Hi everyone!

I'm new and have been lurking/admiring your Countryman for quite some time. I am on the verge of buying a 2012 Countryman S. However, now I've read about all the problems with it not starting and it FREAKS ME OUT.

I have kids. I can't have an unreliable car.

What are your experiences? Is this a select few or is the non-start the norm?

HELP!

 

What problems have you read about - and where?

 

^ This.

I bought one because of the reliability of a Mini.

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-no-start.html

 

It's a vehicle, things happen, and on a international forum when something goes wrong members report/post it. After that, everyone jumps on with what they are experiencing which in most cases is a great way to help solve problems.

However I don't think basing your decision on forum posts should be a deal killer, especially with such a SMALL sample of drivers. It's sort of like saying to yourself, "hmmm...AOL Auto listed the Countryman ALL4 as one of the top 50 worst vehicles ever so it must suck."

Most likely it will not happen to you, quality control now days is good. My wife is on her 3rd MCS and I'm on my 1st Countryman S, no problems what so ever.

Hope this was helpful.

 

Thank you. That's what I'm telling myself. I had a VW Beetle the 2nd year they came out, too. Had no issues from it.

Plus, with the roadside assistance and warranty, I think we'll be okay.

I just wanted to see if others had problems, too.

 

It's my first Mini and will be our first family car and I'm super excited about it! I think the problems listed here are not super common just people having problems and they post them here in hopes to find answers and get opinions from fellow motorists. So sure, you're going to see a few threads about people having problems but I don't think it's anything to worry about.

 

Yeah, the roadside and warranty are a included bonus, not having to pay for AAA.

I will say, the Countryman gets compliments everywhere I go on how much room it has and with you having kids the extra room in back is amazing. I'm 6' and the seat on all of my vehicles are always to the rear, even my 2010 Yukon had less knee room than the Countryman. When I show friends/people the Countryman they are amazed at how much room there is in the backseats. People can actually sit behind the driver seat now. Hopefully you'll love it!

 

My wife and I are on our 4th MINI, and despite the occasional problem, they're definitely worth it. It sucks having to change your plans when something breaks, but life goes on.

 

I just got my 1st Countryman (and first MINI ever) this month and I have to say it's the best choice in car i've made. i know german parts are not cheap and bmw was known to have electrical problems, but with the warranty, you'd be covered for a while. and lets face it, how long will you keep the car anyways, nowadays cars turnover more quickly than before, it's not like the old days where you keep your vehicles more than 10 years. and as for electrical problems that audis and bmws are plagued with, i would think minis will have less of those problems since our cars are not so electrically complicated as all the other bmws. on top of that, this is the 2nd production year of the countryman, so you're not risking as much as the 1st year production cars. in every aspect, the pros of going with mini outweighs the cons. plus, with the MINI/BMW brand name, dont you think it's worth the dive? I did

 

First year of a new model (although using an existing engine), so it's not unreasonable to have some problems. I wanted a smaller 5-door hatch with AWD, and the ALL4 was the one that came out of a lengthy car selection process. I decided to get the extended warranty, as I've done for other first-year cars, but your car will be past that point.

I've experienced a couple of hiccups during accelerating, and some critters decided they liked deconstructing the engine compartment insulation to build a nest on top of the engine - otherwise my first MINI is going pretty well. I'm making the service appointment for my first official service call requested by the car, and I'm looking forward to what I can get for a loaner.

In my experience, those who have problems tend to be very vocal on forums like NAM - and those who are having a great time are often underrepresented. That's not necessarily a bad thing - sometimes that's how things get fixed. As a self-declared lurker you may have noticed. I would suggest that the Countryman has turned out to be a pretty good choice, based on my experience. Strong, comfortable, zippy, very flexible in use, fun.

 

I wouldn't have bought one if I weren't confident that it would serve me well. 2012 is the way to go for new, otherwise, the 2011s will be fine under warranty work, but with the price difference (or lack thereof) I'd get a new 2012.

All companies have products with issues, especially automobiles (they're very complex). Every forum will illustrate that. For the most part they're isolated issues or will find resolution through voluntary recalls.

If you're afraid of losing sleep at night, buy an appliance-like Honda. It will always start and get you there, but it won't make you smile every time you walk up to it nor will it make a crappy commute seem a little less so.

Good luck,

 

I love mine, I have kids too and they certainly haven't suffered anything besides looks of envy in the school yard.

I am at 20,000km, almost one year and I have had one problem that was fixed quickly. The only other issue was fixed with new windsheild wipers.

It is a great little car and I still love getting in it to drive.

 

This.

 

We've had six MINI's, all S's, currently an S & an All4S. One of our '08's had a seatbelt tensioner replaced and an '09 had the high pressure fuel pump replaced. Other than that we've enjoyed 4+ years troublefree ownership. Like others have said, cars are mechanical, made by humans, and some will have issues. People on forums tend to be more vocal about problems. Some people never post until they have a problem. Not many post daily to say, "Another day with no problems". Take the info for what it is. When my HPFP started to go I recognized it right off & took it in because of the info on here. For the most part the info and people on here are very helpful.

