical harness and almost onto the electronic board (I was advised). The cost of this repair was about $4,600. I also had to replace all four break pads (not unreasonable but it was just another cost - $800).At 60,000 miles the clutch went bad most likely due to the fuel pump causing the car to buck like a horse for a while. I was told that this is to be expected from a mini. Cost $3,200. Total cost of the two repairs is $7,800. Considering I have had the car for 12,000 miles and the dealer told me that the car was in perfect working order when I purchased it I am to say the least very annoyed and angry. We bought this car to be a low cost effective vehicle. It has been nothing but a money sink. And to quote the dealer these issues are reasonable. So at minimum I can expect these costs to be incurred every 60,000 miles. Possibly more if other things go wrong.Dont buy a Mini if you have the choice. They are defective, unreliable and expensive to own. Buy a V8 truck. It will be more cost effective as you wont be paying for repairs to a poorly designed car.

I am writing because I am shocked at the terrible reviews I just read. I have owned my 2005 Mini Cooper Convertible since November 2005 and have never had a single problem. Of course some of that may be due to the amount of miles I have on it (about 38,000). We drive it from N.C. to Fl and return once yearly. Although there are only a few miles, the main thought I have is, why havent I had any problems in the 12 years I have owned it? Anyway just want to share my good news after reading the previous ones.

First I have to say it is a fun car to drive, love the looks but... I bought this car with 60,000 plus miles, and I purchased the platinum warranty because I never owned a turbo. Glad I did. Other than the car driving nicely, it turns out this engine needs a quart of synthetic oil every 800-1000 miles. Kind of expensive when you need to put Castrol synthetic at $9 a quart. They changed several oil lines, valve cover and gasket, a leaking solenoid, and the turbo. Now I must say the service experience is not bad, but it seems they are fishing. After the turbo replacement and valve cover replacement, I thought that would have fixed the problem. A week after I got it back, I am paranoid about losing oil. Lo and behold, it’s already low on the dipstick by an 1/8 of a quart. So guess I’m taking it back... Now the service guys at Mini do tell me that this is common for this engine to use that much oil. Sorry that’s a cop out for a bad design by Mini or shall I say BMW. Never in a million years would I have thought this was losing oil, but one day I turned into a store, and my oil light flashed. I stopped immediately and checked the oil which the level never registered on the dipstick. That’s how I found out. After that due to the low oil, I had carbon build up on valves, which caused it not to start one day. Other than a fun car, all I can think about how many people had to replace an engine due to an engine failure due to no oil??? One test they wanted me to do was bring it in so they could top off the oil, then drive it for 1000 miles to see if I was losing oil. I lost about 3/4 of a quart and that’s when I found out I needed a new turbo and valve cover.I think Mini needs to step up and fix this problem! It must be a poor design. I am seriously thinking of selling this car and would never buy another if I have to put more money into it. Unfortunately the fun factor goes out the window when you have to keep putting money into it to fix it. I can only speak of my experience so far. But after reading other reviews of this car... not sure I should have purchased one. Could have gotten the experience if only I could have rented one. You live you learn. BMW should stand up and do the right thing... from what I can tell due to their poor designs it creates a lot of problems and angst for their customers. Step up Mini and BMW and do the right thing!

My 2005 cooper had been making a ticking noise for a while. I changed my front tires because one of my tires was wearing incorrectly and this didnt solve the issue. I decided to take the car the the Mini Dealer in our area and have them diagnose the problem. They found that the noise was coming from the transmission. Well, I was dumbfounded because my car is at 89K miles and a manual Transmission. So I thought how could my tranny be going out? I called 1-800-ask-mini and asked for assistance and help in regards to the transmission going out and I also needed a new passenger seat mat because my airbag warning light was on and this means the seat mat is messed up.Brent from Mini said he would call me back in a few days to investigate. The mini repair called me back to let me know that they would be able to offer me 15% off the price for the seat mat and they never referenced the transmission.A few days later, my car actually broke down. I have spent over 3K to replace my transmission. The mechanic showed me the core which has a nice little hole bored through the metal. The upper part of the transmission was blown out by what ever it was that was digging through the metal. Nonetheless... the transmission problem I had was truly a defect and I would like to know how I can get Mini to take some sort of ownership for the problem.

