Good to know, it definitely felt like it was driving fine. I'm glad I didn't have it towed in to be looked at now

 

We need F56 owners who put lots of miles on their vehicles to post in this thread. I didn't run into problems with my R52 until 65000mi., at which point it had some very costly repairs (clutch pilot bearing and guide tube needed replacement, dual-mass flywheel had Chewbacca noise but couldn't reproduce it often enough to get it replaced by Mini).

There should be a handful of heavy drivers of the F56 coming up on 60K miles by now. There should be plenty that have passed the 40K mark. Please post any repairs, big or small (but especially the big ones) if you could--thanks!

 

Boy, I'd be interested in what folks have got for mileage. I know I'm not on the top of the pile, but I've averaged 1750 miles/month for 15 months and have been totally trouble free for all 26K. Unfortunately my 16' JCW will be in next month so I'll be starting the clock all over again.

 

31k so far - nothing worth mentioning for troubles. plenty worth mentioning for giggles.

touch wood,

Charlie

 

I'm at 11,500 miles in 9 months, and zero--as in 0, nada, no--defects. Very happy--my R56 was quite reasonably reliable in my opinion, but this car beats it hands down. In fact, it's the first new car I've EVER owned that didn't even visit the dealer for servicing until 10,000 miles--and that was just an oil change (we'd changed it ourself at 5,000). Very impressed!

 

I hate to jinx myself, but my '15S has been flawless.

 

31k is pretty high--glad you're doing well.

Giggles are why I'm asking about the F56--in spite of the trouble I had with a few defects or design flaws in my R52 and that I have tallied up thousands in repair bills between 65k and 100k miles (after the extended warranty ran out its years, LOL), the R52 has just been so much fun to drive that the F56 is my first choice in next car to buy.

My mechanic friends would think I'm crazy, but no other car I've driven has put a smile on my face this often.

Anyway, fun is fun, but at what price? I tallied up my total cost of ownership on my R52 so far, and it's borderline too expensive to own and drive. Based on the input of F56 drivers, I'll figure out whether it will be too costly to own a 2017 F56 bought in late 2016, so thanks in advance to everyone who posts problems in this thread!

 

I ran over a nail and I didnt buy wheel coverage :/.

I had to pay $263 for the new tire from discount tire. Mini dealer was charging me $320.

I also added coverage from discount tire on all my wheel for $35 each. So if I get a leak or a nail or whatever. They will replace the whole tire for free. Also wheel rotation and balancing are included. I think this is a better solution to the wheel coverage from Mini dealership.

 

I've done this on all the Minis I've owned. I take them in when I get them and buy the road hazard for about $150 and I'm covered from the start. Much cheaper than the wheel coverage and it includes balancing and rotating.

 

Yesterday didn't you say you had an upstream a/f sensor replaced? What were the symptoms? Did the engine set a code? Covered by warranty?

Thanks...

 

I get what you're saying, but there's no comparison with the older MINIs and the new. Some of the early cars had absolutely ridiculous problems, like door openers that failed, windshields that cracked, and those infamous mushrooming struts. You won't see that level of trouble with the F56. On the other hand, the more electronics that are involved, the more potentially expensive problems. We were luckier than most on our R56, in that it escaped some of the problems associated with that model. The '07 cars were supposed to be terrible on reliability (look at the typical Consumer Reports-type ratings!). Mine didn't have any of those problems, although as a very early '07, it had a few of its own--all pretty minor and covered under warranty. I suspect being a week 3 build actually had an advantage, as there was probably more supervision by the engineers. Cars that were built a couple of months after mine seemed to have more problems.

Fast forward past my 103,000 mile R56 and into the F56. I expected problems--it's a new introduction, after all--but never got them. I seriously never expected not to need to go to the dealer at some point before this...and I truly didn't expect to only need a (free) oil change when I did go.

We do take care of our cars. We play on our Arkansas roads (lots of twisties), but regular oil changes (every 5,000 miles) are important to us. And we don't put cheap gas in any of our cars. They all get 93 premium, usually Shell. The mechanics I've talked to say that is why we haven't had the problems the direct injection can cause, or the timing chain tensioner. Talk to your service manager--s/he will tell you that makes a difference! One told me that the typical MINI comes in with 2 quarts of oil in its system. That's not conducive to longevity, is it?

 

Mine was delivered on Oct 5 and now have 17,000 mines on her. Excellent so far.

