[Nina Reid]

Has anyone else had this much trouble with their Cooper?

I bought mine in Jan 2002, and in the last 8 months its been back to the garage 4 times. A few minor rattles etc, but the main problem is water leakage causing complete electrical failure (this has happened twice now, both times the car had to be towed.)

Has anyone else had a problem like this? I'm losing confidence in the car - have I just got a duff one?

[Minty]

i think a couple of members have had this problem, but it is by no means wide spread.

if you are having serious worries with the car, you could talk to the dealer about rejection.

i think maybe you just got 'a bad un'.

[Paul]

Hello!

There was a recall. Oops, I mean, 'BMW Quality Enhancement' to sort out a problem with the ECU letting in water. Try a search for 'water' in faults and fixes, you might find somehting useful.

[Ian Pond]

Only four visits in 8 months!!

My four month old Indi Blue One gets home sick if its away from the dealers for more than a couple of weeks.

So far its had the front suspension mod, a replacement gearbox, a new alternator and has just had the front seat frames replaced.

I seem to recall that when the alternator failed the first thing the dealer checked was for water leaking onto the ECU, the symptoms were apparently almost identical.

In total my car has been off the road 14 days in four months. I can very much sympathise with your loss of confidence in the car and when the breakdown occured which resulted in the new alternator I seriously considered rejecting it.

What stopped me was remebering why I bought the Mini in the first place (nothing else comes close at this price for sheer drivability and for attracting admiring looks from the general public) and the quality of the dealership I bought the car from.

The dealer (Broad Oak Mini in Canterbury) have been excellent. Any issue I have brought up has been dealt with quickly and without any fuss. I have also had a nice selection of brand new BMW's as courtesey cars.

Hang in there - the Mini is worth it.

[mad4mymini]

Poor minis there so beautiful yet there touble!!!
our minis being in about 4 times since november 2001
the whole front suspension was replaced!!! the seats wouldnt go backwards they were stuk fowards, airbag symbol thingys turning on alot!!! lots of things but it still love my mini!!!!!

[KenL]

It's not only MINIs that have problems you know.

My colleague has a Civic Type-R only 6 weeks old and it's been into the dealer 4 times to have a RIGHT PULL fixed.
He's still not convinced that it's fixed !

I have to say that the engine in his car is fantastic and it's VERY fast.

[Washy]

My MCS has been to the dealers 5 times in the last five weeks! In that time it has been off the road for 13 days and it is still there....
Bit of a problem with the gearbox/gearchange. It is being looked at by some engineers and may have to go back to the factory
I think I could have the record as the car is only 8 weeks old.

BTW have any other Cooper S owners had gearchange/gearbox problems.

[KenL]

I would take it to another dealer.

A dealer that has to return the car to the factory must be crap. Their engineers should be better qualified to repair cars than a production plant.

Ken.

[Washy]

The issue has been reported to MINI technical and they have sent out engineers to assess the car. If it can not be fixed the engineers want to take it back to Oxford. I would have thought it a natural progression for the issue to be looked at by the development engineers. It is not going back on the production line.

[cme4brain]

Hello all in the forum. I will be buying a Cooper soon but have been reading the forum here. Can anyone give a concise list of the inherent problems with the mini? It seems that there is a strut problems with pulling to the left, various elelctrical problems with windows, transmissions problems with early vehicles, etc. A short list of the more prominent problems would let me take it to the dealer when mine comes in and make sure they are addressed! Thanks!

[emmacollege]

hi there all you mini people with problems. SO have i got problems since i got my car in march 2002. been in the garage 4 times now and it will be the 5th time soon, even have mini people come and have a look at my car.
problems i have had are bubbles in the paint work does anyone else have that probelm please let me know. also seat belt noises are driving me up to wall.

does anyone know the number for bracknell head office?