Nothing but a junk transmission gone on 70.000 mile and cost me $4800.00. 2 months later, engine gone which cost extra $5500.00. Nothing but the junk.

I have less than 65,000 miles on my 2006 Mini Cooper Hatchback. I took it in for an oil change and my air conditioning stopped working. I was told the air conditioning was due to the compressor failing. So, $2000 later, I have air conditioning. However, on the repair order, I am also told that the strut mount ($645), Engine fan ($985) and some misc. things like a side axle seal ($347), crank sensor o-ring ($349) muffler bracket ($260) also need to be done.My question is, what is the muffler bracket made of for $260(?) and who has to replace a engine fan in less than 65,000 miles on a car? Ive driven some old vehicles and driven them for a long time but never had the engine fan go out. I cant believe after 6 years that my car should need almost $5000 worth of work! I should also mention they found the O2 sensor was out, again. This is the 3rd time that has had to be replaced. Thank God Mini gave me a lifetime warranty on that - but the dealership wanted $140 to diagnose that it was needed again.This is the 2nd incident I have had with the a/c - the last time it was leaking (thankfully while under warranty). Ive also had the thermostat replaced already. I feel uncertain that I can afford to drive this car another 2 years. The parts seem to go bad so fast I cant imagine what another 2 years will do to my wallet!

I love this car, however, I have had nothing but grief. When I read all the blogs about the trials and tribulations on the Mini for many customers, it makes me ill... You name it, it’s happened. And I never get a notice from Mini USA about recalls, nor does my Mini dealership/repair ever call to alert me. So what happens is the car suffers! Although my dealership has put up with me and tried to do what they could to deal with its issues, I frankly and truly believe that the mechanics there dont know what they are doing at the end of the day! They never go deep enough to find a problem and solve it. It has to go in over and over again! The best was when the fuel gauge was messing up for years and I kept running out of gas!! The dealership manager finally says, Well just fill up every 150-200 miles to ensure you dont run out!! Seriously? Every time that car dies and has to be towed 100 miles to the dealership, and then I get it back, I think ok, this time it’s finally all taken care of - no. I am three payments away from owning this car free and clean and that’s what I wanted to do when bought new. Not have to keep making payments, just maintain and keep the car until it dies for real. Well yesterday was the last straw. Have no idea what it is this time, will find out hopefully today. But I will say that now that I will most definitely have to get rid of this car, the records online will be so against me. As it is Mini offered me a year ago! Only 12k for this car as trade in. Seriously?? I paid 32k for this car 4.5 years ago. I want Mini to give me a new car. Anyone know how I can do this?? Any free lawyers out there to help me??

I had to replace the crankshaft pulley assembly and serpentine belt at 51,909 miles. The age of the car at this time was roughly 5 years and 8 1/2 months.The headliner has started falling. This started at around 53,000 miles in January of 2011. The age of the car at this time was roughly 5 years and 10 months. This car has been garaged for most of its life. I have had cars for much longer than this and these type of problems do not seem normal for the mileage or age of the car.

I own 2005 Mini Cooper S with 55000 miles, just had engine failure. There is small kicking sound from the timing belt area. I contacted Mini USA, they put me on 5 months of investigation by me providing all my maintenance records, which were up to date. And after all that wait, they refused any help.

The Clubman is a good entry model for first Mini. Ive owned mine for over a year with no issues to date other than regular maintenance. I use my hatch like a compact truck. It has power enough to carry 10 40-pound bags of wood pellets. I would only consider the 6 speed manual as it makes the car a hoot to drive.

I bought 2012 S Hardtop brand new in Aug 2011 and it has been a great car. I have a six speed manual with the full electronics, cold weather, comfort and sport packages. Over the last four years Ive had a couple of minor issues but the Mini warranty covered them and I havent spent a dime on anything other than gasoline. There are some things about the car that are inconvenient, like needing to take the car in to get a fuse changed or that the TPMS light will come on every time the weather changes. But in four years I think Ive had to take the car in three times for something other than a standard service. I bought the Mini as a replacement for a 2007 Prius and this car has had a quarter of the issues that the Prius had.

Advised by Mini, I need a new engine below 100,000 miles on a 2003 Coopers. Original clutch, all recommended and required service done by authorized Mini dealers. Owned since new. Experience is that MINI and BMW do not stand behind their product. Buyer beware!!!

Freak type of situation happened to my speedometer cover (the clear plastic)... On the weekend of 5/29/15 I decided to give my car a really deep clean and brought out my dealer supplied cleaning bucket of cleaning products. As I proceeded to start to clean the dash area and the speedometers lenses I noticed some cleanser seeping behind the speedometer plastic and then some very bad cracking and separating started. I immediately stopped and started to look at the problem and realized there had been a large crack that was not visible to the eye until the cleaner got onto it. I immediately called the dealer. Drove 1hr to get there and have them look at it. Now here is where things went bad.After about an hour wait I was called into the service area and they started talking to me about non warrantable items. I at this point now realized my situation and outcome was NOT going to be favorable. They deemed this as a situation that they had never seen happened before and then they blamed me for the problem. I truly believe that a $30,000 car only owned by me for a few months and that would have a freak incident like this would have been covered. I was only asking for the damage that I believe could have been a manufacturing defect, it should have been taken care of. I was then told, The service manager would reach out to you, and get back to me when a solution could be reached. I at this point got into my car and proceeded home a very dissatisfied customer.I received a call back from the service manager after several days, according to him after talking to a district representative, he stated as a measure of good will they would be willing to offer me a replacement at ½ the cost of the entire unit which still would cost me out of pocket $1200.00, or they were willing to pay of my deductible ($500)... if I could get this covered under my auto policy. This is my mind speaks volumes that in some way the dealership felt a certain sense of responsibility to cover this if they were willing to offer me this so called good will gesture. I fully understand this is an expensive item and there should have been a better resolution to the problem since the car is under warranty and you claim boot to bonnet coverage for 4 years or 50.000 miles. I truly do believe that my cost should have been $0.00.I was absolutely astounded that my insurance company decided to cover this (thank god for State Farm to which I have had them for 30 years) under ACCIDENT. They did not have to but they did, they went out way to make sure I got my car repaired... I am elated to be a customer of theirs and cant praise them enough and that is why I will remain loyal to them for life. I really wish Mini had felt the same way and taken care of this the same way. Especially since all I heard was We have never seen anything like this before.I also want to include in this statement that after receiving the adjusters estimate of the repairs, the dealerships estimate was considerably higher on list prices for the components and I have both repair estimates as evidence of what I feel was an extreme mark up when it looked as if I was paying of pocket the cost of the repair. However on the dealerships behalf after calling and going over the pricing they did agree to work within the monies provided. Thank god I had that information or I would have paid WAY too much on this repair. My intentions of bringing this up is to let you know how appalled I was by this deliberate attempt to pad the bill.

In August of 2016, I leased a 2017 Mini Clubman from Mini of Manhattan. I wish I could say I had a good year with it. On the contrary, this past year has been a nightmare with this car. The 2017 Mini Clubman has many problems and inconveniences. - When the high beams are activated, the regular headlights go off. I use the high beams when I need MORE light, not the same amount but in a different direction. - When you shut the engine, only the driver door unlocks, instead of all doors. (I spoke to my friends and some said this did not bother them.) - The middle headrest in the backseat obstructs the view of the back and I had to remove it. - The kick-to-open trunk feature NEVER works, EVER. Even during the instructional demonstration when I was picking up the car, the salesman had trouble opening the trunk this way.- The defogger has a long pause before the blower starts working. - The center console is not very user friendly, and I am a tech savvy person. Using your phone’s Bluetooth for GPS is a nightmare. - The trunk door has opened on me, while I was driving, on multiple occasions. The key fob was either in my pocket or clipped to my belt when the button was accidentally pressed. There should be a lock that prevents the trunk from opening while the car is moving. The Clubman I have, has two swing-out doors, so it’s very easy for things to fall out of the open trunk when the car is moving.- The low-profile run-flat tires suck. In eight months, I have gotten four flat tires. More information below.The tires make this car unusable. As previously stated, I got four flat tires in eight months, I stopped driving the Mini in April, thats why its only eight months even though we have had the Mini for a year. This is from normal driving, going up driveway curbs, and rolling over little potholes. I think paper mache tires would last longer. Each replacement tire from Mini costs $335. Thats $1340 gone, not to mention the time to bring the car to Mini and waiting for the tire change, waking up super early to wait for the tow truck, frustration and stress, and safety issues as I have a baby in the car most of the time. Its all a scam to buy the tire insurance. The tires at BJs Wholesale Club are $150 each and come with a lifetime guarantee. They are not run-flat but who cares, I know how to change a tire. It is ridiculous that Minis tires are such garbage and not backed by any warranties, and are double the price of tires found elsewhere. I bought a 1999 Honda Accord (for $1500) in April because I did not want to drive the Mini anymore, I simply did not want any more flat tires. For the price of 4 tires from Mini, I bought an older (19 year old) Honda which has run perfectly and has fewer inconveniences and disappointments than the 2017 Mini. I have driven the Accord for four months and we now call it the good car, and the reliable car. Every time we go over a pothole in the Accord, we say, That would have been another flat tire on the Mini. I wrote this review in August 2017, and it is now December 2017. In four months the BJ’s tires have performed well with no flats. The tire tech at BJ’s said the Mini factory tires are garbage. If anyone else had problems with Mini’s tires please write about it. I think it is a big problem.

