What 36 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Mini Cooper S Hardtop

LEAKING THERMOSTAT REPLACEMENT. THE MINI DEALERSHIP NOTIFIED ME AFTER REPAIRING THE VEHICLE THAT NEARLY EVERY MINI IN THIS MODEL YEAR IS COMING IN FOR A THERMOSTAT REPLACEMENT. I WAS TIPPED OFF TO THIS AFTER QUESTIONING AN ADAPTER THAT WAS INVOICED. MINI KNOWS ABOUT THIS ISSUE OF DEFECTIVE THERMOSTATS BUT IS AVOIDING A RECALL.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 MINI COOPER S. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN FRACTURED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 47,000. UPDATED 06/15/16*LJ *TR

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TIMINIG CHAIN TENSIONER HAD A WASHER STRIPPED, OIL WAS LEAKING ALL OF THER ENGINE AND IT WAS DOWN TO LESS THAN A QUART. IT'S A KNOWN ISSUE WITH MINI COOPERS ALL OVER THE INTERNET WHERE A $10 PART, IF NOT CAUGHT CAUSES MAJOR ENGINE REPAIRS, OR WORSE, ENGINE REPLACEMENT. MINI COOPER DEALER WONT FIX IT FOR FREE EVEN THOUGH IT'S TOUTED "MAINTENANCE FREE" CHAIN BELT. VEHICLE ONLY HAS 22,365 MILES ON IT.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 MINI COOPER S. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE VIOLENTLY SHOOK, OVERHEATED, AND AN UNKNOWN WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE WATER PUMP WAS LEAKING. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 48,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

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CAR SEVERELY OVERHEATED. MELTED COOLANT SYSTEM MANIFOLD AND HOSING PIPE. REPAIR COST $1,100+. DAYS LATER CRACK IN WATER PUMP GREW. IMMEDIATE CAR MALFUNCTION OCCURRED RESULTING IN TOWING THE CAR TO MT LAUREL MINI. THEIR ASSESSMENT WAS THAT COOLANT WAS FOUND ON THE DIPSTICK OF THE ENGINE OIL. RECOMMENDED A NEW ENGINE. CURRENTLY FIGHTING TO HAVE COMPANY COVER ALL COSTS AND DAMAGES. *TR

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PREMATURE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILURE MAY LEAD TO LOSS IN POWER, FURTHERING THE POTENTIAL FOR A WRECK. ENGINE ENTERS "LIMP HOME" MODE, WHICH REDUCES POWER CONSIDERABLY AND MAKES ACCELERATION MUCH SLOWER THAN NORMAL. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, SEVERAL OBD-II DIAGNOSTICS CODES APPEAR. *TR

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AIRBAG SEAT SENSORS ARE FAULTY. THEY ARE TURNING OFF THE AIRBAGS EVEN THOUGHT THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER ARE SEATED. *TR

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AS I WAS ACCELERATING WHILE MERGING ONTO A HIGHWAY, AT APPROXIMATELY 55-60 MPH, IT FELT AS IF THE CAR LOST ALL POWER FROM THE DRIVE TRAIN. THE POWER REENGAGED ABOUT A SECOND LATER, AND OVER THE NEXT 5-10 SECONDS THE CAR LOST POWER/REENGAGED TWO MORE TIMES. NO WARNING LIGHTS WERE TRIGGERED ON THE DASH. I'VE TAKEN THE CAR INTO DEALERSHIP AND REFERENCED SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER SIM12-02-11/NHTSA ITEM NUMBER 10040855. DEALER REPORTS THAT BECAUSE IT CANNOT REPLICATE THE ISSUE AND THERE ARE NO REPORTED FAULT CODES, IT APPEARS THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY CAR, THEREFORE IT CANNOT CONFIRM IF I'M ON MOST RECENT SOFTWARE OR PERFORM SOFTWARE UPDATE TO FIX ERROR REFERENCED IN THE SERVICE BULLETIN. *TR

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A BMW 2011 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 50 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED A LOUD CLUNKING NOISE WITH THE ILLUMINATION OF ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS. THE VEHICLE BEGIN SMOKING AS HE PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO EXIT THE VEHICLE JUST AS IT IGNITED INTO FLAMES, FOLLOWED BY AN EXPLOSION. THE POLICE WERE CALLED AND A REPORT WAS FILED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES FROM THE EXPLOSION. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TOWED BY THE STATE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND THEY ADVISED HIM THAT THEY WOULD GET BACK TO HIM AT A LATER DATE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 120.