My Mini just died - will not move. Was told trans is bad and will cost me about $7,000 to fix. The repair shop told me a very common problem and Mini wont stand behind the problem. There should be a recall. It seems they dont care about the consumer. Its really sad that all they are worried about is fattening their pockets and not helping the customer. SAD!!!! REALLY SAD!!!!! I will never buy another Cooper and I will pass this info to everyone.

My car has had 2 HP fuel pumps, aux water pump, a new bat replaced at 8k, oil pipe, gaskets valve cover and 2 timing chain tens replaced prior to 50k. The warranty has now expired. BMW wants me to sign a release as they are offering to pay 50%? Help.

Hi, I purchased a used 2010 Mini Cooper less than a year ago which I am still financing, Yesterday my wife was on her way home. The car started smoking from the vents and soon after the car locked down while I was driving and could not breathe. While driving on the left lane she was able to come to a stop and turn off the vehicle then the door open for me. With the door open she then turn back the car as other vehicles saw that the car was smoking. They let me merge to the right lane. A police officer in his car noticed that something was wrong and came to my aid. As he was asking her what is wrong, she tells police officer that the car is smoking and thats when the car lit up in flames as the horn was going off. The car and all of hers and my personal belongings got destroyed in a blazing fire that almost killed her. What should my next step be? I am out of car, my laptop, cell phone, sneakers, etc. A response is needed. Thanks.

I own a 2006 Cooper S convertible. I just read the blog on 12/9/2011. I have experienced exactly the same. I have taken the car into the Mini dealer at 12,000, 24,000, 32000 and 47000 for the same issue, each time to be told that the computer shows no fault found. I have serviced the transmission and had Mini Cooper service look at it again at 94,000. The car has been kept in excellent condition. The car will surge and the tachometer dial will move then the car grabs and shifts hard, sometimes making the tires squeal. I have had an independent mechanic drive the car to agree that there is an issue with the transmission. This is a manual transmission with the steptronic paddle shift capability. After having the transmission serviced, driving the car home and the transmission would not shift out of the gear. It was in and would not move forward other than a 5 to 7 mile idle. This happened while driving in rush hour traffic.

I am shocked and dismayed about the number of complaints about Mini Coopers! I too fell in love with my 2009 mini (cute as a box full of kittens!) LOVE driving it! BUT at 25k the water pump went. At 49k the top had to be replaced. Later the thermostat housing cracked, and at 82k a freeze out plug inside the timing chain housing blew out, blowing the engine. I still love the car and am going to fix it (at about $8000 for a used engine). I think BMW should be responsible for all of these engines blowing! What if the used engine blows? I cant afford another 8 grand!!!

Mini cooper 2002 chilli pack - I love this car with a passion. Trouble is BMW dont love it as much as I do. Otherwise they would make life with this car cheaper and easier to live. Far too much specialisation in the build that makes it that I have to refer to main dealer rather than my own trusted local mechanic. To me it smacks of BMW trying to keep a steady revenue stream rather than provide a true service to their clients. There you are. Have said it now. Happy.

1. Right and left engine mounts cracked at 55k. 2. New transmission at 55,123 miles. 3. Weather stripping rotting and replaced often. 4. Convertible roof replaced due to rotting weather stripping (twice). 5. Power steering hoses leaking and replaced. 6. Thermostat replaced. 7. Thermostat gasket replaced. 8. Oil pan leak and gasket leak. 9. Trans harmonic converter replaced.10. Bushings.... The most exciting part of this car is that indicator lights dont come on for some of these issues... I can tell you from experience that its very unsettling to have some of these issues arise when on the freeway or on busy city streets .P.S. I maintained this car accordingly my Mini advisor told me so... along with that he stated he just didnt understand why I was having so many problems.

Timing chain broke 30 days after I bought the vehicle @ 59000 miles.