I bought my 2010 Clubman about six months ago from the Mini dealer in Jacksonville, FL. I asked about the timing/mileage for tuneups, oil changes, etc. The salesman told me that this was all computer controlled - all I had to do was watch the dashboard lights and readout. I read the manual especially the section about maintenance. It is important to note that neither the salesman nor the cars manual states anything about checking the oil level or water level on a periodic basis. Neither the salesman nor the manual states that the oil level is monitored by one of the cars computers and lights/readout.So, one day the engine light comes on. The manual says it is okay to drive slowly with the light on. Which is exactly what I did -- I headed the car to the shop. Unfortunately, in less than one mile the car died. The car was towed to the shop. The engine threw a rod due to a lack of oil: there was less than one liter of oil in the pan. Now I am facing a $7000 bill to replace the engine. Why wasnt I informed to check the oil periodically? Had I done so, my engine would not have died. Mini was on notice of the lack of oil level monitoring and on notice as to oil usage/burning; however, Mini was completely silent. Question - is there a lawyer out there who is interested in a gross negligence lawsuit against Mini? If so, please contact me.

2006 Mini Cooper S Transmission Issue - The transmission on my Mini went out. The car is six years old and has 68,000 miles on it. It’s certainly not old enough or driven enough to have this kind of problem. According to the dealer, it will cost $8,600 plus tax to fix. I have seen a number of comments online that suggest this is a common problem with this make/model, yet the dealer will do nothing, except take my money, since the car is no longer under warranty. It seems to me that if this is a common problem, there should be a recall or some kind of compensation for this problem.

I purchased a 2009 Mini Cooper from Mini of Charleston (owned by Rick Hendrick) in 2011. I bought the service warranty for about $1,200. They told me that the Mini needed a new clutch ($2200) and that wasnt covered under the service warranty that I purchased (**). Their service is horrible and then they dont want to fulfill their obligations through loopholes. I would have never purchased the service warranty if big ticket items were not covered. So I picked up the car and took it to a Mini/BMW repair shop where a friend takes her BMW and it cost me less than half of what Mini was going to charge me.I am going to trade the Mini in and I will never, ever buy another Mini or BMW again (I currently have a 2006 BMW 325CI that I bought from the same dealership and I have bought BMWs in the past). It appears (after reading multiple reviews on multiple websites) that the Minis transmission are crap as much of the complaints are around the service and transmissions. Gotta hate a company that backs their product.

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?

In 2013, I bought a used 2012 MINI Cooper S R56 with 10,000 km on it. I like this car, but in Jakarta theres many broken road...and this car is low...so Im not recommend this car in broken road city. The performance is amazing...Im happy about it. But in Jakarta, the used car cost 60k USD...so its expensive here.

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.

I just bought a 2010 Mini Cooper S Manual Transmission car from a private party. Drove it 500 miles and clutch started making metal-on-metal grinding noise when leaving first gear. It now needs to be replaced and is going to be extremely costly. I found a number of people with the same year, make and model and having the exact issue. The clutch obviously was made cheaply. It cannot handle the torque the engine. This is completely unacceptable. I will be pursuing legal action. I recommend that you look into your clutch and if youre considering buying a Mini, make sure you the clutch looked at. I enjoy the brand, style and performance of the vehicle but this is a real hassle.

Brand new 2015 Cooper S with sunroof. Protective netting of the sunroof slid open as I drove. Gas mileage is 25/26 (I was quoted 32/38)! Brought it back for repairs. 1st time, 2nd time - No fix. Glue globbed on the sides of the netting; that didnt work and looks awful. They intimated gas mileage due to the way the car was driven. Loaners got much better mileage (same driver)! They tested 3 other like models and advised that the netting did the same and they didnt know what to do. I wanted to replace this car. Mini USA Execs denied my request. This is a DEFECT, and DANGEROUS! I was told that since the other models did the same thing, there was nothing they would do!

Well before I owned a 1995 Honda accord and the catalytic converter went out and it was a 200$ repair, bought it used AND THAT WAS IT! It was a 19 year old car with 200k miles on it. It was a God compared to my 2012 brand new off the lot German made piece of junk mini cooper S, four days after I bought it the crank shaft pulley fell off. Fell off? yes, fell off. Along with my passenger window breaking; shortly after my clutch went down, my radiator gasket broke, battery went out, the brakes, and now the high fuel pressure pump is going out. I have 37k on my car and every last mile I have had to pay for in some way, thanks the legalities and fine print that you agree to buying the car. Keep in mind Im still making payments on the thing. All the while the big wigs at mini could care less. Im 100% for a class action lawsuit against Mini. Worst car/experience of my life.

2015 Cooper 2-door hardtop - I was driving down a hill from my neighborhood and I braked to slow down. The brake pedal stuck midway to the floor and wouldnt stop. I had to use my emergency brake to stop. Once I let up on e-brake the brake pedal released. It is in the shop now.

I purchased a 2005 automatic Mini Cooper last year which had 70,000 miles on it. From the word go there where problems starting with tyres needing fixed and reverse parking sensors not working. Then I discovered a much bigger problem whenever I turned my engine on my mini was either revving far too high or far too low. My mechanic didnt know what was wrong and tried a number of things to fix this including replacing the oil (£300!). The problem kept coming back however and so I went to another mechanic who told me my solenoid valve was broken and it turns if you cannot buy solenoid valves separately for minis you have to buy a whole new gear box, roughly £5,000! Essentially deeming the car unfixable. Has anyone ever had this problem/ did anyone find a solution?

I have a 2005 Mini Cooper convertible. I love my car, but now she is costing me a fortune. First, the power steering pump went out and I had to replace that at $1,100 (that was going to a certified Mini mechanic, but not the dealer). Since this is a problem with Minis, why is there not a recall? Now, I am having problems with my convertible top, (also a problem with Minis). The dealer wants over $800 for the parts and $520 for labor. But they only want to warranty it for 2 years. So I have found someone who specializes in convertible tops and is doing the work for half the price.There are other things that I am having to replace all at once. But my issue is, Mini has recognized most of these things being an issue in just about all Minis and refuse to recall these items. I bought my car used, because I saw what other Mini owners were complaining about and I was not about to buy a new Mini and have to always go to the dealer for repairs. This will most likely be my first and only Mini unless something is done. I love my car, but this is getting to be ridiculous and with the price of gas going up and our economy coming down, you would think that Mini would start taking some responsibility.

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!!

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 **.

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.

The cars are garbage - trust what youre reading online because the issues are real. The dealers say well its a BMW - when your service bill is regularly $800-$4000. Well then I guess Volkswagen charges their customers PORSCHE repair rates? FIAT - Lamborghini? Turbo replacement - 70,000 miles = $4,000, clutch replacement 60,000 miles = $2,800 the whole front end of the car comes off, 2 water pumps & two tows!Car sucks oil like the Exxon Valdez 1qt every 1k miles at least and you have to check it ALL THE TIME. I havent had to do that since my first car in 1987 - which was built in the 70s!!!! RUN FLATS SUCK - harsh ride, costly to replace - TPSS sensors $199 each. Car engine clacks/rattles/ ticks/hesitates (turbo). Instrument cluster lighting - pixels go out. Third brake light - no longer working - $300 + labor. Convertible top wear (rubbing the mechanism) dealer says outside influence/tear - but it ISNT MINI Corporate doesnt want to hear it - doesnt acknowledge anything let alone work with you.The good things are its a good looking car, fun to drive but not near enough to offset the horrific expenses to keep it maintained and fix the amazing amount of problems that come up. Like others in the forum say - MINI Corporate considers everything to be your problem - too bad, so sad - next customer please. Well not me. Cant wait to get rid of it.

My power steering has failed AGAIN. The first time was in 2013. Mini replaced it.... after much hassle... free of charge... (The car is 2005 model). It has just gone... in the middle of a roundabout! Scary experience! Diagnostic charge of £160 confirmed the obvious. Mini are adamant that they will only pay 50% of the charge... yet it was them who fitted the 2013 one that has failed. I need some advice, please. Thank you for reading.

