[Major Clanger]

It wasn't horrific, but it didn’t make me laugh.

I was sitting in slow moving traffic for 40 minutes yesterday evening. I eventually put the air conditioning on. 5 minutes or so later I smelled a nasty burning plastic kind of smell, then saw smoke coming out from under my bonnet.

I stopper the car, opened the bonnet a saw an 8” hole burning in the bonnet’s sound proofing material.

Once the fire brigade had come and put it out we had a good chat about what caused it. Based on the evidence available, they concluded that it simply spontaneously ignited because of the excess heat build up under the bonnet.

I am not impressed.

Why is there anything combustible under my bonnet anyway?

Your thoughts please…..

[monsta]

I would have thought that the sound deadening would have been fireproof.

Also, it must be an isolated case otherwise most of us would have been on fire by now... (you wait I will be on fire later just because I said that!!)

[Dom]

Where abouts over the bonnet was it burning? over the engine? radiator? manifold? battery? etc...

Dom

[AidenL]

Did the engine totally overheat, a thermostat problem, no cooling fan operation ?? If so, there may be head-gasket damage too??......

And yes, the soundproofing should be fire-resistant, but it will certainly still smoulder.......

[Major Clanger]

The soundproofing burned slowly and without a flame, producing a lot of smoke and was hot enough to then start melting the plastic parts on top of the engine.

It started above the manifold, in front of the engine, behind the radiator, slightly to the driver’s side.

It didn't want to stop either. The fire brigade had to leave it under running water for quite a while to convince it to stop burning!

[Major Clanger]

Ooooo!

MINI appear to be taking this very seriously. My Cooper has just been whisked away from my dealer and shipped back to the factory!

[monsta]

Quote:

Originally posted by Major Clanger
Ooooo!

MINI appear to be taking this very seriously. My Cooper has just been whisked away from my dealer and shipped back to the factory!

And what do you get in the meantime??

[Major Clanger]

A nast little Vauxhall people carrier with a stupid name that handles like a half eaten jelly.

[Paul]

It seems you are not alone, I believe I have recieved another seperate email regarding this exact same problem!

[Major Clanger]

The nasty Vauxhall or the fire?

[AidenL]

Quote:

Originally posted by Paul_Mullett
It seems you are not alone, I believe I have recieved another seperate email regarding this exact same problem!

Paul,

Did the other car have air conditioning too? Would that be the commonality, or is it something else altogether ??

[space_cadet]

The position where the heat build up is supposed to have started is above the alternator and the air-con compressor, so that seems to fit. If a cars sitting for a long time, there is certainly a heat build up. When my car was new,
I noticed a smell like burning electronics after sitting in traffic for a while - it turned out to be the alternator getting very hot and insulation on the internal windings smelling, much like a new tv or stereo does. Its the
residual volatile elements from manufacture of the insulation that caused the smell.


Anyway, it could be that the AC system did not have enough liubrication oil put in it when the car was assembled, and the compressor overheated. That combined with a hot alternator could have caused an excessive heat build up in that area.

[12000rpm]

yeh i get this really bad feeling when im sitting in traffic, after a while the whole car starts to vibrate- i guess its the cooling fan kicking in or something but first time it happened i really thought i was gonna spend the night on the side of the M1 (it was the time when it closed near northampton)

can someone tell me more i can feel the car vibrate through the pedals and steering wheel when it happens

[chips2chips]

I have a loan mini one while mine has a few probs sorted and you know when you drive a car that isn't yours you tend to, well.. how can I say... give it some. I did exactly that last night.
When I put the loan mini to bed after its 'quiet little run' I did notice the whole front end of the car seemed to be a whole lot hotter than mine usally gets and yes I was running the AC.
It didn't spontainiously combust but I only run it for half an hour.

Can't wait to get my Cooper back.

[Basil]

Quote:

Originally posted by chips2chips
I have a loan mini one while mine has a few probs sorted and you know when you drive a car that isn't yours you tend to, well.. how can I say... give it some. I did exactly that last night.
When I put the loan mini to bed after its 'quiet little run' I did notice the whole front end of the car seemed to be a whole lot hotter than mine usally gets and yes I was running the AC.
It didn't spontainiously combust but I only run it for half an hour.

Can't wait to get my Cooper back.

My advice would be to let it sleep outside for a while. Wouldn't want it catching fire inside your garage.



Any dealer feedback on this apparently more than once off behaviour ?

[PigLick]

Well, I hate to say it, but seemingly true to form, more time has passed and a new, more serious fault has reared it's ugly head =(

If this really is more than a one (or two) off problem, it should come to light very soon in the US, especially in the southwest, where temperatures and MINI sales will be continually on the rise for the next few months.

