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MINI Cooper: Problems & Solutions
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Comments
The 2002s and 2003s definitely had quite a few problems, but early data on the 2004s is much better. I have a 2004 S and it has been reliable so far, but it only has 4K miles.
Consumer Reports recently reported very poor reliability, but again, it is probably skewed pretty heavily towards the teething problems when the cars first came out.
Keep in mind that "reliability problems" doesn't necessarily mean a car that won't start or that is broken down alongside the road. It means something that had to be fixed so most things are annoyances, not stuff that leaves you stranded.
I'd summarize as follows: a new 2004 Mini is likely to be about average in repairs, about like most BMWs. Just don't expect it to be as good as something like a Honda or Toyota.
Here would be some factors that you should consider:
1. Is there a dealer close by? I wouldn't recommend buying unless there is a dealer that is reasonably convenient.
2. Do you mind if you own a car that has a few problems now and then (i.e., do you tend to get very upset about car problems or can you roll with the punch?).
3. Do you plan on keeping it past the warranty period? If not, then any problems will just be a hassle, but will have no monetary impact.
4. Are you Okay with a car that has more squeaks and rattles than most cars? The Mini has a very stiff suspension and interiors that are more prone to rattles. Some people are really bugged by this stuff and I wouldn't recommend this car. The people who seem most disallusioned with their new Mnis are folks who are captivated by the style, but don't realize that this is not a Lexus - the car is a very stiff, no-nonsense machine, optimized for driving enjoyment, not comfort.
The Mini is a very fun car, but it is not for everybody. Cars like the Focus SVT, Mazda 3, Subaru WRX are definitely better all-arounders and likely to have fewer problems.
Good luck with your decision.
- Mark
Any additional information you have to give would be greatly appreciated.
But ... if you're the sort who is really going to be bothered by an occasional rattle, I'd get something else, especially the convertible which are more susceptible to rattles to begin with and will be a heavily revised design. I'd also recommend against a Mini unless you have a dealer reasonably close by.
The Mini is a VERY firm-riding, no-nonsense car that is heavily biased towards crisp handling and quick reflexes and heavily biased away from being smooth, quiet, and luxurious. It's also a car that appears to be improving in reliability, but it is highly doubtful that it will ever match a Honda, Toyota, or Mazda. No German car, particularly a BMW, has ever been as trouble-free as these cars.
I recommend a Mini to lots of drivers, but not to drivers who consider a smooth, trouble-free, no-rattle ride their top priority.
If decide against a Mini, I'd look at a Mazda 3 in a non-convertible. In a convertible, I'd look at a VW New Beetle and PT Cruiser, although neither would be a huge step up in reliability. A Toyota Solara Convertible would be solid, but these are big cars and not very sporty.
Get the Mini if you want, but come in with an attitude to expect some minor problems now and then. I've gotten lucky so far, but I don't expect it to continue indefinitely.
- Mark
I love my vehicle - however at just under 2,500 miles, had car towed
due to incredible burning smell and sluggish acting clutch. I was told (prior to seeing vehicle) I may have burned up the clutch. I
disagree and warranty coverage of necessary repair is under dispute
with BMW USA Warranty. After much internet research on my part, I
find I am not alone. See Message 101 (my same experience). See message 95. I'd like to think these are just a few bad apples and
move on - however, warranty disputes over such major repairs leaves
me incredibly disappointed with an otherwise "fun" experience. I am
asked 4 times a week how I like my car - I'd like to continue saying
I love it.
I am too being told I abused clutch. I am currently in dispute with
MINI USA requesting warranty coverage of this repair. My situation
was that bolts holding flywheel melted, yes melted! I had no symptoms
of problem before day this occurred - no engine lites including temp.
My dealership has replaced 17 clutches (according to Svc. Rep). I find that high having only been open 1 year.
burning smell and sluggish clutch - told by Dealer
Service Rep. I burned up clutch and repair would
not be covered by Warranty. Clutch was still functioning but I felt concern for driving with burning smell. Tow truck driver commented he had picked up 3 other Mini's with same issues. Dealer has replaced 17 clutches in 1 year. After my research on internet - found many issues with clutches identical to my own. Smell was supposedly due to bolts melting on flywheel. No panel lights including temp. From my research, I see where another owner experienced trembling prior to problem (as did I, though it did not continue). Service Rep. did put me in a brand new MC 5 speed loaner. I am disputing warranty coverage denial by BMW USA - waiting for final response prior to picking up my vehicle post repair. Any suggestions?