My experience is in the email I sent to Victor **, the General Manager of Mini of El Paso: “Very disappointed” is actually an understatement. I have a 2011 Mini Cooper S that I paid a pretty penny for thinking I was paying for a quality vehicle with a company that stands behind their product and warranty; however, I am beginning to wonder. Your dealership states: Our commitment to customer service is second to none. We offer one of the most comprehensive parts and service departments in the automotive industry.” Correct? Well on August 11, 2012, I was driving to work, about 35 miles south of Ft. Stockton, Texas, on Hwy 285 in the middle of nowhere when suddenly my car will not shift into gears. I turned the vehicle off and went to restart the vehicle and nothing. It’s 108 degrees outside, and I am stranded in the middle of nowhere. I am just lucky my cell phone worked. I called Roadside Assistance and they were very apologetic and nice and said they would send someone to come get me and water if I needed. The only problem was they were coming from EL Paso. I assured the nice lady I would be dead if I waited with the vehicle that long. Lucky a nice old rancher just happened to be driving by and stopped to help and gave me a lift to town. All this on Saturday, August 11, 2012. The nice people from Roadside Assistance let me know they had picked up my vehicle and they would be towing it to Mini of El Paso. I called Monday (August 13, 2012) morning and spoke with Micheal and let him know what happened, etc. and that I needed to resolve this problem quickly since I am stuck in Ft. Stockton with no vehicle. I called on Wednesday, August 15, and he assured me he would call and let me know what the problem was. Well, he never called back. On Thursday, August 16, I called back and left message; no return call. On Friday, August 17, I called again; and the service clerk let me know they thought it was the clutch and flywheel, but she didn’t think it would be covered. I would have to wait and talk with Micheal. Well after sever more phone calls, I finally spoke with Micheal; and of course, first thing out of his mouth was, due to the low mile on the vehicle, it was apparent the damages were due to inexperience driving a standard, or abuse, or negligence to the vehicle. I have driven standards all my life, the last 24 years of it anyway, and I have never had a clutch issue with any of my vehicles until 75,000 mile range. I work very hard for my money and I am a 40 year old female. I can assure you that I don’t drag race in my car or abuse it in anyway. Thanks, to the many hours patiently waiting on Micheal to return my calls. I did some research on this problem; and to my amazement, there seems to be a large number of poorly qualified standard drivers who are mini owners. When I finally did talk to Micheal again, I questioned him on this; and he claims he has never heard of their being such a problem. I asked him if he had access to the internet and if so, to google “mini clutch problem” because if he truly wasn’t aware (which is doubtful), he needed to be. This was all on Friday the 17th. He said that they would have to open up the clutch to determine what caused the damage. But if they deemed it neglect and abuse, I would be responsible for the damages. I told him to go ahead and diagnose it and let me know ASAP. I am going on a week without a vehicle out of town working (which reminds me I only have 1 stop sign on my daily commute to work, so not in town hot rodding as he suggested). He assured me he would let me know something on Saturday the 18th. Saturday came and went as well as Monday. Here is Tuesday the 21st; and not only do I not have an answer, he also tells me they just realized the starter is out as well. I explained to Micheal last Friday that I need my vehicle no later than Tuesday, today. I am stuck out here in Ft. Stockton, bumming rides to work; and my Son is scheduled to have surgery for a broken jaw and eye socket in Houston at Ben Taubs Hospital on Thursday morning. Houston is an 8-hour drive, and I have no vehicle or any real answers. I have tried to be patient, but this has been a horrible experience all the way around. I guess I should have researched before buying a $35,000.00 vehicle. But I felt like I was paying for quality and that BMW would stand behind their product and honor their warranty, not to mention a better communication policy with the service dept. to the customer. I hope there is some way we can get this resolved quickly as far as how I am going to get to Houston by Thursday at 8 am when it’s an 8-hour drive. I have no idea. I guess I will try to find some shuttle system to Odessa, 80 miles away to the closet car-rental place, and then turn around and drive to Houston. I guess I would have been better off having my car towed to Mini of Houston? I am just so very upset with the service dept. right now, I am in tears.

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 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.

Reading these reviews renewed my anger at this crap company. Bought a 2008 Clubman 3 years ago. Fine the first year minus needing brakes. End of year two: dies in the middle of an intersection. A tow bill later Im told a belt in the engine snapped and bent valves. Engine is basically rebuilt (I later Google and find out that at 60,000 this very belt goes out in almost every Mini Cooper). LESS THAN A YEAR later, car dies in an intersection. Another tow bill. Faulty cylinder heads in rebuilt engine. Then, this winter. Driving to Ohio on the dark roads of Indiana country with my fiance and our dog. Car stops accelerating. We smell burning and pull over. Car is dead and barely makes it to the side of the road as huge semi trucks fly by and shake our stupid car. We feel like we are going to die on the Indiana interstate in a dinky small town. Merry Christmas to us. One day, two tow bills, one hotel night, one rental car fee we are at our destination. It took Mini a full month to tell me (after I borrowed a friends Triple A to tow it over a hundred miles to Chicago) what was wrong. That changed about 5 times. First, the cylinder (AGAIN). Then, a hose. Then the radiator. Then I was told the warranty wouldnt cover it because I had maxed the extra warranty I bought which had thankfully failed for the first two engine failures (at this point my warranty had paid 9,000 MORE than the stupid car is worth). After a full week of arguing with the ** head of maintenance (whom was ONLY nice when I was giving them money, but was a huge ** once I called Mini out on their crap cars) now my insurance is paying because Mini convinced them the damage was caused by a flying pebble we somehow didnt feel hitting the engine. I will be selling it for nothing near what I paid and NEVER EVER EVER getting this car again. I have told every single person I know not to buy one, either.

Do not ever buy these cars, no matter how good you take care of them something will keep going wrong. They are costly to fix, may tie a lemon to the roof and park it across from the dealer and its not just mine. We should all band together for a class action, buyer beware.

I purchased a brand new 2008 MINI Cooper (back in 2008). I currently have 126k miles on the car. I bought this car because of the good gas mileage. Unfortunately, once I actually paid off the car (60 month financing), thats when coincidentally the problems started. I have had to replace the coils and spark plugs (several times), cyclone separator, and water pump and thermostat. After a lot of research, it seems like these are common failures. Now it has cost me much more to repair/service the car than what its worth. As much fun I have driving the car (easy to handle, sporty) - the total cost of ownership isnt worth it.

I bought my 2014 Mini Cooper from the Escondido CA store and I have had nothing but problems with the car. When I have brought my concerns to the service advisor they were rude and unhelpful. I do not recommend purchasing a Mini from this dealership.

I purchased a 2009 mini cooper hard top used with 50k miles from the dealer. I was so excited to finally have my dream car, and for a year or so it was heaven. The car was not only adorable, but fun to drive and got great mileage! Sure, I had to pay for premium gas and oil changes were around $100, but the car was a dream. That was until the problems started to roll in at around 60k miles. The car began making a thumping noises after driving (with the engine off) and the engine would idle very loudly and even rattle. I took the car into the dealer and they assured me it was fine. One night the engine died. The cars oil had leaked into the engine and the engine was done. Third parties wanted 7k for a used engine replacement and mini wanted 10k for a new one. I was devastated. That was over half the price I bought the car for. I found someone who was willing to rebuild the engine for 4k. That lead to more nightmares. Several nights making long drives the car just died on me. Stranded and alone I had to have a friend pick me up and the car towed (at least 3 separate times) and then wait for weeks while the car was in the shop. The car was on its last leg, huffing and puffing around, ready to die any second. More repairs were needed. Mini said the car needed a part, I cant remember what it was, and that it would be $900. And only mini had the part. Recently I was rear ended on the freeway and the car was totaled. It was a rare case where the person whose car is totaled is actually happy about the situation. I still have a few more payments left on the car, and the payout will cover just a bit more than the payments and the engine rebuild, but at least this is done. Everyday driving my mini was uncertain. I never felt safe in the car. That said, I loved the car. It was still fun to drive and so cute, but the anxiety and maintenance repairs make this car criminal. I would not recommend this car to anyone unless they are leasing it or rich and dont care about all of the repairs.

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.

My husband bought a 2010 Mini Cooper two years ago. Thought we were getting a great car, not so much. It is a money pit. He kept up on all required maintenance, but it didnt matter. Three weeks ago it was leaking coolant like crazy and there was oil in the coolant, of course an $800.00 fix between the thermostat and whatever else they did. Now this week the check engine light is on again and the car is misfiring. Changed out all the spark plugs and the coil and doesnt fix the problem. Take it in today to the shop and its the motor. Needs a new one. So now we are left with a car, that we are still paying on and doesnt run, that we can spend $6,000 to get it fixed or $7400.00 to get fixed at the dealership. Not what I expected to happen with a car with 62,000 miles.

Bought my 2007 Mini convertible in 2012 and at around 75k miles, the transmission started acting funny. If seized up and failed completely. Cost me $6k for a new one. Less than 11k miles later, its slipping and about to completely fail again. There are so many problems with this car. Both rear windows have stopped working, rear view mirror wont stay in place, the top has this weird grease stain that is coming from when I put the top down. Nothing but problems and issues. Although I am part of the class action suit, its taking FAR too long. Filed in April and have got NOTHING in return!

I have only had my Mini Cooper for 2 years and I have had thermostat problems 4 times, and it was replaced; the windshield replaced; the windshield wipers broken; tune ups and oil changes that are astronomical; and currently, electric problems. I have had more problems with this Mini Cooper than I have had for any other car in my life. Im beginning to believe this product is a lemon, a true sour lemon. After it is fixed, I am trading the damn car in. I have put more money into this car than I have had with a Toyota. My old 1996 Toyota Celica 25th edition runs better than this damn car and it is 17 years old. The car may be cute, but looks are deceiving. Do not buy a Mini Cooper. I repeat, do not buy one. Go buy a Toyota.

Bought my Brand new 4 door mini sport a few months ago and have just over 3000 miles on the car. I have waited several years to get this car and finally I am surprised by my husband that it is time!!! Well a few time transmission seemed jerky and I thought No! There couldnt be anything wrong! WRONG! Had it towed and its under warranty but come on! A NEW TRANSMISSION!!?! Then I was given a loner car which gave me something to compare and to my findings my hatch is not working properly and the lighted mirror is not working properly. Just SOOO disappointed!

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!

In September when my engine temp light went on, I took my 2007 Mini Cooper S with less than 50K miles on it to my local repair shop since I live in Columbia, SC with no Mini dealership. A cracked and leaking thermostat housing was the diagnosis, but there were no parts available... None anywhere. I called Mini, they told me to call dealerships, which I did. I called Charleston, Greenville, and Charlotte. I told everyone this was my only car and needed to drive it. They put me on a waiting list for the part... A month later, Hendricks Mini in Charlotte called to tell me they had a part! YAY! I had been barely driving my car and filled it with coolant every time I took it out. But when I got up there, I was told there is engine damage due to an overheated engine. A week later, Mini refuses to pay for engine repairs caused by the broken and unavailable part because they had told me to take my car to a dealer when I called them! WHAT?!?! If the part I needed was available when I needed it, my beloved car would be in my garage with me now, not 100 miles away broken! This will be at least $3K to fix and I really do NOT believe its my fault or responsibility to fix!!! Make this right MINI!! I am already not going to buy Mini again, something I never thought I would ever ever say... Make this right!

