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.
Engine quits while driving causing an unsafe condition. The car stopped numerous times while on the freeway. It starts back up but stalls again later. There are no check engine lights and the local repair shop indicates that it may be a problem with the Footwell Computer Mudule and specifically the soldering on the Low Pressure Fuel Pump Relay causing it to intermittently fail.
I bought the car used 10 days ago, 3 days ago, the electrical indicator flashed, so I parked the car. I thought it was a glitch. It was very rainy. I woke up the next morning and it had spontaneously combusted on the inside driver's footwell, obvious flames had been on windows and whole car reeks of smoke. I cant even get inside of the car with the physical key. I could have been inside when the car caught fire. I work with children and just got the car... hadn't put a car seat in yet. To think that a physical key literally doesn't work and the car caught fire in teh electrical and is now (to my knowledge) totaled...makes me sick. BMW / MINI has yet to get get back to me, no one has inspected the car, it hasn't been moved....can't move. The dealership refuses to take responsibility. Obviously I'm distraught and thankful I wasn't in the car. I have read several articles about this exact thing happening to other BMW / MINI owners. Please help. I literally haven't even paid the taxes yet.
Shift mechanism froze on several occasions before going in for service on 1/6/12. Upon inspection I was told that repair is not considered under warranty. Dealer claims that some coffee was spilled inside of cup holder and leaked below which resulted in shorting out of a "wire connector" and requires the replacement of the "shifter assembly." Reviewing several complaints from various web sights I determined that this is an ongoing problem with a number of MINIowners. In fact an owner reported the exact same complaint back in 2003 where the reported leak was from a screw fastening the cup holder to its supporting unit. This is obviously a safety issue: If the wires can "short out" they then may cause a dangerous situation to develop and if the shifter freezes, this could result in an even more serious situation. Since the apparent leaking through these holders was evident to MINIfor a number of years - why haven't they either fixed the potential leak source or printed a warning within their manual: "don't put any cup, or other such container into the cup holders as this may result in serious damage to electrical components." Aren't "cup" holders supposed to be designed to hold cups safely. Shouldn't there be an expectation that some liquid will spill out during usual driving conditions" if so, why was this design flaw not corrected with consumer complaints occurring for at least eight years"
Alternate water pump wiring harness for the turbo engine caught fire. Car had been sitting for two hours while my wife and I were shopping. We got in and started the vehicle when less than five seconds later, there was white smoke coming from under the hood. Turned the motor off and checked the engine. When the BMW tech came to render assistance, we started the vehicle and flames came up from the wiring harness. Used multiple liters of water to douse the fire. Car was towed to MINIdealer for further investigation and repairs. Please visit northamericanmotoring.com and do some searches for this type of issue. You will be surprised.
On 9/20/2011 I pulled on to the highway with my MINIand turned on the air conditioner which did not work. This had never happened before and there were no lighted indicator lights. A few minutes later, the temperature gauge light went on and then went off. I turned on the air conditioner and it was now working. Several minutes later the temperature light went on again so I turned off the air conditioner, entered the right lane and slowed down. The temperature gauge continued to go on and off and then I smelled smoke. When I looked in my rear-view mirror, I saw dark smoke and then more smoke began to pour our from under my hood. I pulled my car off the road and opened the hood after a while. Oil was splattered all over the engine and I noticed that the coolant tank was bone dry. I was towed to hassle MINIwhere my vehicle still is. After inspecting my car, hassle told me they couldn't repair the engine even though my warranty was still in effect. They told me the problem was my fault and I should report it to my insurance company. I was also told it would cost approximately $15,000 to replace the engine. I do not understand why hassle will not honor the warranty and I do not understand why a well maintained vehicle should behave like this. My life was endangered in this situation. There are several reasons I believe MINIshould honor my car's warranty: 1. all required service was performed and records provided. 2. the vehicle had been serviced only 700 miles prior to this incident and found to be in running order. 3. the car had a documented history of faulty indicator lights. 4. there were only 13,674 miles on the car. 5. MINIhas a history of engine fires.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Santa Ana, CA, USA