Having felt a great deal of concern After reading the European Mini forum’s 2nd gen faults and fixes segment, I decided to read in detail all 45 postings along with their many sub postings to ferret out the real story. I logged the results on a spreadsheet and here’s what I learned.

. There were several (8 – some multiple) early growing pains quality problems that are no longer showing up. These had people pretty concerned for a while (November and part of December). For instance, leaking fuel pump problems were of great concern (safety issue). There were also rattles, squeaks, pieces falling off, and whatever.

. There were six non-issues (also, I deleted another 4 that shouldn’t even have been posted in this topic string).

. There were six one-of-a-kind irritants that were repaired or are being repaired by Mini.

. There were six little issues that were quickly fixed.

. There were 5 minor irritant issues.

. There were five issues that turned out to be operator misunderstandings.

. There were three issues that fell in the category of, “Nature of the Beast”.

. And, finally, there were three issues that warrant watching:

…. Gearbox problems (5 of them). These non-catastrophic issues are currently being addressed by Mini. It’s worth going to that site and reading what popey, craig, tracywebb, aisling and ichy600 have to say. It’s worth it to know what to look, listen, and feel for as we test-drive our new cars. http://www.mini2.com/forum/2nd-gen-f...-problems.html

…. Upgrade speaker problems (several). Fixed by Mini but check out those speakers when you take ownership of your car.

…. One case of Obviously lousy workmanship along with poor QC. Only once, but this kind of thing stands out glaringly. If I had been the owner I’d have not accepted the car.

Anyhow, what looked scary and horrible to me at first viewing (2nd. Gen. faults and fixes) turned out to be nothing really to lose any sleep over. There are a lot of postings there that have nothing but glowing things to say about their new MCs and MCSs. I'm not a bit concerned about this very few folks who have experienced legimate issues.

 

WOW Ken!!!

Nicely done.

 

Thanks Ken! You're Aces!!!

 

Were the gearbox problems MC or MCS, manual or automatic

 

Those were manuals... the automatics (which have a seperate thread on Mini2) have been getting rave reviews however by everyone who has driven one. Sounds like those should be very satisfying daily driving experience, even if not as track-worthy (at least, according to Gabe @ Motoringfile).

By the way, Ken: Great work. Very cool to read, and see the impression I was getting statistically proven!

 

Ken, thank you so much for investigating this as far as you did! The information is priceless and will hopefully answer a lot of the questions and worries people are having. Awesome!

 

This website and the members of the MINI community never cease to amaze me.

Excellent thread, Ken. Thanks for posting.

 

Ken, Thank You ! You saved a lot of us a lot of time, excellent summary

 

Great job Ken!

Now figure out how many people on there have a 2nd gen in thier possesion and give us percentages.

 

Hi Ken,

Thanks for your analysis. I’m sure it took a great deal of time.

I’m very interested in buying a MINI because of it's fun-to-drive factor. However, having driven Toyotas for the past 20+ years, I've come to value Toyota reliability. Consequently, I’ve been reading about the R56S on the MINI forums hoping to find assurance about the reliability of the MINI brand.

(The following excerpts are from: http://www.mini2.com/forum/2nd-gen-faults-fixes/)

FWIW:

• When a new ($$,$$$) car has issues with the engine or transmission (the most important & expensive components), that’s a red flag. It makes me wonder about the long-term reliability of that model. If a car is problematic when new, what will it be like when it’s older?

• Per Mikeythemini (England),
  Quote:

  2/6/07 The parts situation on the R56 is terrible, I've had some parts on back order since November & still no date
  If parts are this difficult to obtain in England, how long will it take to acquire parts on our side of the “pond”?

Gearbox Problems!!!!
The following issue (not specifically mentioned in your analysis) also doesn’t inspire confidence in the integrity of the body and/or MINI’s quality assurance process:

I'm currently without my S due to.....
My 2 cents.

 

It can look pretty scary when you take little snippets out of context and post them in this manner, can't it.

I could do this with my super reliable Prius on its forum. I could start with the tires that wear out very quickly, then the mileage that deteriates with time, then the gas tank that whooshes the gas back at you if you try to put in more than 8.5 gallons, or the gas gauge problems, or the screaming coolant pump problems, or the steering shaft issues, or the display screen deteriation, or the computer that gets confused, or maybe the stopping for no apparent reason in snow or mud issues.

When I had my 2002 Audi A4 it was possible to find lots of pretty serious situations with very little digging on its forum. Had I compressed together little worst case snippets as you've done here, no one visiting that forum would have ever considered buying one of those cars. Actually it ultimately turned out to be an excellent car and truly fun to drive, but the reliability for a while made the R56 look flawless by comparison. I traded it in for my reliable Toyota Prius. What, you ask, is the price of all that Toyota reliability? .. It's a boring drive. It's good 'transportation'.