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).

2007 Mini Cooper S - I fell in love with this car the first time I test drove it! So much fun, so cute. Then I took it off the lot and it all went downhill and I wished Id never seen that car. The Carfax the dealer showed me had 8 previous owners! I bought it in 2014 so thats quite a turnover! I just couldnt resist it even with that huge red flag! What a huge waste of money, so many repairs in the year I had it! I had an hour commute to work and this car was constantly needing repairs. Not dependable at all and the repairs are so expensive. Just to have your oil changed is 100 dollars! I finally gave up and traded it in on a used Scion. I love the Scion, not one repair, not one mechanical problem! Nice looking car and exactly what I needed in the first place. I learned my lesson the hard way, cute car but costly and not a car you can depend on at all. One year cost me about 4000 in repairs out of pocket. Mini wont cover anything if youve taken it to another dealer.

I bought a used 2007 mini October of last year. The week before my year anniversary the check engine light came on and a message about the catalytic converter came on and I couldnt drive over 25 mph. I pulled over and hoped that letting it cool would work. Waited a while and drove home about 10 miles VERY SLOWLY. I had to ship it back to the mini dealer that did the original engine repair (200 miles). The car in total had less than 48,000 miles and I got the great news I need to install ANOTHER engine because this isnt the first, but SECOND engine this car needed. Mini has had my car for 6.5 weeks now and they offer to give me $500 to help...... Thanks.Im devastated that I spent 16,000 on the car and now a year later I need to dump another 8,000 into it. I thought buying a German car would be great, but they dont stand behind their product at all. Im so disappointed that they feel $500 is a reasonable compensation for a car that will have its 3rd engine in under 50,000 miles. Im completely gobsmacked. All I can say is NEVER BUY A MINI!!!!!! IT WILL COST YOU WAY MORE DOWN THE LINE!!! Its so sad because I really did enjoy the car and I would have definitely had another one down the line, if this never happened. Buyers beware!

I bought my first Mini used. It had 77,000 miles on it at purchase. Overall condition of the car inside and out was excellent. I drove the car for a test ride and all was great. Only after 4 days of driving, the engine is developing a rap. The car was purchased as is as shown from a used car dealer.

If I could give negative stars, I would. After owning this car barely 4 years, and JUST as the warranty expired, the engine pulley had to be replaced. Lights came on Battery Malfunction Engine Overheated- turn off car, do not drive, etc. Mini changed how they made this part in 2016 but have failed to recall it in this model. They only recalled the S Cooper. In spite of this part being a problem, they refuse to reimburse car owners for the very expensive repairs. Courtney from Mini USA called to give me her speech on this not being a known problem, even though they changed how they made it the next year. She also said it was too bad for me since I agreed to pay the service department for the repairs. I told her I was stranded at the grocery store when the lights came on and had to have it towed to the dealer. Was I supposed to walk to work? She said the warranty expired and I shouldve bought the extended warranty at purchase. I said the car shouldve lasted more than 4 years without an engine issue! Obviously, BMW USA AND MINI USA couldnt care less about standing behind their cars once they have your money. Your only recourse is to spend more money for when they break down. IF I CAN GET RID OF THIS LEMON, I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER MINI EVER!!!

Did you know Mini Cooper was a centerfold in Playboy Magazine? Got your attention now, dont I? Good!Thinking of buying a BMW or Mini Cooper Product, DONT! At least until youve read this and the class action lawsuit against BMW and Mini Cooper Aarons VS BMW. This lawsuit is being handled by Kurtzman & Carson Consultants, Philip Cooper. 886-381-9100.When I purchased my 2007 Mini Cooper I did so because I thought it was the cutest, coolest, and most fun car I had ever driven. Then the practical side of me took over and I did my due diligence and research. Who knew that the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) would prematurely fail and without warning, recklessly putting me in a gravely dangerous situation in the high speed lane on the expressway way during rush hour traffic? BMW and Mini Cooper knew, thats who!! Its amazing that I wasnt struck by the semi behind me traveling at a high rate of speed, considering my Mini Cooper dropped down to 15 mph after the CVT permanently failed while traveling at a rate of 65 mph!BMW presented the Mini Cooper as a high performance, yet affordable high end premium small vehicle which emphasized their design and performance features, cornering abilities, good looks and fashionable styling. Did you know that the Mini Cooper even graced the centerfold of Playboy Magazine? Yes! Playboy Magazine!! BMW group bragged, through its aggressive marketing tactics, that the Mini Coopers design, layout, content and performance along with it being fun to drive, its price point, and high quality were enough to wear the BMW Badge.I thought I had died and gone to heaven! This was my favorite car ever! I babied my Mini Cooper and serviced it regularly, of course. None the wiser, I loved that car, still do. BMW & Mini Cooper not so much!I was so excited and proud to be driving a Mini Cooper and I remained ecstatic until recently. A Mini Cooper convertible was my dream car, BUT now it’s my recurring nightmare! Well, for once, I made my extravagant purchase base on emotion AND logic, what a change for me. Now I wish I didnt do the research to back up my emotional purchase, at least I could said, shoulda, woulda, coulda messed up again. Oh by the way, that BMW Badge, what I didnt know it means Badge of Dishonor! Shame on you BMW!Not only did BMW deny knowledge of the premature CVT but they also undertook affirmative efforts to conceal the failures through a series of TSB Technical Service Bulletins issued to repair facilities, thus stalling long enough for the warranty to expire before owners were made fully aware of the true problem. Its obvious that BMW knew of the problems based not only on the complaints made directly to them but also numerous complaints made to the NHTSA National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration. Yet BMW refuses to publicly acknowledge the problem or offer remedy, instead keeping it a secret as long as possible. As if this wasnt bad enough, BMW CONTINUED TO KNOWINGLY SELL VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH CVTS PRONE TO PREMATURE FAILURE! Despite BMWs efforts to conceal the issue, customer complaints and CVT failures continued. Way to go BMW! Something to be said for your consistency.Thinking back now, Mini Cooper was always aggressively sending me marketing materials for the newest, latest, hottest Mini Cooper Convertible, of course wanting me to trade in my 2007 Convertible Mini Cooper, for a brand new sleeker, faster more stylish Mini Cooper Convertible. What would have happened if BMW would have put all of that time, effort, and cost into a recall? Or a Just FYI, your CVT might fail, please call us later. Well never know because that would be considered above board or proactive good customer service and as we have discovered, BMW possess NONE of those qualities.There is a saying, If it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is. This is so true with BMW. BMW knowingly under budgeted production and could not keep up with the demand it created. After all everyone wanted that beautiful, cool car that was featured in Playboy Magazine! Too bad the beauty was only skin deep! BMW sacrificed quality and turned out substandard parts and shoddy workmanship, all the while refusing to take responsibility for their actions knowing full well that they were recklessly putting their loyal customers in harms way when the CVT failed.To this day, even in the face of these numerous complaints, BMW continues to deny that there is a problem with the CVT and refuses to disclose the truth to consumers. I ask you, How is this possible in this day and age? Who does BMW know that we lowly (no longer loyal) consumers dont and why should we have to pay to clean up their mess?Never again will I own a BMW or Mini Cooper product and I will make it my lifes mission to share this message with everyone!

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 bought a 2003 Mini Cooper new and it had been a great car up until 70,000 miles. The automatic locks stopped working, the car would overheat when idling, but the biggest issue is the transmission went and I was told it would cost approximately $8,300 to replace. This is just wrong to have a transmission go at 70,000 miles. From what I have read this is a common occurrence. I was expecting a decent trade in value but now my car is worthless. Im very disappointed. The only reason I gave 3 stars is because I did enjoy the car for the time I was able to drive it.

I have been driving a stick shift for over 20 years. I have over 400,000 miles driving one. I have NEVER lost a clutch until Mini Cooper 2010 with less than 38,500 miles on it went. I called corporate, I called dealership. I was ACTUALLY told You can drive a car off the lot, brand new and it could break. That was enough to tell me to NEVER buy a Mini Cooper again. I have an 11 year old Mazda 3 with 90,000 miles that has cost me less to fix in the last 11 years than the Mini did in the last year. They do NOT stand behind their product and can clearly care less about quality and workmanship. They said a clutch is a wear and tear part and there is nothing to be done. Wear a dress tear at 38,000 miles when another car I owned hit over 100,000 miles or close without losing a clutch...its a DEFEAT and they know it!Yesterday, I get into the car and it decides it doesnt want to accelerate past 26 mph and it took 5 min to get there. I live in a MAJOR metro area. I was almost hit 7 times on my way HOME! I dont consider it poor quality anymore. I consider it endangering to me and others on the road. I have 8 months before its paid for and I have already spent almost the purchase price to fix it. Not worth it. It was fun to drive and was great on gas, the only reason I bought the car to begin with, now I want it gone! I no longer feel safe. I would rather drive my 11 year old Mazda. Its safer and more reliable.

