Well, first of all, I got Penelope back 5 days later and I did have to pay for it. They told me they won't cover it under warrenty because they don't feel as if it was a part malfunction. Marney suggested I turn it in to my insurance to cover the cost; which was $850!!! Knowing that doing that would only make it take longer to get my car back, I just went ahead and paid for it.
First of all that staggering price comes from the fact that they charge a whopping $130/hr for labor, plus the fact that the new control arm (the only damage, as suspected) cost nearly $200 for that piece of OEM crap. Then, I had to pay the mandatory alignment cost of $200 plus labor. I WAS PISSED!
I told them that I would be taking all of this up with BMW or MINI USA and I did just that.
The next week, I talked to a nice guy named Scott who seemed to be some kind of customer care rep. with BMW (also a MINI owner). I told him my story including a couple details not mentioned in this thread and I really believed that he felt very sorry to hear about all of this. He told me he's going to be talking with a BMW regional manager about my issue and ultimately, try and reinburse me.
So right now I'm waiting to hear back from Scott. He said he'd call me back or E-mail me sometime in the next week. It sounds like that whatever this regional manager decides will be the FINAL conclusion to this gripping saga.

 

Well, it took a month but I have GREAT news!
It looks like taking major issues like this up with BMW is worth it in the end. They agreed to reimburse me the $850.00 I paid the dealer to get this problem fixed. I guess they decided that the dealer should have in fact covered this incident under warranty. Good to know since I seriously almost died when this happened and I was pretty pissed to hear that they weren't even gonna cover it under the warranty...

So anyway, I have less then 400 miles left before 50,000. I guess pretty soon we'll see what starts breaking after it expires...
*disclaimer*- I am actually a very happy and confident MINI owner, the above comment was sarcasm.

 

wow, sounds like BMW/MINI ended up taking good care of you!! its always refreshing hearing stories like these of real customer service!

 

Now THAT is customer service.

One rarely sees manufacturer's reps trolling the user community waters. Most companies do everything they can to steer clear of their customers.

You just earned a dozen brownie points by just being here, MD!

Good goin'

-B

.

 

I'm waiting for my dealer to hear back from BMW Canada for the same problem. The good news is that my rear right lower control arm failed while I was driving slowly in a parking lot. It could have been much worse if it had failed five minutes later at highway speeds.

Thankfully it doesn't seem to be a common problem, but its worth checking those control arms anytime you have the car on a lift.

 

Hey Chinook did you have any luck with Mini Canada? I think my rear control arm snapped (haven't got the official confirmation yet) on Sunday. I was stopped, not even moving when it happened. I have a 2003 MCS which doesn't have warranty so I'm worried that it won't be covered even though it clearly seems like a manufacture defect.

Here are a couple of pictures:

 

That looks very much like my fracture. It was -20, and we can't have cameras at work so I don't yet have any photos.

Two weeks to the day after the failure and I still haven't heard back from Crowfoot MINI.

There are threads on MINI2 on the same topic:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...n-failure.html

Did you manage to pull over safely?

 

Lucky for me I was stopped when it happened. Actually it probably happened earlier in the day but didn't dislodge until when I was stopped, thankfully. I have the part with me and I can tell that it must have first cracked at one of the holes on the arm. Then cracked all the way through.

It's an obvious problem that BMW/Mini recognizes but do not want to recall. The part they put in now is totally redesigned, fully enclosed and has a better build.

 

Sounds very much like a recall/inspection is in order. Have you guys reported it to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)? Warranties shouldn't matter on something this serious, nor should the dealer's "foreman" decide who pays. After all, I'll bet one good lawsuit would pay for an awful lot of replacements!

 

Haha, I love Hilary. They spout off the worst BS there. I absolutely HATE taking my car to them for any kind of service. Bob Smith is easily one of the worst dealerships in Southern California. They're horribly overpriced for everything.

 

Yes, please contact NHTSA on this one. Prior to this thread, I'd never heard of a control arm failure on ANY car in normal use, let alone multiple failures within the same model.

This is clearly a safety issue and I'm surprised BMW hasn't treated it more urgently. (On second thought, I'm not that surprised...)

