This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
1.Electronic power steering gearbox. Connections almost caught on fire. And yes it is available for inspection upon request. 2. If it would-€™ve caught on fire. the whole vehicle would-€™ve torched. I noticed there-€™s a lot of Mini Cooper engine fires. 3. No it has not been confirmed by dealer. 4. No it has not been inspected by the manufacturer. I didn-€™t feel it was safe to drive the vehicle. I did make them aware of it and ask him how much a New power steering gearbox would be. they said $2200 just for the part. Will also need the connecting wiring also.. so that will ensure more cost. 5. There was no warning lamps messages or symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. Not sure exactly when it first appeared. But there are several Mini Cooper-€˜s that have electrical fires and I just think I caught mine before it went to that level.
The electric auxiliary water pump failed and caused the circuit board to overheat. If the circuit board were to overheat, it can increase the risk of a fire. Other observation: Misfire present at several cylinders. Intake ports carbonized.
My MINIis only at 133, xxx miles. Around 130, xxx miles it started, I got off work and was going to head home. I tried starting it, it just cranked until I pressed the stop button. About 4 different service icons came across the screen ( red car saying service, car up on a lift, steering wheel with an exclamation point, and a gear cog with an exclamation point). Disconnected the battery for 5 minutes, hooked it back up and it worked fine, or so I thought. It now runs rough, and I have to disconnect the battery about every 5th-6th time I try to go anywhere because it will just do as before and just crank. Have taken it to 3 different shops, all saying the ECU is bad. I can try to have it reprogrammed for $500-$800, however if they are unable to reprogram it, I am left with the only option of spending $1,000 for a nee blank ECU from MINIwhich then has to be programmed by MINIfor additional $$.
Hello, yesterday afternoon I started my 2009 MINICooper and noted that my gauges suddenly failed. The tach dropped to zero. Suddenly I received a tire pressure warning light. I decided I would move the car to a more favorable location to look under the hood. As I placed the car in reverse I noted that my power steering had failed. I stopped the car immediately and popped the hood. I immediately noticed the smell of burning electrical equipment. I ran down to the basement to grab a wrench to disconnect the battery. When I returned I could hear pops and cracks and noted char on the hood interior. Though the keys were out I continued to hear pops and cracks and felt heat accumulating. I finally got the battery disconnected and the popping stopped. After some investigation I found that the wiring near the power steering module was completely burnt out. The car drove fine the day prior. My wife is 38 weeks pregnant and I am shaken by the idea that this could have happened while she was driving the day before.
- Seattle, WA, USA
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My car I bought as a pre-own and the owner before E had leaks as well. These leaks caused electrical damage on the circuit boards that made the circuit board shoulder and heat up so hot it almost went on fire. Also the tires were the wrong size and sales person would not admit fault so I had to pay to replace them all. I was driving when I felt the car lose control on the highway and streets, then I was driving when car overheated. I paid to fix leaks more than $7000 and still leaking. Now another light bulb is out my back break light so I cannot drive it because that is unsafe to others driving behind me.
Electrical failure since day one bought car as a pre-own. Prior owner history same issues as me. My car almost went on fire, poor performance, leaks and leaks with no reload from $6,000+ repairs. Still leaking. Suspected water damage causing electrical or just faulty electrical. Bulbs go out when car not even driven, canopy broke at service dept and they won't repair free of charge. Battery did not work and issues with key fob recognition.
Light is coming on and transmission shifts smoothly but when you decelerate it bucks down. It happens anywhere on the roads when driving and you decelerate. The light that indicates issue with transmission, in the book it says I won't be able to shift out of park but there is no issue shifting out of park, so not sure if it is considered electrical or if it is powertrain
My 2009 MINICooper S made rattle noise and the whole timing chain got replaced plus the thermostat house and water pump! the engine light still keeps on after trouble-shooting by my mechanics, which might be the computer issue which has to be figured out soon! the timing chain issue should be under fully-covered by manufacturer since too many MINIcooper owner have the same problem and paid thousand of dollars to fix it! my MINIis only about 55K miles and already has timing chain issue!