I have a Mini Cooper 09 FOR 5 years with 51,000 miles. Just a couple weeks ago as I was driving home the engine light came on along with the temperature coolant light on. Right as this happened, I headed towards the next freeway exit when my car slowly started to slow down and came to a complete stop. My engine had died. I towed it to the dealership and told me that I needed to do a diagnostic test which I did and found out that my coolant had been leaking but later informed me that I need to do a engine tear down to see the core of the problem and figure out if this was the cause of a faulty part. Couple days later I found out that the dealer did not do the breakdown because Miniusa had told the dealer that a claim cannot be filed because through a remote, they said that since I drove 8 miles after the warning light, this is a case of negligence and nothing can be covered.Would anyone just stop there and then in the middle of the freeway when the warning signal comes on? Because the first thing on my mind was safety. Now I am stuck with a bill and a car without an engine which is going to cost me $8,000 to fix...when the car is worth only about $9,000 if it was running. Do not buy a Mini. It has too many problems which they know but would not acknowledge. Mini USA is even worse when it comes to customer service. All they say is that this is their policy and decision is finalized.

I have to start by saying that the Mini of Fairfield County in Stamford has been great about dealing with my 09 Clubman. I purchased this car as a post cancer treat to myself, trading in a 95 Mazda MX6 that had not given me a lick of trouble for the 14 years I owned it. It drives great, is a lot of fun, and hauls an awful lot of stuff! I do wish I got a turbo, but perhaps I would regret the tickets I would have invariably gotten. From the start, the sunroof stuck and would not open when parked in the sun. It went in several times. And now I just resign myself to pushing it up during the first hot spells of summer. One of the most frustrating problems was the car not starting. I push started the car the first time and dropped it off at the service department over the weekend. But it started when the mechanics showed for work on Monday. I talked to the service department. I stated that at times it would not start (no noise, nothing when the button was depressed). But since no warning indicators flashed, they were at a loss. Over the next year, the car was towed in 4 times for not starting. The first three times it was okay by the time they got to it. The final time, I picked up the car after a week of being in service. The very next day it failed to start. When I dropped the car off that day, I also left both sets of keys and told them I didnt want the car back. They actually found the faulty wire that time and it has started ever since (almost a year now). Now the problem is leaking. First, the water in the spare tire well, now under the passenger side mats and on the driver side, is causing a soggy seat belt. It has been in twice or more for leaking. I live in CT. It rains. Get over it. Occasionally, I go to the car wash, get over it. And, heres the kicker: I do park outside. This car needs to get over it!

My 2007 Mini Use 1 quart oil every 3 week! After 60,000 miles. My dealer told me that is normal. I do not think so.

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.

10 June 2014: I own a 2008 Mini Cooper S with 6 speed standard transmission. Last month (May 2014) I passed 40,000 miles. Shortly after I experienced a loss of RPMs, speed and acceleration. I later learned this was the symptoms of a failing clutch system. My local mechanic was unable to do the work required because they need specialized tools that were too expensive for them. So I had the car towed to the local MINI Dealer. They told me that to replace the clutch and flywheel will cost over $3000. On top of that the timing chain and/or tensioner needs to be replaced and that will cost another $2000. I hope I can persuade.I do not dispute the prices for the maintenance although I do think they are somewhat inflated. What I do dispute is that the age and mileage of the car do not coincide with the needed repairs. I feel I was deceived by BMW/MINI about the reliability and durability of this product, and I feel I should not have to pay for the repairs. I will not be buying another Mini Cooper and will urge all current and potential owners of a Mini to buy something else.

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.

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.

So first I want to say I own 3 currently and sold my forth a few years back. I loved the brand for a number of reasons like handling and performance and the overall style. At this time my stable consists of a 2012 MINI JCW GP, a 2012 Countryman and an older 2006 JCW. The Countryman has been in the shop almost every month since we owned it. It has had taillights replaced as well as the heating/AC replaced numerous times during ownership. Right now it’s got another check engine light and on its way back to the dealer since it hates to start. The heater will not warm up the car unless it’s floored and since it’s 18 degrees out that is unacceptable. Especially since it’s been fixed numerous times.Now onto the GP. This is the company’s flagship performance car. Its very limited and one would think well documented. Yet when brought in to have an alignment done, the techs were unable to figure out the adjustments and I had to assist by providing the details they needed and showing them how it should be done. The GP had a tail light out. This resulted in them frying the radio trying to replace it. Not sure why it’s connected but it is. So they had to replace the stereo and the ECU. The problem was the dealer installed the wrong ECU software version so the car ran like crap. I did not notice right away. It wasnt till after I installed a cold air intake that I noticed the car was running off. After convincing them on the 3rd trip there to install the latest ECU version did they see it was wrong. This was after blaming the CAI on the issues it was having. So I should be happy now right? They finally installed the correct ECU software and it should be back to normal. Nope. Now the car bucks on the highway. I tore the intake apart thinking it was the problem. I tried everything down to boost leak testing the car and duct taping the MAF tube in case it was leaking. I was TIRED of talking with the dealer. When nothing worked I brought it back in. They said it was the MAF. They replaced it. I got it back a day later and the same problem persisted. Here I was going back for the 4th time only to have them tell me my modifications were the issue. They said they fixed the seal on the CAI (which was fine) and the car was tested and perfect.On the way home I noticed it bucking again and no longer had the sport mode pops and burbles you get from the exhaust which is a key character of the car. I refused to bring it back. I looked around the engine bay and studied the MAF connector more closely. It had a brand new MAF so I knew it wasnt that. Turns out all the problems I was having was due to a loose wire in the harness connector. This did not fix the sport mode button but at this point I dont care. Im tired of missing work and dealing with the hassle of going to the dealer and being stuck with a loaner. Now mind you both my older 2005 and 2006 MINIs had issues but were basically bullet proof and well over 100k miles. The newer ones are nothing but problems so far. Neither new car is over 30k miles and have spent most of their ownership in the dealer for one stupid reason or another.

If you are thinking of purchasing or leasing a MINI Cooper, don’t. You would be dealing with a company that does not take responsibility for their franchisees, their employees, and their third party affiliates (ergo Roadside assistance). I was stranded in Yellowstone National Park for two days to no avail and had to turn to my insurance company. MINI then left me stranded in the Idaho Falls airport without a rental car. I am from Georgia. MINI is not taking responsibility for their negligence and an alignment that resulted in my tire’s uneven wear-and-tear and, ultimately, its ripping to the wire. You’re better off with another car/company. If BMW is anything like it’s daughter company, I wouldn’t go near them either. Save yourself an enormous headache down the road.

We purchased our new 2010 Mini Cooper Sport with the hopes that it would be a reliable, sturdy commuter car. The problems began two years later, in May 2012, when the check engine light illuminated. The car was taken to our local Mini Service Center, where the timing chain tensioner, seal ring, and auxiliary water pump were replaced due to recall. The check engine light illuminated again in December 2013, at which time the car was taken to our local service garage, who replaced the spark plugs, ignition coils and leaking valve cover gasket.In March 2014, the check engine light again illuminated, resulting in another trip to our local Mini Service Center. The repairs required on our four year-old car included the following: turbo heat shield replaced (recall); carbon cleaning due to carbon buildup on the intake valves (parts $251.92; labor $1350.00), fuel injection and induction system cleaning (parts $54.00; labor $100.46), leaking oil filter housing and turbo oil feed line replaced (parts $436.29; labor $1822.50), leaking vacuum pump replaced (parts $525.61, labor $202.50), leaking water pump replaced (parts $201.79, labor $652.50), oxygen sensor replaced (parts $317.73, labor $157.50). Unfortunately, just 11 days later, the overheating engine light illuminated and coolant was running from underneath the car. The car was again taken to the Mini Service Center, where the following repairs were made: T-Stat replaced (no charge due to warranty), Turbo boot replaced (parts $140.00, labor waived).I contacted the Mini Corporate Customer Service in April 2014 to file a complaint, requesting reimbursement for at least some of the charges, as our car was only four years old, has been well maintained, had just missed the maximum mileage of 50,000 for warranty coverage by 4,000 miles, and required what I would consider an excessive amount of repair. My experience with Mini Corporate Customer Service was very disappointing. The agent ultimately assigned to my claim not once spoke with me in person. My claim was denied, but I have concerns that my claim was not properly documented. Additionally, attempts to speak with a Supervisor about the service I received, and concerns with my claim, were blocked; I was informed there is no management that can be contacted.

This is the worst car Ive ever had! I was so excited when I first purchased this car. I felt like a celebrity because kids would run up to it and hug it. I just loved the way the wind felt against my hair as I drove with the top down. We all know this car kills you with cuteness. Dont be blinded by its adorable exterior, its super sensitive money-eating machine. The first year the dashboard was lit up with issues. The first two years I drove a loaner and Mini Cooper employees knew my face very well, and I should have moved right in. Anyway this car has steering wheel issues that will cost you thousands of dollars. An airbag recall that Mini will repair but leave you to any other airbag related issue thats probably related to the stupid recall, but they want you to pay for it. I had plugin problems with the cooling system, whatever that means... The car would be shut off and it would sound like its still on trying to cool off.One issue that drove me crazy was you cant bring this car to any mechanic because this is a foreign car, they have no clue what to do with your car. Ive had mechanic break parts on the car doing a simple oil change, so I was a slave to MINI Cooper. I couldnt take it anywhere else which is super annoying. MINI isnt trustworthy either though. I went in and asked them to check my engine because the light was on. I specifically asked them to check my fluids. They didnt and later my car overheated and was smoking everywhere. They came and served it but I was a scared mess after the experience. Overall I wouldnt recommend this car to anyone, and if you want to spend money on two cars to keep one cute one go ahead. I drove around anxious all the time worrying about what light will come on next and how many thousands of dollars will cost me when the next light comes on. Not a way to live.

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!