 

FLAME ON:

RustyBoy... It must be you who has a problem. First of all Hilary was not the service writer for this issue, Marney was. Secondly, I have NEVER had an issue with Bob Smith for ANY of my cars, BMW(6) or MINI(3). This includes Smith's MINI side working with me when 3 fuel pumps were shredded in less than a week, in part due to bad gas. I did not pay one dime.

Is Smith overpriced on parts? Likely as they do not discount like other dealers.

And in the end Ashley got taken care of.

For you to sit here and flame a dealer on an issue that was resolved 6 months ago, all I can say is shame on you.

FLAME OFF:

Now back the much more important issue of rear control arm failure; perhaps we should start a list of those affected and the situation surrounding the failure?

 

They blamed it on bad gas? That alone would keep me from going there...

 

Fact is that is was borderline bad gas... I purchased the gas at the car wash (didn't realize it was no longer a Texaco station) on the southeast corner of Devonshire and Reseda Blvd. The bench test showed less than 10% alcohol content but the diaphragms were literally disintegrating overnight sitting in the gas. The 1st replacement failed as quickly as the original pump. The 2nd replacement failed as quickly as the other 2 pumps. It was then that they drained the tank and filled with name brand gas. I've had no problems since. So yes, it was borderline gas that shredded the pumps.

I will defend Bob Smith as they have never in 9 years done me wrong.

 

Is it really "borderline" gas if it has the power to dissolve fuel pump diaphragms overnight?

btw, I remain a skeptic, but at least they took care of the problem for you.

 

My dealer called back. The MINI Canada rep and the shop foreman have decided that the control arm is not a warranty issue. I've asked for their explanation in writing, and started the registry search that precedes the small court claim. Its depressing that the onus is on me to prove that I didn't slide sideways into a curbt, but I've asked them to double check amongst themselves before we go down the small claims path.

The photos apparently show that 75% of the control arm failed and bent long enough ago to get dirty. The last 25% seperated when the arm failed completely. The service rep explained that between the bend in the control arm and the possibilty of a bad lift, bad tow or bad driving that MINI Canada wont fix it. I'm waiting a day longer for the more articulate written explanation, then I'll have to get it flatbedded to my neighbourhood garage.

 

It sucks. I took it up with Mini and the basically didn't care. I'm now going to go to Transport Canada. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

What is Transport Canada? Is it some sort of governmental agency like our NHTSA? If not, I'm sure Canada has a similar agency--please report it so that we can begin to build a database. This shouldn't be ignored.

(Or manipulated by MINI.)

 

Sorry I forgot to put the link in. Transport Canada is a government agency. I'm going to give them a call and see what needs to be done in order for them to start an investigation.

Here's the link:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/tp/tp2822/page4_e.htm

 

My dealer has nothing more to do with the problem now. DVESH, can you send me an e-mail or a PM to discuss further.

Steve, if you read the threads, I'll have only good things to say about the MINI Canada 'helpline' if you can resolve this.

Here are other related control arm threads:
[SIZE=2]08 Feb [/SIZE][SIZE=2]http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fixes/152396-broken-control-arm.html[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2][/SIZE][SIZE=2]06 Jan [/SIZE][SIZE=2]http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fixes/108796-rear-control-arm-issues.html[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]05 Jan [/SIZE][SIZE=2]http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fixes/80969-rear-suspension-failure.html[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]04 Sep [/SIZE][SIZE=2]http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fixes/69981-broken-part-underside-whats-called.html[/SIZE]

 

it's yours for the cost of shipping if you want it. It's just a stocker from my 02, PM me your address and I'll send it off. I'll let you know what shipping is and you can send me a check by return mail.

No biggie, and I"m happy to help if it's a help to you.

Matt

 

+1 for the MINI community

 

Here's the link for the U.S. equivalent:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

 

After reading this, I have 3 questions:

1. At what age (years/miles) has this been occuring?

2. In what model years has this been occuring?

3. Has this been changed or redesigned in the R56?

 

it happens but not that often. I can remember less than 10 occurances that come to mind. That said, I haven't been looking for it. I'm not sure that it's entirely mileage related. The R56 uses different arms. Don't know if they are better or worse.

Hope that helps!

Matt

ps, it's obviously crap design.. But I don't expect Mini to step up and admit it. Put it in the mushroom strut tower category....