We parked the car and 3 hours later is was on fire. It seems to have emanated from the power steering pump area but cannot tell with all the fire damage. The car is most likely a total loss.
I purchased a 2009 MINICooper with 16,000 miles in December 2011 through a dealership. In the spring of 2012 the car sat in my driveway overnight. The next morning both windows were completely down. It had rained 5 inches during the night and the pie was an aquarium. I had just had an oil change at a MINIdealership so I called the dealership and was told I had to have it towed to them. The dealer refused to take responsibility for the water damage. The computer was replaced and paid for through a claim on my insurance policy. I told my insurance company to not pay the claim because there was a malfunction of the car. After the computer was replaced the windows again lowered on their own Accord but this time they only went down half way. The dealer then said they reinitialized the computer. Since then the car has randomly stalled while driving in houston, merging onto the freeways, while driving in stop and go traffic and while driving at slow speeds. I took the car to another MINIdealer in houston and they kept the car but claimed it never stalled when they drove it. The car continued to stall randomly. Each time the car stalled I took it to the dealer and after numerous times of being told there were no codes shown by reading the fob I quit taking the car to them. The car continued to randomly stall. In March 2014 the car stalled in 4:00pm traffic while I topped an overpass on a Friday. After a wrecker towed the car to a mechanic the diagnosis is a blown head gasket. I have not gotten a second opinion and have not had it fixed yet. This MINICooper truly has serious problems and is a hazard to be on the road. I no longer drive the MINIwill never drive another MINIand I no longer have to say a prayer before I get in my car. I hope the NHTSA can provide some assistance with this situation.
The contact owns a 2009 MINICooper. The contact stated that after installing a gps system in the vehicle he became aware that the vehicle speedometer was given the incorrect reading. The contact mentioned that the gps read 51mph and the vehicle speedometer read 60 mph, but vehicle was going slower. The dealer stated that they were not providing any assistance given that the vehicle speedometer was in tolerance since the margin of error allowed was ten percent. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 21,300 and the current mileage was 22,000. Updated 11/29/12 updated 12/4/2012
On July 25th, aprox 9:00pm. My daughter (driver) have just arrived from college internship and arrived boyfriend family home (12-15mi trip). Upon turning off the engine and getting out of the car she smell burnt and saw sparks and fire through the car front grill. Boyfriend came and open the hood and noticed the fire. The boyfriend's father came and used dry chemical extinguisher to put fire out. Report was made to MINICooper. I came later and notice several wires burnt. The car was towed (7/25, 7/26 early morning) and is today (8/7/2012) at montgomery county MINICooper rockville, md, awaiting inspection by BMW engineering. The car still pending repair. I took pictures last Saturday (8/4). These pictures are available upon request.
I stopped at a grocery store on the way home from work at approx. 6:30 pm on 11/17/11. I parked the car, turned off the ignition and locked it. When I exited the store approximately 13-15 minutes later, I found the car a smoldering shell surrounded by firefighters. It appeared to have spontaneously gone up in flames. Firefighters could not determine a cause. There was no indication of any problems with the car prior to this incident (car performed "normally" and there were no alarm or flash indicators on the console suggesting a problem.)
The contact owns a 2009 MINICooper. While driving approximately 62 mph, the contact noticed the speedometer was displaying a reading of 70 mph. An authorized dealer was notified and the contact was informed the speedometers all of the vehicles were 10% off and there was no remedy. The failure mileage was 200 and the current mileage was approximately 21,000. The VIN was unavailable.
I have a MINICooper 2009 which today marks a year of purchase, for about seven months has been leading the warranty service due to faulty electrical system, air bag passenger and the car turns off while using. Unfortunately to get the car to service never can diagnose the fault.
2009 MINICooper S. drove car 20km to local mall. Came out to retrieve wallet from glove box after being in mall for approximately 20min. Car was completely engulfed in flames. Fire department said it was an electrical fire that most likely started in the dashboard somewhere. No warning signs of imminent danger on my drive to the mall. Car only serviced at authorized BMW/MINIdealership. 30K kms on car. Car is completely destroyed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Puyallup , WA, USA