 

I have a July 2014 build Euro spec MCS. So far no problem with my car.
Just had first annual free oil change at 4000km. Here in Indonesia, after resetting the oil change notification, it's showing only 8000km and 12 months before the next oil change. That's only 5000miles interval which is shorter than US spec cars.
SA checked the key fob and there was no recalls.
When I asked him what's the most common problem with the F56 so far, he said it's the oil leak from the heatsink-looking part of the oil filter housing. Around 4-5 F56 so far has come in for this problem.
Considering there's probably less than 100 F56 in Indonesia, that's a pretty high percentage. I'm watching mine closely for this oil leak problem.

 

Yes, none except the check engine light, yes but I do not recall the code, and yes.

The only other glitch was the exhaust side of the VANOS system - also repaired at no charge.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

The Mrs got her 14 F56 Cooper in July of 14. 21k miles, only issue was a reprogram for the Auto off engine as it shut down on her a few times while still moving.

I got my 15 F56 S in Nov of 14, 17k miles. Going in for a new Flywheel on the 19th, 2nd one our store has swapped. Squeals like a bad belt when ever its hot and driven hard.

 

I average 3200miles per month. No troubles at 26k. Picked the car up brand new in November 2015.
"Stone Cold Steve Austin reliable". Great in the snow too. Others sliding off the NJTP on ice and my F56 non S just kept motoring on. A wonderful vehicle BMW has created.

 

When it works, I really, really love this car...

Just ticked over 30k miles in 15 months (80 mile/day commute)

- the car tried to kill me with the software error (went into limp mode with a drivetrain malfunction at 70 mph)
- the car ate its own turbo at 19k
- oil filter housing issue
- it's in now for battery charging issues, clutch smell on startup, as well as the A/C evaporator smell, the side impact recall, and the right side rear window seal failure

I really love this car, when it works.

 

Both of our cars are March 2015 builds. Both right at 2000 miles and trouble free thus far.

 

the wife has around 13k miles on her '15 Cooper with not a single issue.
My '15 S though has been in numerous times for control arm bushings and many times for the suspension noise including replacement of the rear shocks which has only slightly improved the situation.

the good news is that everything in the interior now creaks and rattles after 9k miles that I can barely hear the once annoying suspension knock.

 

I have a 2015 MINI Cooper hatchback with the JCW exterior package (so I could get it in Chili Red) that has about 1,000 miles on it. The only problem so far has been locking the door. I have the comfort access system and when I tried to lock the car, I had to hit the door lock button about 3 times. I set the door lock system to not automatically lock the doors when driving and it seems to have solved the door lock problem.

 

Car and Driver in its August issue is not too positive about their MINI at over 21k miles. 49 days in service in 3 months.

 

Could you elaborate on this one? How did it "eat its own turbo?"

 

WOW. Out of 90 days, 49 in the shop? That's over 50%!!!

Maybe I'll wait till the 2018 model year to buy an F56...

 

Actually, the magazine says in part: "Not to be outdone by the Corvette [a blown engine, etc., etc., etc.], our Cooper S spent a staggering 49 days in service during a three-month period." Apparently, most of the time was spent trying to track down suspension problems and rattles.

 

Yeah, the famous rattles and suspension problems seem to have been carried forth from generation to generation.

One of the exciting problems with my R52 was that a nut or bolt in the suspension actually worked its way loose and fell completely out, resulting in very loud clunks whenever I would make a wide left turn out of a sloped driveway (which is most driveways due to the design for rain runoff). KA-LUNK! The dealer told me some portion of the suspension that was secured by the bolt was slamming into some other portion.

And it has always rattled like it is falling apart. One time I went off the edge of a large 1" to 1.5" thick steel plate that was in the street covering some street repair. Both wheels on the front axle basically dropped a mere 1 to 1.5 inches going 15mph. It sounded like I had run directly into a telephone pole--KA-BOOM! Obviously I hadn't, and there was no damage, but it sure sounded bad. And no, it wasn't the plate making the crashing noise--the sounds clearly came from the Mini itself, not outside it. It makes the same sound hitting potholes, and with SoCal's terrible roadsurfaces, that means KA-BOOM every time I drive anywhere.

You would think that after 14 or 15 years they would have figured this stuff out, but my guess is that they purposefully kept the suspension ultra-tight with very little to no dampening to retain the go-kart feel.