2006 Mini Cooper - I am the second owner of this car, bought a year old from CarSense in PA. I have about 111,000 miles on it, bought it at after ~35,000. I faithfully change my synthetic oil well before the recommended mileage, yet my transmission began destroying itself anyway. My previous car, a 1997 Toyota Rav4, lasted over 250,000 miles before my family traded it in without issues. The clutch alone lasted past 200,000 miles. I am very disappointed that BMW would put such a shoddy product on the market. My car is currently being dismantled by my mechanic to determine the extent of the damage. My first indication was a clicking sound which seemed to be coming from the front left wheel area. I was able to drive it for several weeks like that and took it to the repair shop for that noise, only to learn it was the same transmission issue that is plaguing many Mini owners. I do not recommend that anyone purchase a Mini Cooper due to this issue, which is not acknowledged as a known issue by Mini service at the dealership. I would love to join a lawsuit to resolve this and hold BMW/Mini accountable for their shoddy products.

My Car is the 2009 Mini Cooper S, 87k miles. By now I have lost count of the major repairs I have had. Some of the highlights: 1) $900 walnut shell carbon cleaning procedure, which the dealer explained occurred because I did not use a fuel cleaning additive regularly! (Note that the manual does not recommend any such thing); 2) Failed turbo valve; 3) Failed thermostat; 4) Failed timing chain; 5) Failed water pump; 6) Oil leaks; 7) Failed fuel injector; 8) Failed hood latch cable; 9) Multiple problems with bushings having become cracked; 10) Frozen tie rod. Sad thing is that the car is still a blast to drive. But the build quality is awful and MINI (BMW) refuses to take responsibility for the ridiculously poor quality of this vehicle.

2005 mini. In August 2011 at 74,000 miles the electrical fan stayed on after work the next morning the battery was dead and the dealership wanted 5k to do the repairs of the power steering pump/fan, radiator fan, and new battery. I could not afford that so the car sat in the driveway until I decide to attempt the job myself. Well $500 later, and two weeks. I completed everything the dealer ship said was wrong. EBay man’s best friend new radiator fan $180, Rebuilt pump (send yours in the rebuild yours) $250, new battery $85 advanced auto parts.January 2012 the transmission starts to slip. Seems like it is going from second to third gear. Seems to be getting worse. For as expensive as these cars are you think they would be a little more reliable. All the reports I read online say the same thing these issues all start between 70-80k. Come no MINI / BMW fix these on your dime, you know there is problem quit sucking our pockets dry while you are getting stacks of cash from people buying these cars and paying these ridiculous repair costs.

I bought the 2007 Mini Hardtop at 61K. Within one week the timing chain needed to be replaced along with the valve cover and leaking oil, it ran poorly and stalled out at lights. The cost to me was $3K. I cant afford a car like this. Who can? I want to sell it and Ive only had it 4 weeks.