If MINI/BMW deny your warranty coverage on the clutch repair, you might have a Lemon Law claim depending on the Lemon Law rules in your state. (e.g. Multiple failures of the clutch on other MINIs in your area may qualify as a pattern of failure - but that all depends on what Texas Lemon Law specifies.)
Your issue is that smoked clutchs are, 90% of the time, the result of poor clutch technique and/or abuse, not a defective clutch. I'm not saying that this is the case with yours, I'm just giving the odds that BWM is betting on. If no other defect in the clutch can be identified that would cause the overheating, that pretty much leaves abuse as the only likely cause.
I assume you have driven manual transmissions cars before, correct? And you're well aware that you can't use the clutch to "hold" the car on a hill and that you're supposed to shift into neutral when stopped, right? And finally, that in a car like the Mini, it really only takes a few hard clutch "drops" in succession, with the engine revs way up, to fry the clutch.
Again, I'm not saying you're at fault, I'm just saying that most of the time the driver is, so unless a defect can be identified, BMW is likely to dig in their heels. Othewise, they'd be replacing hundreds of clutches a month if word got out to the hot-rodders that they were liberal on this sort of thing.
- Mark
In any event, the coolant in the Mini is nothing exotic - just standard old ethylene glycol. And color is not a good indicator of coolant type these days, so it is probably the right coolant but of a different color.
Although you'll have to pay for the diagnostic, most car service places can read the CEL codes as the port and reader are standardized. If you have someplace around that services BMWs, they would have no trouble doing so. If you can get the code, you may be able to negotiate with Mini to have the repair done locally - I've heard they'll allow this at BMW dealers in hardship cases. Or it may just be a loose wire or something.
Antoher alternative is to ignore it until the regular service. If the car is running normally and getting Ok mileage, then it is likely just something to do with the evap emissions or some other inconsequential glitch.
I agree, it really doesn't make sense to buy any new vehicle without a dealer for the brand reasonably close. More so with the Mini which has a checkered reliabilty history so far, although it appears to be steadily improving.
- Mark
It is a fun car to drive and my wife likes it! I just wish there were not so many of these glitches.
Still love the car and it's oversized go-kart handling characteristics ! But when that 4/yr 50k warranty is over I'm not so sure if all these problems are going to stay away, maybe the reliability factor is in question, time will tell !
The dealer told me that there are not a lot of dealerships (72 at present in USA) because they would not be able to meet demand. Mini sold 36 thoasand cars last year, by comparison he stated Ford sells that many in one day with one model alone.
Geographic and market studies are done before Mini USA commits to opening dealerships. Which is good business sense. It just doesn't help those of us who have to travel 50 to 100 miles to get service or warranty work when needed. We obviously thought about that before buying and went with the "fun factor" built into driving these cars.
Let's Motor !
Ray T.
hard to deel with a few problem we having.
1.When you slow down the car or waiting on a stop
light or in traffic - the car might start vibrating and shaking for a few seconds. It feels
like it's comming somewhere from transmission
part. We tried to analyse what might be the cause
of it, but it doesn't look that we do anything
unusual.
2.Sometimes the car doesn't start right away. It
only happens in the morning.When you drive it around for a while, it starts perfect.
We went to a dealer (KARL KNAUZ MINI )4 times
already. Every time they would put a new software
update(????), so we would hope that the problem
was resolved. Last time they kept it for a week and their final word was that the car is running perfect and they can't find any problems.They promised that they will inform us when district representative from MINI will be in and it's been almost 2 months since.
Does anybody else have similar problems?
The S will be slightly more expensive to maintain and will cost more to rebuild the engine, although few owners ever drive a car to the this point. There is also a slightly risk of increased failure in the engine since it is being pushed to make mor epower and the supercharger can always break. OTOH, most will drive the base car harder to extract sufficient performance in their day-to-day driving which counters this to some extent.