2009 Mini Cooper S Convertible - I havent even had this car one year - the turbo has been replaced and now the check engine light wont go off and they are saying it is carbon build up... but the In Drive that I utilize with State Farm says Power Train failure.

I know I am going to get bashed for posting this but understand the only reason is to let Mini customers know that repairs they are paying for at Mini Georgian or after talking to Mini Canada may have been a warranty repair. Georgian Mini Cooper in Barrie tried charging customers for work that should be covered under warranty. This happened twice to me. Once for rust repairs and just recently for a power steering pump at a cost of $1600 plus tax. I had the power steering pump replaced under warranty at Mini Vaughan with no issues. What is strange is I have a email from Mini Georgian in Barrie saying my car has no warranty/recall for power steering pump and a second email from Vaughan Mini stating that yes, the power steering pump is covered under warranty.SO BE VERY CAREFUL DEALING WITH MINI GEORGIAN IN BARRIE or information from Kelly at the head office for Mini Cooper Canada AS THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS AND ONLY CARE HOW MUCH THEY CAN CHARGE YOU. IF you had a power steering pump replaced at Mini Georgian or anywhere else, you should call Mini Vaughan to verify that it is not on the warranty recall. My car is 8 years old and was covered.See below correspondence with BMW CEO Mr. Reithofer email (**):#1 - I regretfully having to contact you again regarding the service I have encountered by my closest Mini Cooper dealer (Georgian Mini) in Barrie Ontario, Canada. As stated in prior emails, I am a true and true Mini Cooper owner and am a lifetime owner hopefully. Mini Georgian is trying I feel very hard for me not to continue owning future Mini Coopers as I just had to AGAIN travel 360 Kilometers (90 Km each way 180 x 2 days) to have my Mini Cooper serviced at your Vaughan Mini location in Woodbridge, Ontario instead of my local Mini Georgian dealer that is about 4 km. away.Mr. Reithofer, this all started when I was having issues with my power steering on my Mini Cooper and did a little research (Google) on Mini Cooper power steering problems. I noticed that my car might be covered under 150,000 or 10-year warranty. I phoned and asked Georgian Mini if my car was under warranty for the power steering pump and was told as you can see in the attached email from the dealership that no warranty left on your vehicle and it does not have any recalls regarding this issue.Mr. Reithofer, just because of past dealing with Mini Georgian regarding warranties or recalls as they just seem not to care about their customers only how much can they make off of them, I contacted Vaughan Mini Cooper to inquire with them. After talking with Ashley at Mini Vaughan, she advised me without me saying anything about warranty/recalls that if the problem is the power steering pump then it will be covered by warranty and if it is only a leak then it would be my cost. Please see attached email from Mini Vaughan.So, Mr. Reithofer, why do I have to travel 360 Km. over two days (Mini Vaughan did not have power steering pump in stock) to have my car serviced under warranty when I contacted Mini Georgian who has the same info on my vehicle as Mini Vaughan does but advise me that the power steering pump is not covered. If I did not follow up with Mini Vaughan, it would have cost me approx. $1600 plus tax to replace a part that is under warranty. How many other customers have been taken advantage of by Mini Georgian in this manner? As of now, I am afraid to take my Mini Cooper to Georgian Mini for so much as a oil change as all they seem to care about is how much they can make off me bringing my car in and no regards to how to treat a customer.#2 - I just received a call from your Canadian office by a rep named Kelly. She informed me that there is no recall to the power steering pump. She started out stating that we have talked before and that she had talked to me about previous complaints (previous rusting issue covered by Minis 10-year rust protection) indicating that I am a constant complainer. Kelly was under the understanding that the power steering pump would not be covered as it does not have a warranty under my vin!!!!!!I asked if she even read my concern and she said yes. When I mentioned that the pump was already replaced, she quickly backtracked on what she said to me. I ask her then why in my letter did I mention I had to travel over 360 km to have my power steering pump repaired, She advised me, I thought you drove down for two days to have a consultation regarding it being covered by warranty!!!!!!!!! You have to be kidding me that someone would do that and it indicates to me that she just figures I am a difficult customer and I would do something ridiculous like this. So your senior employee dealing with customers with the already perception that they are wrong and she seems to take pride in being right and letting me know that. She was 100% percent wrong telling me that it will not be covered under warranty and as stated was shocked to know it was already done. So how much did she look into my concern before she called me?Again, my original questions were not answered as Kelly was too quick to just verbally attack me telling me that she dealt with me on previous complaints and that this concern regarding the power steering pump I was wrong also and as in her words it will not be covered by warranty. I dont like the word complaint as it is more of a concern. I guess Mini Canada Reps calling them complaints are all on the defensive and not dealing with customers concerns in a bias manner.I am so frustrated by this treatment I could just sell my Mini as I do not want to have dealings like this every time. But on the other hand that is silly talk as I love my Mini and I guess the relationship now is a abusive one. Every time I deal with Mini, I get treated poorly and I keep coming back for more. So it is my fault for coming back every time but I love my Mini too much not to. All this just makes me sick to my stomach in how I am treated every time. Awaiting your response and please do not hesitate to contact me should you need further clarification on any manner.Again you can bash me but all I want to do is give Mini owners a heads up when dealing with Mini Georgian in Barrie as they may pay for work that should be covered by warranty. Hopefully, if you have had work done, you can get your money back.

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.

Its ironic how I love my 2009 Mini Cooper but at the same time I have nothing but anger boiling inside of me. Problems are as follows: Valve gasket replaced twice, Engine rattling needing replacement of timing chain and tensioner, Need to put oil every 300 miles, Passenger window not working properly, and Engine sputters. It all started when I brought my Mini in for an oil change. I was told that I have an oil leak and that the valve cover gasket needs to be replace. Six months later, I brought it back for another oil change and I was told again that I need a valve gasket change. When I informed them that the gasket had just been replaced six months ago the reply was, Its probably a factory defect. I am the original owner of my Mini and it has less than 30,000 miles. My theory is that they dont know what theyre doing or they are sabotaging my vehicle to make money.

I own a 2015 Mini Cooper Base Convertible. It came out of warranty 4 months ago but it only has 17,500 miles. The Check Engine Light came on and the car was stalling. Global Imports Mini, Chamblee, GA diagnosed the problem as Spark Plug Coils, and as a result over-heating and a new thermostat. $1250 later its running great. Dont keep a Mini past the warranty. Dont buy a used one out of warranty (unless you have a few thousand dollars to spare for repairs). The quality and robustness simply are not there. The car has been cheapened to the point the quality is almost, but not quite as good as a Czechoslovakian Yugo. When Minis first came out they were great value...but BMW was losing money on them. Year by year the build cost and the quality have both come down and the car is a shadow of its former self (in terms of quality and reliability). By the way...Mini USA doesnt care if you are 1 day and 1 mile out of warranty....you are on your own (if you didnt buy an extended warranty)! I asked them if the car is only supposed to last 17,500 miles before major repairs. They were really, really sorry and sympathized with me. But basically said, Tough luck, you are on your own.

I bought my daughter this Mini Cooper Clubman S 2009 a year ago. AMAZING condition... Only 55,000 miles. We did not know there was a Recall on the timing belt tensioner. The tensioner backed out and the car lost all oil. Therefore damaging the engine. Mini Cooper of Kennesaw took the car in and said that due to the recall, Mini would cover 50% of the cost of the repair. After 4 weeks they tell me the engine cannot be fixed. Now we need to replace.The cost to repair further is prohibitive. They changed the offer, Mini will cover 50% to install a new engine, but I am 100% responsible to pay for the repairs up to this date. They refused to cover more as they needed a service history for the car. I researched and provided a FULL service history for the car because one of the mechanics on the list was no longer in business, they claimed his service records were fraudulent and have removed all financial assistance. I am devastated!!!!

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 $$.

I own a 2007 Cooper that I bought used in 2012, it had 40k miles on it so I thought it was a great car to buy. Within a year the repairs started piling up and then the big one; the panoramic sunroof cassette stopped working. The repair at book price is $2400 dollars and is a quarter of the value of the car. A couple of weeks ago the water pump went out and my wife, who happened to be near the dealership, had it towed there. After a couple of days, they came back with multiple problems on top of the pump all totaling another $2400, plus they wanted to sell me tires. I asked if they wanted to buy it back and they said they would call me back with a quote that day. They made an offer of $7000 and a day later I called back and accepted. I drove 1 1/2 hours to the dealership in Fife Wa. ready to sign paperwork. They kept calling it a trade in and looking back I guess they figured I would be buying a new car from them and I let them know I wasnt buying right before I made the trip. When we sat down they told me they couldnt do it for that much but would offer me 6k for it. They would not stay true to their word so I couldnt in good conscience let them work on my car. I came back after two weeks (too busy to make the drive), and towed it to my mechanic. So now I have a fun car with a $2400 sunroof that doesnt work, a water pump that needs replaced, for about $650 at their price, and apparently another $1750 in repairs. To top it all off, my dealership lacks the integrity to honor their word. Im done with Mini for sure.

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 2005 Mini Cooper convertible that’s purchased new has had and still has a myriad of serious problems. The dealer, Mini of North Scottsdale (Penske), never addressed these problems. These problems include: windows that do not completely close; windows that failed; CD player that does not eject the CD; and others. The warranty, as interpreted by this dealer, means nothing. Repairs are not made, even after multiple appointments. One telltale indication on the quality level of the Mini Cooper is that Consumer Reports lists this as a “too be avoided vehicle.”