Were the crazy car people you hear about. Every year we go to the Detroit auto show, New York auto show, Philadelphia auto show, etc, and we generally replace one of our cars every 2 - 3 years. In 2014 I was impressed with the Mini Cooper at one of the auto shows that I ordered a nearly fully loaded Mini Cooper S Hardtop with the John Cooper Works package. After all was said and done, I spent approximately $36k. After waiting a few months, it finally arrive on the docks of New Jersey but it had a recall on it (already) and it wasnt allowed to leave the docks to be delivered until the recall had been satisfied. That process took a month for someone to change a part on the dock, which is very disappointing knowing that your new car was being held captive by slow moving dock mechanics.After about 4 months of driving, the oil filter exploded. Yes, EXPLODED. The mini dealership did a pretty good job of towing the car and bringing me out a loaner for several days until they could fix it. At that point, things went downhill. Heres everything going wrong with it to date: During driving, several times the stick shift came completely off its base, leaving me scrambling to shift but could not. This was fixed when the oil filter exploded and have not had any problems since. Several times a month, when the car is started (warm or cold) the RPMs will go back and forth from 0 to 1000, then die and restart itself (all while the auto start/stop is disabled) and will continue the same cycle for up to 10 minutes.During normal driving, I lose all power to the car. Just last week I was pulling out of parking lot into traffic and lost all power, even with the gas pedal to the floor. I was lucky enough to get into the center turning lane before being struck by oncoming traffic. The window seal on the rear seat window (on the drivers side) has slowly begun to unravel and hang out of the space between the window and the hatch on the back. The service department at the dealership said they had seen it before, and a glass company claimed it shouldnt effect the seal, but I can visibly see space between the window and what should be the seal. The low tire pressure monitor displays warnings about tire pressure even after I have confirmed the tires are inflated properly.Getting additional errors on the display in regards to a discharge of the battery while the engine is stopped (perhaps a draw on the battery somewhere). The voice recognition software is either just plain horrible, or something is faulty. When I supply a valid, easy to understand address or location for the GPS to navigate to, it changes the radio station. While in reverse, the backup lines on the reverse camera disappear every now and then. The only way they show up again is if you go into the settings and re-enable them manually. When I buy a car, I keep it for 2-3 years before even considering trading it in. With the problems Ive listed above and having only owned it for about a year, I asked around for trade in quotes. I was astonished to discover that the car I had paid $35k for a year prior, was now only worth $18k on trade in. Thats nearly a 50% drop in value in one year. When the car is running ok, its a lot of fun to drive... A LOT. But the issues that Ive had with it arent just annoying, theyre dangerous. In fact, due to the loss of power on occasion, I cant allow my wife to drive it because I fear for her safety. Im not sure how much longer Ill have the car (or how long Ill be stuck with it rather), but Im truly disappointed. I expected better from BMW. Ive owned a lot of cars, but this one was by far my biggest mistake.

The problems with the Mini Cooper are two-fold: 1) the design of the car is atrocious. 2) the maker & the service are designed to financially abuse the purchaser. First, the design flaws: OK, this car was designed as a toy, not as a practical piece of transportation. But why did they make the dipstick impossible to read? Why did they go out of their way to make the clock a brain twister to reset the hours (which we do twice a year in America)? Why did they make it so that putting the windows up and down while driving is actually a painful distraction from driving? Other than that, the car is small but has terrible fuel efficiency. It is too small for road trips (unless you really, really like this car), too small for carrying much more than a few groceries, and too small for anyone with children. Yet it is not a luxury sports car, and it sure isnt an economy model. The ride is nauseating. There is such turbo-lag that it is dangerous to try to pull into fast-moving traffic because your car will wait a beat or two before lurching forward. NOW, the use of this car as an instrument of financial abuse: this car is designed to take your money away from you. My wife bought it to drive to the train station and yoga on weekends (not good for anything else, really). She bought it as a Certified used car from the Mini dealer. In a year and a half, she put on 900 miles. I took it in for an oil change - and they told me I had to replace the brake fluid ($150) as well as the micro-filter ($110). Another 18 months, another 1700 miles - and THIS TIME the dealer wants us to spend more than $3,700 to fix all the little things they say are rotting off the car everywhere they look. To review, with oil changes, that is more than $4,000 in maintenance to drive a Certified car 2600 miles over 3 years. Good thing / bad thing? BAD THING! Bad bad bad car!

I owned a 2007 Mini Cooper S with many expensive options and the engine failed at 73,000. The dealer (New Country MINI - Hartford, CT) would not do anything even though I needed to buy a new car so I had to junk it. I believe the MINI warranty is 4 years or 48,000 miles. Meanwhile many less expensive cars have 7 year/100,000 mile warranties.

I am the owner of a 2006 mini Cooper and my car has 65,000 miles in it and needs a new transmission as well as a water pump, struts, oil gasket and other things. The quote I received totalled nearly $14,000 for all repairs, which is approximately what the resale value of the car is at this time if it were in good condition. I was only asking for help with the transmission, since they are asking close to $10,000 to replace it altogether as it cannot be fixed. I have read up on many occurrences on the same nature of these cars manufactured between 2002-2006 and I was surprised when all they offered to me was either 20% off of a new transmission or $4,000 on a trade. I will be making my last payment in September and I was excited about the possibility of trading up for a newer model. Instead, I will own a car that is technically negative in value. I have two sisters and a best friend who each own mini Coopers because of my enthusiasm for the car. They know my story and are just as disappointed to hear that the dealership would not even meet their customers expectation but would rather lose a customer and possibly four. I guess it is out of their hands after they sell the car. In fact, I never even heard from the sales department again after the purchase not even a follow-up call. In summary, over the five years that I have owned this car, if I were to pay for the repairs it needs now, I would be the proud owner of a Mini Cooper S that has cost me a grand total of $55,000 (this includes the cost of the car and all repairs completed and still needed). Please help. Thank you.