It is hard to project costs that might occur five years in the future, but I doubt the difference will be terribly significant, maybe a couple hundred $$$ per year on average. Fuel costs are higher with the S - this effect will probably outweigh any maintenance cost difference.
IOW, get the car you want.
- Mark
I asked for the 40k service less the oil/filter change, since I would do it myself the day before service appoint. & ahead of the countdown clock, now showing 3400 miles till service required. I would need dealership to just reset the countdown clock to coincide with their completing the remainder of the 40k service. Mini USA told service manager unless the complete service was performed by dealership they could not reset countdown clock for customer regardless of customer doing his own oil/filter change to save $70 on the bill.
So in otherwords Mini USA stance is the heck with customer service you may not do your own service to save $$, they want your $$ !
Big Mistake !
Ray T.
http://www.tech-esq.com/mini/Oil%20Service%20Indicator%20Reset.ht- m
The dealer's position seems a little anal, but I can see their side of the issue - by resetting the system, they're saying they verified all the required maintenance has been performed and all they have is your word on the oil change. I'd prefer they be more flexible also, but it is certainly not something to get worked up about.
- Mark
I'm so glad you see saving money is "certainly not something to get worked up about".
How about loaning me a few bucks to cover the oil change Mr. Cheney, it's only money which is "certainly not something to get worked up about"
Ray T.
- Mark
Some have reported steering rack problems, but these are much less common.
A few things:
1. $3K sounds excessive even if the pump and rack have to be replaced.
2. Why is the dealer saying you have to replace the rack? If the steering seemed fine until the pump failed, then I'd be very skeptical that anything beyond the pump needs to be replaced. Unless there is a "smoking gun" that the rack needs replacing, I'd skip it, replace the pump, and see how it does. I doubt there is tremendous savings in replacing both the pump and rack at the same time anyway, so just trying the pump is worth a shot.
3. Do you have any other dealer options? If so, I'd try a different dealer.
4. Given how close you are to the warranty period, and given that you are still in warranty according to calendar time, I'd press cordially but aggressively for warranty assistance from MiniUSA. I'd approach the dealer again and say you want to contact MiniUSA and see if they can help. Then escalate as necessary. I'd be willing to compromise a bit - perhaps get the part for free and you and the dealer split labor.
Good luck,
- Mark
The rack needs to be replaced because pump failure results in gear, bearing or seal failure which contaminates the entire rack system, thus the need to replace all. My rack was replaced under warranty/TSB, but for different reasons. I don't know the cost breakdown since dealer does not list on customer copy, but parts and labor may very well be in the 3k area.
Check my past post #122 for problems encountered so far. Overall the car has had problems but all under warranty. Fun to drive, gets great mileage. I hope your issue is just a glitch and Mini USA helps you out with this.
Good Luck
Mark, thanks for url link it resolves my issue. Where have you read/heard about power steering pump failures ?
Ray T.
- Mark
My battery has died 4 times since July 2004. I only have 7,300 miles on the car. We bought the car in PA, and didn't drive it around a lot due to weather. Never had any battery issues in PA. When the car carrier moved the car out on a 7 day trip the car then started to have battery problems. I got the Mini jumped, and took it to the dealer. They charged me $98.00 to have it recharged. The battery then went dead two more times. So I went back to the dealer the third time and the dealer thought the problem was due to the connection with the satellite radio that is was pulling to many volts from the battery. But I never had this problem before in PA especially since we didn't drive it much. (Plus the satellite radio was installed by the dealership so all we had to do was to connect two wires and call up Sirus to start up service). So we disconnected the radio, and again the battery went dead for the 4th time. (Shouldn't be related to the radio anymore since we disconnected it). I live out in Palm Springs, Ca. so I have to drive into Monrovia, Ca. for service(2 hours). This time the dealership doesn't know what is wrong with the car. I can't get a new battery because the battery isn't registering on their "tests" as needing a new one. So I do not know what to do. Any suggestions out there, or anybody experiencing the same problem. I am really close to trading my Mini in for a Toyota.