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WHEN ACCELERATING, THERE APPEARS TO BE A 1-1.5 SECOND DELAY FROM COMPLETE STOP POSITION TO START WHEN DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR. THIS DELAYED ACCELERATION IS PROBLEMATIC ONLY FROM COMPLETE STOPPING POSITION. EXAMPLE, AT PERPENDICULAR INTERSECTION WAITING TO TURN LEFT (PULLING OUT OF A GAS STATION OR MERGING INTO TRAFFIC, THE VEHICLE REQUIRES A ROLLING OR MOVING START BEFORE THE VEHICLE WILL ACTUALLY ACCELERATE OR AT A SAFE ENOUGH SPEED TO PULL OUT INTO TRAFFIC. WHEN I AM AT A COMPLETE STOP AND TRY TO ACCELERATE BY PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR FIRMLY FROM ANY COMPLETE STOP POSITION IN A SAFE ENOUGH SPEED TO CROSS TRAFFIC WHEN TURNING, THERE IS ALWAYS A DELAYED REACTION FROM THE TIME I DEPRESS THE PEDAL AND THE TIME THE VEHICLE TAKES OFF. THIS DOES NOT TO APPEAR AS A PROBLEM THAT HAPPENS ONLY ONCE IN A WHILE, BUT APPEARS ALL THE TIME AND TO BE A MANUFACTURER ISSUES WITH THE ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION AND GEAR CONTROL. I CONTACTED THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT I SHOULD ACTIVATE THE SPORT BUTTON AND DE-ACTIVATE THE DCS CONTROL WHICH CONTROLS THE "SPIN-OUT" ACTION ON THE COUNTRYMAN. I HAVE TRIED THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE PROBLEM STILL EXIST. THIS IS NOT ONLY THE PROBLEM. THERE IS ALSO AN ISSUE WHEN I AM SIMPLY IN THE DRIVEWAY. WHEN STARTING THE CAR AND PUTTING THE VEHICLE IN REVERSE, THERE IS ALSO THAT "DELAYED" REACTION AFTER THE CAR IS ALREADY IN GEAR, ALMOST LIKE THE VEHICLE HAS TO THINK ABOUT MOVING BEFORE IT ACTUALLY DOES. THIS OCCURS EACH AND EVERY TIME WHILE IN THE VEHICLE. MY VEHICLE IS AN AUTOMATIC. I HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH BOTH AUTOMATIC AND MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS AND HAVE OVER 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND HAVE PURCHASED OVER 15 CARS IN MY DRIVING CAREER AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I HAVE EVERY EXPERIENCED THIS TYPE DRIVING EXPERIENCE WITH AN AUTOMATIC.

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OCCASIONALLY AND INTERMITTENTLY, THE DIGITAL AUDIO DISPLAY IN THE MIDDLE OF MY MINI'S LARGE SPEEDOMETER WINDOW GOES BLANK, WHILE ALLOWING YOU TO CHANGE CHANNELS AND CHOOSE FUNCTIONS (IPOD, TELEPHONE, RADIO, SATELLITE) WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE CHOOSING. THE GAS MILEAGE DIGITAL DISPLAY ABOVE THE AUDIO SYSTEM IS READABLE AT ALL TIMES. OCCASIONALLY ALSO AN ORANGE LINE WILL GO THROUGH THE DIGITAL AUDIO DISPLAY HINDERING THE ABILITY TO READ IT COMPLETELY. I BROUGHT THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALER WITHIN 2 WEEKS OF PURCHASING IT NEW TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM, BUT NOTHING WAS FOUND AND THE CAR WAS RETURNED WITHOUT A REPAIR AFTER 2 DAYS AT THE SHOP. I HAVE SUBSEQUENTLY EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM AND HAVE TAKEN PICTURES OF THE DISPLAY EACH TIME. *TR

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