Just purchased a 2009 Mini Cooper S from Carmax. We are not happy with either. Yes, they are neat cars, but the reviews and warnings you read about are all accurate. These engines are so poorly designed. Had the car for a few months and it has been parked more than driven. Purchase something else and maybe Mini will eventually redesign. We have already seen a failed vacuum pump, timing chain tensioner issues, misfiring engine. This was a huge mistake. Worst car we have ever owned.

My son was excited to buy his first car. Bought a 2007 Mini Cooper S fall of 2016 and this week the timing chain broke while he was on the freeway. Lucky he was able to make it off the freeway before he was hit. He found out that the timing chain was recalled. The recall was extended to 7 year or 100,000 miles last January 2016. But that wouldnt do him any good as his car is now 10 years old. What was the purpose of BMW doing a recall that most owners couldnt even get. When the chain broke it dented his valve and now he is stuck with a $3000 bill. He is a new college graduate and trying to make it in the world, to be screwed over by Mini Cooper/BMW.

My 17 year daughter went to a local car lot, and fell in love with a 2004 Mini Cooper. She went to the bank on her own, and bought this car. Two weeks after having it, the oil pump went out. I say went out, I believe it had an issue when she bought it. Our bad is, we own an auto repair shop, but she didnt let her dad check it before she bought it. She left the parking lot and I noticed a puddle under her car. When she came back there was no oil on the stick. She called on the warranty (that the dealer had her purchase), but because she didnt tow the car 1/2 a mile back to the auto repair shop the warranty will not cover if the engine is knocking or locked up.After getting it in the shop her dad noticed the oil light had been disabled from the dash and an oil sending gauge had been installed. The car had oil in it when she left or there would not have been a puddle. We were able to fix the oil pump and all the gaskets and sealed that were leaking. It seems to have been running okay; with the exception of mysteriously losing 2 quarts of oil after a week. She drove it for 3 weeks, and had it towed off the side of the road. We have not diagnosed it yet, but it just died on her going down the road. It was not running hot; had gas in it, and plenty of oil. She was able to start it again and it just died. When my husband started it at the shop it shook the whole car, and is making an awful noise. Hes guessing a rod. So now she has $9000 in car payments, and may need a motor. Biggest piece of junk we have ever experienced. For the parts to be on the high end (expensive), they sure didnt design a high quality car here.

I bought a Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works 12000 miles, paid £16500. Last year I was driving and the screen kept telling me boot open. Sometimes I could open other times it was impossible to open. Took into my local garage and he shook the boot door only to find it full of water!!! If I did not have it fixed the water would eventually mess electronics up. I looked on internet and it is quite common. I called Spire Mini and they wanted £120 just to tell me what was wrong with the boot (like they did not know). Took it to be fixed at a BMW garage. Now again I cannot open my boot, went to garage. Everything is soaked and the boot door again is full of water. I am so angry. It is obviously a fault. It is disgusting to pay that amount of money for a Mini and all they are interested in is more money on a faulty car. I want to go to a solicitor and demand they replace the boot door and pay for all my damaged goods. Does anyone know the details of the managing director of Mini who I can contact?

Had the winters tires exchanged for summer ones today and during the Mini inspection, the technician noted rusting and pitting on the brake discs. Recommended replacing at a cost $1300 (CDN). The car has only 16K kilometers on it. I had my previous Mini for 6 years and it did not require brake replacement during the time I owned it. The technician suggested the rust was the result of the car sitting for long periods of time, but my driving habits are identical to those when I had my first Mini. My concern is that this is something I have to look forward to, every year, like taxes.