Thanks,
ROXIE
You are living in California...a BLUE state. You are a victim of wealth re-distribution. You have plenty of volts and amps in your battery and there are lots of fellow Californians who do not. My theory is that your state is taking your battery power and giving (re-distributing) it to those less fortunate. I am sure you are among California's "rich" since you obviously can afford a Mini, so don't sweat it. My advice? Get the Toyota.
If this doesn't solve the problem, then I'd suspect you've got some kind of above-normal continous current draw that is draining the battery. It is a very simple test to check this with an ammeter - the dealer should be able to do it, but otherwise, take it to someone who can.
But again, batteries are cheap - replace it first, even if you have to pay for it.
- Mark
http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/carfaq12.htm
Ray T.
I think I can top most of the problems listed here (maybe, I haven't read tham all...). Picked up my BRAND SPANKING NEW, 12 MILES ON THE ODOM., Mini Cooper on October 15, 2004. Yes, 2 1/2 weeks ago from now. Check engine light comes on NEXT DAY. It has been in the shop ever since. Going on four times now. And keep in mind that is with them keeping the Mini for days at a time to "monitor" it. The dealership has put 10 times more miles on it than I have. Something is wrong with the feul system is what the dealership is saying. Well, they must have replaced the entire feul system by now and nothing seems to be working. Same old story - they drive it around, everything seems fine, the check engine light is off, I pick it up from the dealership, and WHAM! The check engine light is back on. Sometimes it even turns on during the drive home from the dealership (5 miles at most). This is the first new car I have ever bought and, of course with the long wait list to get one of these cars, the anticipation was something else. But it has been a head ache ever since. NOT a good experience so far. So, what's a girl to do? I have a meeting with the dealership this afternoon to talk about Oregon's "Lemon Law". Wish me luck!
Jessica
If they can't fix it within a reasonable period of time after a reasonble number of attempts, yes, you've got a strong Lemon Law case (details in the brochure they gave you). Take names down of everyone you talk to and keep great records.
Hang in there. I'm sure it will be solved, one way or the other.
- Mark
My experience was great at the dealership last night. I am working with the general manager of the dealership and he is really trying to make the best out of a bad situation. The dealership will be taking back our car (full refund) and we will be placing an order for a new Mini (top of the wait list too). He has been great - I was getting worried by some of the internet horror stories that I have read about Mini dealerships but the one in Portland, Oregon is great! Also, while we are waiting for our Mini to be delivered, they will let us use a demo model free of charge until it arrives. They noted that the problem most likely is a software glitch but they would not know for sure until a re-write of the software comes out which could take weeks to months. For as much stress as this situation has been, I couldn't have expected better customer service. Kudos to them!
Jessica
ROXIE
http://www.dot.state.tx.us/mvd/lemon/statute.htm
Ray T.
We picked up the wife's new MINI last night and drove it home. When we stopped the car, a stong odor like melting plastic filled the garage. It's strongest near the muffler, not the engine compartment. It doesn't smell like brake pads or clutch but who knows what materials they use nowadays. I've got 35 years of experience driving standard transmissions (and this one is sweeeeeet!) and the drive didn't entail much clutch work anyway. Anyone else experience this odor issue?
I'd monitor, but it will probably go away.
- Mark
I noticed your message, and saw the dealership gave you a new battery. In case, the problem is still not remediated, have them check or replace the relay switch. I had the same thing happen with a Saab, more times than you, after a new battery was installed. Turns out one saavy mechanic, who came to jumpstart me, put a meter on the battery to see if it was charging, or holding the charge. The battery itself was okay, but when this meter was turned on while the car ran, voila, the problem could be readily fixed.
Hope that helps?
I have two, never had a problem. All mfgs will make a bad car here and there. The MINI may have a few more issues that some but most of the owners that I know have had few, if any real problems.
Any forum on any make will have lots of complaints simply because problems are much more likely to generate posts than no problems. That includes the S2000 where a number of owners have had serious issues with the transmission. That being said, if you want the best chance for a problem-free car, the Honda is a better choice.
Good luck with your decision. It's going to be very tough to swing a MSRP deal on a conv for while in S. Cal. You might try dealers in Texas which is where I got mine for MSRP.
- Mark