 

Good to read all of these responses. I must say that I also had similar thoughts and worries early on, but overcame them and ordered mine on 01.13.12. I am as excited as ever to get it!

 

My experience with MINI:
06 MINI Cooper S Hatchback purchased new now has 77k miles and has been extremely reliable. Only issue has been a motor mount which was replaced under warranty in one day. MINI also replaced an O2 sensor for free much past the warranty period as part of a service bulletin.
12 CM All4 is too new to form a long term opinion but in 6 weeks and 2,200 miles there have been no issues and I am very happy with the car.

I have also owned 8 BMW's over the past 15 years. Some were purchased new and some were high mileage beaters. They are fantastic cars.

Last weekend I drove from Reno to Huntington Beach and back. I was planning on taking the CM but since the weather in LA was gorgeous I made a last minute decision to take my 02 BMW 330ci convertible (dry weather through the mountain passes and 77 degrees is top down weather, not 4WD drive weather). The car was in winter storage mode and on Friday morning I literally unplugged the battery tender, fired it up and drove 550 miles in the 8 hours that followed. This is a ten year old car with 50k miles that has only had tire / fluid / filter changes and all other parts are orignal from factory (including brakes and battery). It was a 1,300 mile weekend and the car ran beautifully.

 

Once again I feel obligated to speak up on behalf of the silent majority. 2011 Countryman S ALL4. 11/10 build date. 25,000 miles as of this morning. No squeaks, no rattles, no peeling, no stumbles, no breaks, no leaks, no warning lights. Just 13 months of pure (but practical) fun.

 

kart58 - I wish I'd got your Mini. My biggest complaint is with rattles. There's too much hard plastic in my Countryman S, especially for a $30k car. My seat belts rattle against the hard plastic. My cup holders rattle. My parcel tray rattles. My flat load floor rattles. I took it to the shop because I couldn't stand it. I will say they seem to have fixed the cup holders. Their suggestion for the seat belts was to keep them fastened when not in use. Really? That's pretty unpractical. I went to the local crafts store and bought some black felt with a sticky back. I cut it into 1" strips and put it on the hard plastic where the seat belts rub, and that fixed the problem. Pretty disappointing that I had to come up with that idea. I also removed the parcel tray from the car. I keep my flat load floor down all the time because it rattles when in the upright/locked position.

On the pro side, the car is fun to drive. I wouldn't say it's as fun to drive as my '03 Cooper S, but it still is fun. The manual is pretty good overall and the steering is great. There is indeed a lot of room in the backseat. I wish more manufacturers would get the idea that most of us would rather have more room in the back seat than in the trunk - Mini definitely got this one right.

 

I have a 2012 Countryman S purchased early January and have no rattling issues - and my car is lowered which would normally "increase" any rattling noise.

 

Lucky you. Mine is also a '12, purchased in October '11. Does anyone ever sit in your backseats? I notice the rattling after someone has sat in a seat and gets out. The metal part of the seat belt is twisted at this point, and hits the hard plastic. Also, how about your cup holders and parcel tray?

 

In regards to rattles, I noticed that unused seat belt buckles could be hitting interior trim. This is dependent on the position of the buckle when the seatbelt is not in use and there is a sliding plastic gizmo to adjust it.
I also once had the boot shelf bounce and generate some noise when I had too much junk in the trunk. I repositioned the junk, the shelf then laid in its correct spot and the noise was gone.

This is the only unexpected noise polution I have noticed and both instances were easily solved.

 

Maybe you had a lazy guy at the assembly plant that put your interior together or I probably just got the worker that loves his job LOL. I have passengers all the time - kids + I have sat back there myself and can't say I noticed any rattling. Have both cup holders installed in the rear and no noise either. Up front I have my sunglass holder and arm rest with no rattles either. I even have my son's baby rattle in the cup holder and that doesn't rattle either JK All seriousness though, I couldn't be happier with the build quality so far. At least you were able to easily identify and fix the rattles. On another point though - road noise with the stock tires is very loud on the freeway - hopefully some new tires when I upgrade the wheels will help with that! Until then, I crank up my music on the freeway~

 

I'm about to retire my 05 MCS and also contemplating an upgrade to the Countryman. Do the new 2012 Countryman models have all the bug fixes that are required for addressing problems of the first year builds? I wonder if Mini has implemented non-peeling chrome trims, more reliable fuel pumps, more reliable thermostats, sensors, ecu firmware updates, noise fixes, and fire suppression systems (kidding). I'm really glad I didn't buy the 2011. If Mini has address all these problems then I would feel more confident to purchase the Countryman perhaps later this year.

 

1500+ miles on my 2012 and no problems YET what so ever.... fingers crossed. My only complaint - I wish the ipod connector was longer.