I'm glad you're happy with your 20+ years of Toyota ownership. I wish you many years more (sounds like you've made your choice). Personally, after 3 years I've become a little tired of taking the super cautious route. It's time to get some excitement back into the experience of driving.

Just my 2 cents.

 

mini-s-man you only post the worst case scenarios .. ugh

 

Had I listened to the forums and taken them at face value, verbatim, I wouldn't have bought my wife's 2004 Honda Accord. Had I listened to just forums, I wouldn't have bought one of the most reliable cars on the planet. 3 years, nothing but oil changes and a couple of air filters so far. Nobody posts great motoring experiences with Honda, but do with MINI.

 

If the MINI does not inspire your confidence, then DON'T BUY ONE! Do you expect us to somehow "inspire" you, when your posts show a history of negativity and doubt toward the marque in general? I SAY AGAIN: DO NOT BUY A MINI!! Now, take your two cents and go buy some bubble gum.

 

Ken,

Great analysis....You've eased my concerns in a quick snap-shot...I'm going to order soon...right after I see then in person at the Auto Show

 

Agreed. However, these quotes are not out of context. They are the actual experience of individual owners. What is not known, is what percentage of MINI owners are experiencing such issues. Do you have any suggestions as to how we can accurately determine the incidence of reliability and quality control issues?

I couldn’t agree more. Toyota is a reliable transportation appliance – the logical, cost-effective, “safe choice”. It’s not typically a brand for car enthusiasts. satay-ayam suggested I pick up a used Celica – a good suggestion since it is both fun-to-drive & reliable. However, the C-pillars are so diagonal and wide that the car has significant blind spots for merging. Also, not much headroom, no side-curtains, or stability control.

If you’ve tired of your Toyota after only 3 years, imagine how bored I am! After 20+ years of Toyota, I am very tired of driving a “transportation appliance” on my long commute. However, “driving excitement” brings back memories of a brand with below average reliability. LinkSince the MINI Cooper has many positive attributes:

• Great looking
• Fun-to-drive
• Nearly every safety technology
• Minimal blind spots
• Reasonable MPG

It is my hope that shining a spotlight on the early experiences of the English MINI owners will inspire MINI / BMW to take quick action to improve quality control, reliability, and part availability issues. If the poll results are any indication, it looks like BMW may be able to significantly increase sales by quickly attending to these issues.

 

mini-s-man, you make good points that are worthy of their own topic posting. What I take exception to is your earlier graffiti approach, your attacking a positive oriented discussion topic and splattering it with garbage. In my city we have graffiti police who search out and destroy the attempts at blemishing that which is designed to be positive and nourishing for the neighborhood. I think it's obvious that the initial posting here was designed to bring perspective to that which distorts the reality of the Mini Cooper problem areas. Your attempt at bringing this perspective to a halt and forcing the discussion back into the realm of distortion simply breaks the rules of common courtesy and fairness when it comes to civil discussion and debate.

 

mini-s-man
here is a link for you to check out. After reading a few threads maybe you'll think the car in question is complete garbage. After all there is some pretty scary stuff in there. I think you'll find the general consensus to be quite the opposite.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...isplay.php?f=9

 

Ken
Well said. Promoting realistic discussions is admirable.
I hope yur thoughts are shared my a majority here.

 

It is my hope that shining a spotlight on the early experiences of the English MINI owners will inspire MINI / BMW to take quick action to improve quality control, reliability, and part availability issues. If the poll results are any indication, it looks like BMW may be able to significantly increase sales by quickly attending to these issues.[/quote]

I seriously doubt that the engineers and quality control people at BMW are hanging on your every word. And I'm confident that they are ON TOP OF IT as to quality control issues AS THEY COME UP at the dealerships in the REAL WORLD.
As to increasing sales...my MA mentioned that BMW was increasing USA Mini production numbers for 07 to somewhere above 60k. They will sell every one of them, in spite of your posts; good, bad or indifferent. IF you doubt this, go read all the collective magazine review of the 07 tests. They are OVERWHELMING POSITIVE on all but the smallest things, and driving enthusiasts are going to suck em all up, whether you buy one or stick with your Toyota. Again, you are making a mountain out of a molehill.

 

Good companies listen to their customers. Better companies also keep current with forums that are directly related to their products. And if they want to be ahead of the curve, they also care about their potential customer base.

Yes, from what I’ve read, MINI appears to be taking very good care of their customers after their cars have had issues. However, there appears to be a shortage of parts in England that has yet to be rectified.

Yes, the reviews of the R56’s performance have all been very positive. However, the car is too new for anyone to have done a long-term evaluation that would test its reliability. The closest indications of reliability we currently have are the individual reports by mini2 members. However, no one has yet reported what percentage of owners has had issues.