FerRrari,

Did you ask your insurance company if this will increase your insurance premiums?

 

What is bothersome is that this represents yet another class of problems with the R56. High-pressure fuel pump, timing chain tensioner, now fires. What next?

 

 

My insurance company still hasn't contacted me with an offer or anything, I'm guessing they're still investigating. I wouldn't expect my premium to increase though, then again I never expected my car to burst into flames while it was parked.

 

New thread about class action lawsuit!

 

Hey guys, I think we have things sorted out and hopefully in 2 weeks this whole issue will be closed once and for all. I'll post an update once things get finalized.

 

Its about time, sure took them long enough.

 

I know you feeling I just picked up my 2012 mini cooper s convertible last week.

 

Did your car also catch on fire?

 

I have a feeling they ordered the car and it felt like it took forever to receive.

 

First gens also have a history of fires related to the EPS system and also ABS. I would have thought it solved with the second generation as the EPS system is an entirely new design over the old one.

 

Well, then they clearly have no clue of how I've been feeling.

 

R56 fires seem to be related to an electrical fault in the auxiliary water pump connectors according to NHTSA.

 

Good, now that they've isolated the problem, I'm sure we can expect MINI to fix it just in time for the 2015 model year! I understand the melting hood scoop is slated to be addressed in 2016 along with the dipstick modification.

 

Sorry to hear about this. It's troubling indeed. Glad I opted for a justa instead of an S. BMW really needs to get it's act together. I also have a 1 series (128i luckily) and every other thread is about HPFP failures.

 

I'm assuming the time that it's taking to settle this is because Mini and your insurance company are fighting over who is responsible and ultimately who will pay the bill?

I guess I can see it from both perspectives but it sure would be nice to take care of the customer first. And this is true of both companies since you are a customer to both. But as we know it's all about the almighty dollar and in cases like this the customer is going to take a back seat especially if legal gets involved as they most assuredly are.

I hope the best for you and hope you get a new Mini or something of your choosing if you chose not to go the Mini route again. What a hassle I really feel for you!!

Good luck.

 

Soooo do I have to have mine burn up to feel your pain. What I ment was I just picked mine up and would feel so horrible if that happened to me. So sorry you have had to go through this. It scares me to think it could happen in the garage. This and a couple of the other threads have really affected my convidence in the car. I love my little car. Now I have to work on getting the worry out of owning her.

 

It took time because MINI had to lauch an official investigation which was completed by Dec 16th, then there was some time for us to figure out our options based on proposals from both our insurance (total the car, get KBB) and BMW NA. I have no problem with the companies taking their time and making sure this was not an intentional fire, negligence, etc but I would have expected both companies to try to keep me as a happy customer (i.e. give me a loaner/rental car while this matter is investigated, if the investigation turned out against me make me pay).

Well, not only did Liberty Mutual made me return the rental car after 2 weeks because they had declared it totaled and so didn't care to wait for BMW's investigation (since they would get their money from BMW anyways why wait and see if the customer gets a better settlement?) but after I convinced them that it was on our best interest (and thus their legal obbligation) to wait for the result the investigation they "allowed" me to go ahead and rent the car again for the remainder of the 30 days in my policy. Given the coming and going with the car, I misjudged the return day and my insurance company billed me for the extra day ! That's shitty customer service in my book.

 

Ugh I really hate dealing with insurance companies. They seem always to be out for their own good and not for the person paying the premiums.

I hope it all works out but I would be damned if I would purchase another MINI ever...

 

I'm not sure that I would go that far. I think this is an isolated incident. Think back about all the other cars out there where this has happened to. There are quite a few.

A simple fuel leak on a hot manifold can cause something this like. Think about it thousands of mass produced autos. It bound to happen. It's terrible when it happens to you. I would be more soured with the lack of C/S then the actual car itself.

It's unfortunate that GOOD customer service is getting harder and harder to find. And I think that is across industries.

CNBC has a special about just this subject this week. The trend seems to be that some companies are finally starting to get it. (I guess you would when your customers are defecting left and right.)

Let's hope it spreads.

In the end I hope it works out for you FerRrari

 

Pat, this was not an isolated incident (there have been 12 other similar fires), nor were there any fuel leaks, it's a well documented design defect the NHTSA is investigating.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs...36&docType=INV

 

Yes I remember now. Still I think in the grand scheme of things it is a small number of incidents, BUT, the problem is very serious and possibly could cause serious injury. Not trying the lesson the severity of the issue but I'm not sure that I would eliminate the brand entirely. (Though my wife may have other ideas if it happened to her.) That was my point.

Granted the lack of C/S makes it easier to make the decision to write the brand off. (And the insurance company to boot.)

 

I can't deny it. I am curious to how this all turned out for you? I hope well.

I got a Justa because I heard the S's had more trouble. I would have never expected an MCS to just catch fire.

I have less than 400 miles on mine so far. Hopefully it will be trouble free.

 

This whole fire issue has bothered me, I have an 09 MCS. I no longer park it in the garage, worried it will catch fire and take the house with it! I hope the NHTSB gets Mini to identify the problem and do a recall/fix.

 

Transport Canada just issued a recall for all Mini S models from 2007 through 2011. See the link:
http://autos.sympatico.ca/auto-news/...lled-in-canada
I learned this after being being told that my 2009 Mini S Convertible's auxiliary water pump was failing. FYI: The only indication of a pending problem was the check engine light coming on when starting the car two weeks ago. Restarting it and the light went away. I mentioned it during normal service at the dealer and was told it would cost $516 to replace. I got a loaner and started contacting Customer Service.
Considering the recall in Canada I'm hoping that Mini will take care of it. I'm out of warranty, 61k miles. Between 59K (November) and 61K (January) I've replaced the main water pump $410, timing chain $2200, and high pressure fuel pump. Fortunately Mini picked up the fuel pump and $1700 for the timing chain (very good customer service).
I love driving the Mini -- however the totality of the repair experience is making me question the integrity of the design -- sigh