I have a 2007 Mini Cooper 7 that died on me. I was driving home and the check engine light went on, gave me a message about the catalytic converter. Took it to a local and trusted mechanic shop and they basically told me I needed a new engine (rough cost for used $7k and new $9k). Found out this is a known issue with the R56 engine so I decided to contact MINI USA to see if they would cover the costs. They requested that I have it towed to an authorized Mini dealer so off it went to Mini of Concord. They performed their own inspection and stated, I dont need a new entire engine, just the top portion! It was going to cost roughly $5k but they would give me a 25% discount so my cost would be $3600. I stated that I dont feel that I should have to cover any cost considering it is a KNOWN ISSUE with this engine. Still waiting to hear from MINI USA on what they are willing to do and hope they do the right thing. There is a class action lawsuit going on regarding these cars/engines, so my question is, why havent MINI USA/BMW recalled these vehicles??? Very disappointed that they are refusing to do the right thing and making customers pay for a known defect. Here is the link I found about the class action lawsuit. Please read and take action people! https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/consumers-complain-of-mini-cooper-timing-belt-failures-080113.html.

I purchases the coolest 2003 Mini Cooper. It was dark maroon with a black roof. The first day I purchased some cool extras and drove it home. I immediately noticed that the steering was harder to turn sometimes and then easy others. I contacted Mini to discuss this. They had me bring it in to take a looks. This is two days later after the purchase. They proceeded to tell me the cooling fan for the power steering pump was bad and needed replacement. I received a call telling me the power steering pump also needed replacement. Cost $2500.00. I paid it and drove home. Drove fine for 5 days and over the weekend. Monday morning I started it up and put it in reverse and heard a loud metal clunk. The car wouldnt go into gear. Towed to Mini. Due to some issue with the clutch, it broke off and cracked the housing of the transmission. Required new Transmission. $7000.00. I got to drive it for 10 days and it cost me 10,500.00 in repairs that I had to pay for. Never will buy a Mini again. Especially noting that people are still having issues with new ones now. BMW reputation is inflated and fake. They are extremely expensive repairs and their product is a crapshoot on whether you get a lemon or not.

I do love how unique my car is, however I thank god for purchasing a 100,000-mile warranty when I bought the car brand new. I even bought a tire warranty for blowouts on the run-flat tires. The tire warranty cost me a little over 900.00. It paid for itself the first year. I had 2 blowouts and the Dunlop tires were 400.00 a piece. I have not had one since then. I have had a serious oil leak that took the dealership about 5 different times to repair, but they finally did and paid for the oil stains to be removed from my driveway.OMG, I just noticed the new Mini S has the exhaust pipes, one on far right and one on far left, which is to prevent serious burns to your legs while getting things out of the back of your car. That is a wise idea! I am bringing my car in tomorrow to the dealership for service. The red lit up fonts are getting blotchy and I think I need a break job. I have never had a break job and there is 51000 miles on my car.... Hmmm. I get over 400 miles to a tank on my mini, and it is fast! ONLY USE SUPREME CHEVRON OR SHELL GASOLINE!!!!!

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.

Approximately around September of 2010, I began to notice my Mini experiencing shifting issues. Around 70,000 miles, the engine would lurch into gear, seconds after failing to change gears effectively. At times, the car would suddenly drop out of gear while driving. I began taking my car into a BMW/Mini certified shop in Austin, TX. After much trouble shooting and emptying my pockets to the mechanics my Mini Coopers condition only worsened over a few months, and suffered complete transmission failure in July 2011. I sought other opinions on transmission replacement, rebuild options, with each shop giving me similar stories, and huge prices to fix my vehicle, averaging around $10,000. My vehicle has not been fixed or altered, and stands as it did the day of the transmission failure. It was towed from the shop to a safe place, where it sits today. My vehicle is no longer under warranty, and it looks like there are many others out there who have had similar circumstances. Class action lawsuits are in the works in California and New Jersey, for premature transmission failure. Why has there not been more light shed on this, as a national issue?

Apparently, MINI thought it was a good idea to put non-sealed cup holders over the gearshift box so when any liquid is spilled, it goes directly into the gear box and requires a $1200.00 repair bill to replace the entire part. The cup holder had a part in this also since the grips inside the holder put a hole in the Styrofoam cup of coffee. The coffee drained into the gearshift box causing the car to be locked in park. I honestly thought MINI had a great vehicle, but obviously you are not to put any type of liquid container in the cup holders because spills/accidents do happen.

On 07 July 2011, I went out to my car and the right quarter panel window of my 2006 MINI Cooper Convertible was damaged. I called my insurance company and they took the car for an estimate. I was told that it was going to be in a shop for three weeks. Unfortunately, I couldnt leave it because I could not pay for a rental. I had lost my job and couldnt afford a rental so I settled. I was then told that I could get my window fixed at home. It would not be a problem, I thought.I had three appointments for a window replacement and in all three times, no one showed. Nevertheless, I ended up calling Lauderdale MINI Service. I was informed that they had a window stock. I said, “Fine. I’ll call you back.” When I called back, they told me that they had the wrong part number so the window was not available. I asked if they could order me one. They said, “Sure. It will take a few days.” So, I continued to drive the car. After a week, my clutch went out and I had to get it towed to a shop. When the mechanic looked at it, they informed me that the hydraulic line base split into two. And when they called MINI, they were told that the part was on back order from Germany. I said, “Wow. You’re kidding.” So I called MINI service about the rental and I was told that it was up to the dealer. I had called and spoke to Jessica about the issue. I informed her that I felt like I shouldnt have to pay for a car rental because it’s not my fault that the part is on back order. She told me to call MINI customer relations and there was nothing she could do. After I told her that I had already spoken with customer relations, I was passed the buck at least five times.Now, Im told by the mechanic that my battery is dead when I had just bought it two months ago. I have had a rental for three weeks and my car is going to cost well over $1,000.00. Still, I have no window because it is also coming from Germany. It seems like I am back to square one and I have no windows, no car.When I called the service department, I spoke to a woman named Ann, who gave me all the information on my window. After a few days, she claimed that she never spoke to me so I’m still getting nowhere. I will never buy a MINI again. They are crooks.

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.

My car (Mini Cooper) presented an issue related to breaks. After 7 months the disks and pads are so rusted that affected and damaged the both rear disks and pads. I sent my car to Dealer’s facility and they informed the warranty wouldn’t cover this situation. The price to fix this was USD 547. There is no strong arguments, only the description in the service order in this way: CORROSION DUE TO AMBIENT ELEMENTS. I didnt agree with this situation, and wrote to them and the response was “I’m sorry about that, we will register your concerns” and that’s’ it. This is not a response/action that a customer want and wait from a trustable brand. Maybe this issue is more related to Mini cars not well acclimatized to Florida’s conditions and/or poor material used to construct then (I visited several forums where Mini’s owners reported same issue) and if is the case, the solution from Mini was a ridiculous. Living in Florida, I had some different cars from different brands, all of them with very same way of use, parked in the same way/place, exposed to the very same conditions that the Mini was exposed and I NEVER had any issue like that. Who expect to have to pay for change disk breaks in a new car in 7 months, covered by warranty? More than that, what if the same issue appears in the next 7 months? As my leasing is for 36 months, this means that I will need to change the disks 5 times?Maybe Mini is using poor or defective material in their cars to reduce its costs or maybe their cars are not well prepared or acclimatized to Florida’s condition. In both cases they should inform the situation to the customers in order to them make a decision considering spend a lot of money to fix disks breaks after 7 months, since they refuse to fix this issue using the warranty. I hope that everyone looking for a Mini to by/lease can check this review before do that and change mind about this worst deal ever. The Brand does not look be concerned about construct a long-term relationship with the customers but only sell cheap cars.

An engine light came on in my 2012 MINI. I live 100 mi away from my dealer so MINI Roadside contracted a tow company come pick her up and take her to the dealer. As per policy of MINI USA and MINI Roadside, she was put on a flat-bed tow truck. On the return trip, 14 May 2014, however, things did not happen per policy. She was towed behind a tow truck with back wheels on the road and the front wheels 3 ft up in the air traveling down Interstate 75 from Atlanta to Warner Robins. The entire front of the car has suffered from gravel impact damage. Everything on the front end needs to be either replaced or re-painted (hood, hood trim, head lights, fog lights, bumper, roof, side mirror caps, front air dam, and wind-shield). MINI USA and MINI Roadside will not cover the damage and the tow company (who was under contract by MINI USA and MINI Roadside), of course indicates they did not damage the car. Both parties did agree, through a posted letter and an email, that the tow policy was not followed but there was no possible way my vehicle could have been damaged. When a vehicle goes to any MINI dealer for service, it is inspected for body damage (so the dealer is not held liable for damage they did not do, MINI USA policy). The service report from the dealer indicates no damage at all. $5k worth of damage and no one is to blame and no one knows how it happened in the course of 100 mi from the dealer to my house. MINI USA and MINI Roadside will not repair your vehicle if damage, but they will offer to pay YOUR insurance deductible (I kid you not).

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.

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.

Mini Cooper S 2006 70k miles - transmission bumped, brought it to the dealer and they said the transmission needs to be REPLACED. I asked why cant they change the valve body instead of a $9000 transmission. Mini will not fix them but only replace them. The biggest scam ever and they are getting away with it. Now when I see a Mini, I laugh.

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.

Thermostat housing developed a leak causing coolant loss. Engine overheated warping the head and bending valves. Having to rebuild the engine. Ive been informed that to date, there are 15,000 housings on back order nationwide and no idea when they will be in. Mini is doing nothing.

