My son (10 weeks) and I were in town enjoying a cup of coffee when man came in anouncing that a MINI Cooper parked outside was smoking badly. We quickly got outside and opened the bonnet to see white smoke coming from the ABS actuator. I sent a bystander back inside to call the fire department and to get an extinguisher. I disconnected the battery with needle-nosed pliers borrowed from the coffee shop (The Little Dog, Brunswick, Maine, USA), and watched as smoke turned to flames. The flames were quickly doused thanks to the availability of a fire extinguisher courtesy of either The Little Dog or the Adjacent Midcoast Multi Sport (triathalon equipment). the fire department arrived shortly thereafter and soaked the ABS unit with water to bring the cool the unit down fully.
The only external bodywork affected was the cowl/scuttle(?) panel, the cowl vent, and the windscreen surround. I didn't have a camera with me but I did get two pictures on my phone. I'll happily post them if a more tech-savvy MINI2er would lend guidance on how to do this.
MINI Roadside Assistance arranged for collection of the vehicle, which took place well within 30 minutes. With 33K miles on the clock, the car is happily still under warrantee.
I'll answer two questions before they are asked: (1) the car is UNmodified, save for the addition of an ICE-Link unit, and (2) Yes; I'd buy another one in a minute if I had to do it all over again.
So, has anyone out there heard of this occurring? If so, what was the end result? I'd love to think that I've got a brand new car coming to me, but my assumption is that MINI will choose to repair it (should have let it burn a bit longer).
I will certainly start carrying an extinguisher in all vehicles, and will either install quick disconnect switches or carry an appropriately sized wrench to facilitate battery isolation. The remotely located battery of the
MCS proved to be very beneficial feature today.
UPDATE: A poster on NAM referred me to the following thread:
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...Tragedy+Struck
From the photos it appears that their fire originated from the same location. Their insurance provider has gone above and beyond the call of duty to make things right for them, though sadly MINIUSA has fallen short of their expectations. We have our car insurance through the same company.
UPDATE #2: Photos added courtesy of GBMINI. Located further down on this page.