Let's all hope and pray this isn't anything more than a freak occurrence, but I'm sad to say that as time goes on, I'm getting less and less encouraged by the thought of buying a MINI. It would be my first new car, and is at the very top end of my price range, so if it were anything les than flawless it would be a huge disappointment to me, and from what I can tell from these forums over the past few months, the chances of getting a fault-free MINI seem to be pretty slim at this point.

PigLick

[Basil]

Quote:

Originally posted by PigLick
Well, I hate to say it, but seemingly true to form, more time has passed and a new, more serious fault has reared it's ugly head =(

If this really is more than a one (or two) off problem, it should come to light very soon in the US, especially in the southwest, where temperatures and MINI sales will be continually on the rise for the next few months.

Let's all hope and pray this isn't anything more than a freak occurrence, but I'm sad to say that as time goes on, I'm getting less and less encouraged by the thought of buying a MINI. It would be my first new car, and is at the very top end of my price range, so if it were anything les than flawless it would be a huge disappointment to me, and from what I can tell from these forums over the past few months, the chances of getting a fault-free MINI seem to be pretty slim at this point.

PigLick

I hear you, but remember that those posting here represent a tiny fraction of MINI's on the road around the world. For example, the Cooper has been driving out the door in Australia since early March, and to the best of my understanding not one ozzie who posts here has actually got their own MINI yet.

I do however agree with you, but I have to temper it with the above statement, or there is NO WAY I would consider spending over $50,000AU on this car.

The Cooper I drove here, had no sign of ANY of the faults mentioned here, and I've been reading them since November last year, so was pretty tuned into what to look out for.

I am sure there are ozzies browsing this forum that own MINI's, and I would encourage them to post their views, be that they are positive or negative.

Cheers

[PigLick]

I do realize all of that Basil, and thanks for the encouragement. I've test-driven a MINI too, and as far as I noticed, it didn't suffer from any faults.

There is a bit of a caveat, though, hehe. I've been reading these boards since about August/September of last year, so I too was well aware of all the various faults. I told myself that when I finally got to test drive one, I was going to hyperactivate my senses and scrutinize the car for any sign of them....easier said than done, lol. In the excitement of actually getting to finally drive one combined with my concentration on driving a manual (which, although I know how, I haven't done in years and am not very comfortable with) all those scrutinies flew completely out the window, and it wasn't until I was on my way home that I started to realize I hadn't even so much as loosened my grip on the wheel to check for left pull...however, as I said, there were no obvious faults, and next time I drive one hopefully I'll be able to retain enough presence of mind to make sure there aren't any.

I really do hope I'm being overly negative and cynical about all this, but I just can't shake the feeling that it would definitely be in my best interest to wait quite some time before buying a MINI, despite my desire to get one NOW.

PigLick

[Basil]

Quote:

Originally posted by PigLick

I really do hope I'm being overly negative and cynical about all this, but I just can't shake the feeling that it would definitely be in my best interest to wait quite some time before buying a MINI, despite my desire to get one NOW.

PigLick

Forgive me. I go through phases of negativity myself. And then someone posts like you do, and I feel the need to defend the little car. Weird

Again, I agree with you completely, and may have to delay anyway. Just so difficult to remain rational with this car. Never have I wanted a vehicle so badly. My heart is ruling my head on this one.

My apologise if I came over as condesending, not my intention at all.

Cheers.

[PigLick]

Quote:

Originally posted by Basil


Forgive me. I go through phases of negativity myself. And then someone posts like you do, and I feel the need to defend the little car. Weird

Again, I agree with you completely, and may have to delay anyway. Just so difficult to remain rational with this car. Never have I wanted a vehicle so badly. My heart is ruling my head on this one.

My apologise if I came over as condesending, not my intention at all.

Cheers.

"No worries mate." (My attempt at sounding like an aussie..probably just succeeded in sounding like a silly yank that's seen Crocodile Dundee once too many times, though

Nah, I didn't think you were being condescending at all. I know what you mean, I've got the same wierd half-negativity/half-champion-of-the-MINI attitude myself. It is definitely tough to remain rational about it, though.

I've only had 2 cars in my life, and I haven't chosen either of them, it's just kinda worked out that I've ended up with them. As a result, neither have been exactly what I would have chosen (ok, let me rephrase, neither of them have been anywhere near to what I would have chosen, lol). Last year when I first started browsing for cars, knowing it would be about time for me to get something new this year, I was having a lot of trouble. Nothing out there seemed to be "me." Then I remembered about the MINI, and it hit me like a bolt of lightning. This car just suits me, and it is really the only car on the market today that does. So yes, it's very difficult to remain logical and rational, when I want a MINI with all my heart. Guess I'll just have to wait and see which one wins out (though hopefully, MINI will get their act together and both heart and head will come to perfect agreement!).

PigLick