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.

Our car had problems that we could detect before 38K so we took it to a local dealership. They claimed that they do not see any issues and paid for transmission fluid replacement. We have a MINI Cooper 2004 that could not be driven, has 40k on it, was garaged, maintained properly, problems were apparent, but all we could do was to take it to a local dealership that sold us the car. They suggested that we change the transmission fluid and other maintenance, which we agreed to. The dealership assured us that nothing is wrong. They drove it over 100 miles and nothing was noted. We took the car home and had the same problems as before.When we called, there was no other response but that they cannot find anything wrong. Yet the car was towed several times and the dealership denied anything needs to be fixed. Unfortunately, at the time, we had experienced great personal tragedy and could not attend to a car or anything, just the bare essentials.Finally, when we took it to another private small company, they told us about the transmission problems that not only plague MINI Coopers, but that dealerships are known for not assisting with this and deny any responsibility. The same thing happened when we tried to call the corporate office. There is a class-action suit in CA and NJ, but what about the other states? We cannot put out almost $8,000 for another transmission on our MINI. What can we do? What do others do? Why all owners who have similar experience do not get together as folks in California? Why dont we inquire about MINI/BMW taking responsibility for a clearlyfaulty car that has brought us more headaches than we could ever imagined? Most of us saved years to get this car, as did our son. Most of us bought MINI as the dream car and depended on the MINI/BMW reputation. If anyone is able to put together a Web site and gather information from all owners from the U.S.A., I think that MINI would eventually have to assist us with the replacement of a transmission that they put in the car knowing that it does not work.We would do our part, but do not know what or where to turn, it helps to write for others not to buy the car. How could we get together and have something done? The corporate offices deny any culpability and claim that they are not aware of any problems. Transmission is way too expensive to replace and it is not the only thing people complain about, yet, outside from California activism, we just complain and do nothing.Does anyone have any suggestion? Someone with legal expertise? Someone who has experience with car mechanics? Someone who knows that it is possible to put pressure on MINI/BMW to request that they do something--given the years of knowledge of faulty transmissions?It is a sad story. We thought this was a reputable company. I am over 70 and would not want to part with the car that belonged to my deceased son. Could anyone suggest what can be done? Please contact me at ** if you believe that we indeed could accomplish something together.

My 2006 Mini Cooper convertible has been serviced by the authorized Mini dealership since the day I got it. My last service was at 100,000 miles. At 127,000 miles my transmission has gone out. I love my Mini but golly, Ive never known anyone driving any vehicle that has had their transmission go. Is this a known Mini issue or is my case an anomaly? Is the suit in California regarding Mini transmissions a national class action suit?

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.

Very angry is the only words I can to describe this situation. I have a 2008 MINI Cooper S. Bought it used from a very reputable dealership with only 26k miles. It was still under partial warranty from MINI when I purchased so I took the car to have them check to see why check engine light was on. They changed the water pump under recall and erased light but didnt say why it was on. I then went until the light came on again and they stated it needed oil changed. Took to get oil changed and was not covered under warranty as Im assuming my warranty had ran out. They changed the oil and sent me on my way. Mind you ever since I bought this car I mentioned the rattle under the hood and stated this at first visit and was told thats what a MINI sounds like. Then this next time they said, All sounds normal to me. Well the next oil change I took car to MINI dealership to get oil changed and they replaced oil and advised me all was ok. Well got paperwork signed and left and noticed engine light was on in the car. I immediately contacted the dealership and they stated that we could bring it back in and they could check it out but it would cost $150 to hook up to the machine. I stated that the car did not have a light on when I brought it in but as soon as I left the light came on. After lots of arguing back and forth they said they could not erase code so I asked what was wrong with car and they stated well it may be attributed to needing a new timing chain and tensioner and that will cost $2500. I said, Excuse me? I mentioned that when I first brought car in and was told it was one even though they never looked into it or took cover off to measure chain or check tensioner. I know this because I placed a tiny mark with magic marker and the line never moved. So after all this time I have contacted MINI numerous times with no help and rarely drive car due to being too scared it will break. I just filed a complaint with BBB and will seek legal help. Also to mention my brother has same car build date and mfd plant and he is getting timing chain/tensioner replaced, turbo heat shield, and thermostat housing all replaced for free under service action recall even though mine somehow isnt covered even though all parts are same and I have picture and written proof as the same.

We bought our Mini in 2009 from Vaughan/HWY 7 Mini dealer north of Toronto. My wife really wanted it and I trusted all the positive reviews. We serviced the Mini at Vaughan/HWY 7 service center all the time. Our last oil change was in March 2014. Early June 2014 on a Sunday my wife was driving back from her volunteer work where the Mini stopped running behind the red light. I rushed to help and eventually towed it to a mechanic shop. No warning or sensor lights ever came on. Next day the mechanic ran a diagnostics but couldnt find anything. The computer showed nothing. Then they drove it around with probes attached to the engine, which they realized the spike on the temperature. They said the coolant and the oil in the engine are mixed. I tried to take it to Mini but they said they are so busy we have to wait till July first (3 weeks later!!). I had to change the engine, they said the engine is done! Cost me $8,000. Minis Vaughan/HWY 7 manager never returned our call. I called Mini Canada, they said since our technicians have not looked at it they cant do or say anything about this matter. Faulty engine, poor service, poor everything.

I own a 2010 Mini Cooper Clubman. Like others, I have loved the car - fun to drive, cute. I was fully prepared to replace her once she had finished her useful life. I did NOT expect that to happen soon after I paid her off and before 60K miles! As others have stated, repairs are costly - I purchased an extended maintenance package and have kept up on regular maintenance through the dealer and have used premium gas as recommended. About 2 years ago I had to have the spark plugs completely replaced - dealer blamed it on poor gas. This year alone I have experienced: Valvetronic Motor and Centric Shaft issues - the car engine light came on and the car could not go above 5 miles an hour. Mini wanted $3K to repair stating it was out of warranty. I pushed back and they ultimately covered it but what a hassle! Now, 2 months later, I am experiencing over-heating issues. AGAIN, the car does not even have 60K miles on her! I am now constantly on high alert, expecting another problem. I am frustrated because when I researched the Mini reliability seemed high. That has not been my experience.

We had several malfunctions on our Mini Cooper convertible, which the dealer was happy to cover under the original 48 month warranty. I actually got the feeling that the dealer was on my side. I then purchased the Mini Cooper USA extended warranty when the car had about 18 months left on its original warranty. About two years later, something in the steering failed, and also the trunk stopped opening. It took them a long time to determine that the latter was simply a short in the wires to the electric trunk opener latch in the truck door. The dealer appealed to Mini Cooper USA, but the response was that neither repair was covered because all rubber wear was not included in the extended warranty. It cost me close to $800. I felt cheated.

I just want to shed some light on here in regards to having a 6-year old car with low miles or hell could be a 20-year old car with 2 miles on it... Heres my point right to the point: If you do not get critical connections, joints parts where metal to metal or hoses that are meant to have fluids run through them and just sit, they will all began to either rust/crack/stick or squeal. Its just that simple!!!If you dont drive that much or buying a collector car, rule of thumb: go out on the weekends and at least start the motor and let everything get up to operating temperature and the fluids lubricate, hoses, etc. and it would actually benefit you to either get your car off all four tires because they will flat spot and if youre not careful, they can and will dry rot!!!So when I hear people say its this old with low or super low miles, I do a double take. If they are selling it for two reasons: one to see how nice the car is and secondly have they taken care of it by doing the mentioned above, and if not I walk away so please stop moaning about problems. Its typically not the cars fault but end user lacking in their responsibilities!! My .02.

I bought a low mileage car, 76000 miles. I smelled something burning while on my way to work. Guess what, no power steering! People need to file complaints with the NHTSA to get a recall ordered before people get killed. Its dangerous for women to drive if the power steering quits in a turn.

One star for the Mini dealership, four stars for the car. I own a 2007 Mini Cooper S that I have owned for three years with just over 100,000 miles. I absolutely love it. The car did have a major oil leak, but my boyfriend (who is a trained mechanic but doesnt work for a garage) and I bought a kit from Detroit Tuned and rebuilt the turbo ourselves based. Using Mini forums for people who had a similar leak was a huge help. We repaired it for a tiny fraction of the cost it would have been at the mini dealership. Its not perfect, but the leak is fixed. Oil leak aside, this car does consume a lot of oil and you need to keep an eye on it. There have been a couple of other minor issues, but paying close attention to the car made it easy to nip those in the bud.I dont trust the dealership at all since I went in for a quote on the oil leak and they quoted me five grand for that repair and a bunch of other repairs I didnt need. For example, I had a faulty brake sensor and they quoted me all new brakes despite the fact that they were brand new and Id just replaced them. If you get a Mini, I highly recommend NOT getting your repairs done at the dealership unless its totally under warranty. Youre paying for the brand with them, not the repairs. Despite all of this, I love the car. Not a day goes by that I regret buying this car. It fits me, its fun to drive, I enjoy how compact it is but I can still haul tons of stuff. Im looking right now to trade mine in for a newer one, simply because its getting older and I might as well upgrade to some newer features while there is still a strong trade-in value.Moral of the story, this isnt a car you can just drive and ignore between oil changes, but a car that you need to pay close attention to otherwise it can become high maintenance. And find an independent shop or friend who knows auto mechanics, and know what the common issues are with these cars before you buy so you can anticipate them. That may sound like a lot of unnecessary work, but this is more of a little novelty sports car than your run of the mill family car. It needs a little extra love.

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.