Do not buy a Mini Cooper! I have a 2006 Mini Cooper with 47,000 miles and the automatic transmission has gone out! I was told that you cannot buy parts; you have to replace the transmission at the cost of $7500! Shame on Mini Cooper for being aware of transmission problems and not standing behind their product!

I like the Mini Cooper a lot. It stood up to a wreck but its pretty worn down now and its very expensive to fix. The drain for the oil pan somehow has become stripped and its a custom ordered part. So its not an easy fix. No money is tight and I havent been able to fix it. So Im worried for it.

I have a 2008 Mini Convertible S. NO ONE wanted to love her Mini, like this girl, but... its been one expensive repair after another. The latest was a WIRING HARNESS. Really? On a car with 75,000 miles? I have owned a lot of cars, and even on my really OLD ones, I never had to replace a wiring harness (I had thermostat issues and intake hose issues at less than 30K miles). It turns out MINI re-engineered the original part. So there was no replacing it. I had to had a new throttle valve (nothing wrong with the existing one) in order to make the NEW harness design work. The cost was $1850.00. I argued, like mad, and Mini agreed that I shouldnt have to PAY for their shoddy design. Thats ONE point in their favor, but their reaction is one that suggests, You should be FINE having to completely rebuild this car after six years. I DISAGREE. That, to me, is a recall item. I also think about the HUNDREDS I put in to replacing a faulty thermostat at 20,000 and an intake hose that must have come from the factory with a hole was money I shouldnt have had to come up with.This car is made by BMW. I, frankly, expected better quality. TWICE, (first the right and now the left side) rear window pulleys have just SHATTERED when I raised the top. I swear, I thought someone had SHOT me. I looked for shattered glass. My husband is handy and can repair that, but he has to take the door apart and its a big PAIN. Its a cheap, plastic $248 part. I dont know how much it would have cost us with their labor. Also, the cup holder was placed right in front of the stereo, so when I hit a bump, my Starbucks went in to my stereo, burned it up, and that had to be replaced (Live and learn. Ask for a cup plug). Oh, and my convertible top is pulling apart at the seams now, and I was told its about $4000-5000 to completely replace it. I wanted to be a generational LOVER of the Mini. I wanted to buy my kid one for college, and maybe even treat my mother in law to one. As fun and sexy and cute as it is to drive, it hardly makes up for its expensive breaking ways. I almost traded it in on a second Prius. Emotionally, I am bonded with its cuteness (I dont really like the new models. They dont look cartoon-worthy like my year, but I GET that they want it to look more like a BMW) or I would trade it in on another car. Its like a BAD BOYFRIEND you just cant bring yourself to dump. I wonder how many more thousands of dollars I need to pour into it, before I can break up? Hubby is SO over this car, and vows NEVER AGAIN. He would have bought me a brand new one, this year too, had this one not given us such a headache.

While I have enjoyed driving this car, the cost of continuing repairs has been staggering. The electrics and the mechanical components of this car are poorly engineered and have been repaired or replaced on a regular basis throughout the eight years I have owned the car. It has leaked oil as well as burning oil from early on. It is now requiring a great deal of repairs due to leaking and burning oil and a non-functioning oil warning light. In fact I was told by my mechanic that it is not worth fixing. It only has about 160,000 miles on the clock. Fun to drive does not make up for poor engineering and high cost of repair. I would never recommend a MINI to anyone.

On February 3, 2014 I took my car in to have the key checked out because it was not releasing when the car was cut off. This has been happening for over a year and reported to my service guy at the dealership on my last visit for appointed oil change, etc. I was told nothing was wrong. On this appointment, with 16,000 miles on a 2011 Mini Cooper, and one month before the warranty expire because of the length of the warranty, three years or 39 thousand miles, I was told that the cup holder had leaked coffee or something brown into the computer and that had caused the problem. I was told that the warranty would not be covered for that problem and it will cost me $1200 or $1300 to repair. I just read another complaint and the customer was told that you should only used cans in the cup holder!!! Why are the customers not told this and why do they put the holders on top of the computer if this problem occur??? My car cost over $30,000 and something so harmful should be taken care of by MINI COOPER, NOT THE CUSTOMER!!!!!