HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED IN MINI/BMW RIGHT NOW. This wide-open vent in the lower driver's side bumper left my family and I stranded a couple of hundred miles from home this past weekend. A small stone or something hit the fins of the auxiliary radiator pointed out in the pic, dumping my coolant all over the freeway causing the engine to overheat and go into limp mode. It's a 2019 Countryman S ALL4 with 5500 miles. I've always been a bit leary of this thing. Just seemed too "out in the open" and unprotected. It looks like I was right. This was an $850 fix at the mini dealer, plus the $250 transport I had to arrange to get the car back to my city, plus the rental car fee. Luckily I have AAA so they took care of the 35-mile tow to the dealer. So anyone who does a lot of freeway driving, I highly recommend you add some sort of protection here to save yourself the cost/hassle of future repairs.

NOW, HERE IS THE KICKER. Apparently, BMW KNOWS THIS IS A PROBLEM! Because the new part HAS A ROCK GUARD. It's a $60 part itemized on the invoice. I contacted MINI USA about it, asking to be reimbursed for the parts and labor only, not my other expenses, on the grounds that this should have either A)Been a recall, or B)Been taking care of under warranty. They looked into it and came back one business day later with an answer of "Sorry, no." So if you want to avoid the same expense, I highly recommend that any auto transmission countryman owners install a screen behind that vent, in front of the radiator, because MINI will not stand behind their product. And think about how BMW handles poor design decisions next time you are looking for a new car. The first pic is the old radiator, the second pic is the new radiator with rock guard.



https://photos.smugmug.com/PersonalS...sng396K-X3.jpg

 

Doesn't surprise me at all.
I bought a new, 2012, RS1000RR motorcycle from BMW.

As the warranty period started to come to an end, I had a little over 6 months left, I made up a list of things that needed fixing. The list ended up with nine things that weren't too big a deal, and three things that were somewhat of a big deal. AND...one of them was NOT on my list that THEY deemed necessary on their own, that required the engine to come out. Turns out I was right, the thing that they said was bad...was not, but I'm getting ahead of myself..!
Anyway, I knew the service writer, we got along well. He called BMW, USA and read off the list while I was there. He came back with questions to each items on the list.
The end of the phone call, came with zero items to be repaired..!

Granted, some things were somewhat cheap and easy to repair (!?!), but one was visible and was not even a used item...the passenger seat cover. It was falling apart.
They asked me if the bike sat in the sun ? Yea, I saw where this was going... I said that "the back seat went everywhere the front seat went".. He asked again, I answered the same way. I did not remove the front seat and not the rear seat, while the bike sat in the parking lot at work, sit in the sun by itself..! Interesting thing, the front seat cover...was in perfect condition. They basically told me to go ****-off and die ! Rude is the word.
Right then my thought of buying ANY new vehicle from BMW again evaporated.

I HAD...planned on looking into a new Mini at the time. I actually had looked into them in 2005 and 06, but wasn't convinced that that's really what I wanted. Then thought again around this time (2014).

I traded the bike for a new EBR and dropped any thought of a new Mini Cooper. It took me until later 2018 to buy the 2005 JCW that I did buy. I do my best to not buy afny factory parts, unless absolutely required.

d2, don't hold your breath on getting any better outcome on your radiator.

Mike

 

I noticed the same type of flaw on my 2006 Mini Cooper S.
I ended up making a metal screen with 1/8" openings to protect my main radiator..
I've had many items caught in my metal screening that would have put a small hole in my cooling system.

I suggest all owners of any "Mini" to take a few minutes to inspect your radiator; you may want to install a radiator screen
just for your own piece of mind.

 

This and this. ^^^
Yep, I don't expect any further action from BMW. They made their decision, which is unethical IMO.
And yes, this should be a warning to others that have this design on their MINI... INSTALL A SCREEN. Before you end up stranded like we were.

BTW, something I should add that has come up on the Facebook groups where I also posted this.
MINI ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE WILL NOT PAY FOR YOUR TOW IN THIS CASE. They will definitely help you. They will arrange your tow for you.
But many assume that they will cover the cost in all situations which is false.
Taken from the MINI Warranty docs... "Towing requests for vehicles disabled because of casualty, fire, act of God or violation of law (federal, state or local) are accepted at the expense of the owner/driver."
I learned this the hard way when I got caught in high water and stalled. I ended up getting stuck with a $800 tow bill (the mini dealer was closed for the day so it was towed to the yard and then the dealer the next day... two tows) and stuck dealing with one of the worst tow companies ever. Massive headache. This is why I got AAA directly after. Worked out great this time around.

 

I can understand your frustration. Obviously MINI/BMW had gained knowledge that the radiator behind this opening was susceptible to stone strikes. I am sure they had their fingers crossed that the occurrences of puncture would be small enough to allow such a design. Either way, they later did something about it to limit future losses by incorporating a guard with that cost being passed on to the car owner during the repair. Cool way to do business...right?

When I look at the front of my 2013 MINI I don't see the direct exposure to the radiator behind my grille that you have. Come to think of it, my previous 2006 MINI didn't have that exposure either. I'm with you on this, MINI/BMW should have put a guard in front of this radiator from the start. Don't give up your fight. As a matter of fact, I know you "contacted" MINI USA but, a phone call or an email may just not be enough. A few months back I had a problem with MINI USA and after several phone calls which amounted to zero, I wrote a letter to MINI USA Customer Relations and got a different response...a good response. Try it, it may help your case.

 

Thank you, that is a good idea.
Although some sort of reimbursement would be nice, it's the principle of the thing that has me really irked. I was just going to chalk it up to poor design, that I realized was poor design before this even happened. But to update the part with a rock guard, charge me for parts and labor, and then basically just blow me off when I request reimbursement, not even a counter offer to refund a portion of it, that's what really got me. Unethical practices and no concern about keeping a customer happy, that until this has had no problem with the brand. This is not my first MINI, either.
Thanks for the tip.

 

There's literally hundreds of car models on the road since 2002 or so with this same design.....My 2007 Element is same way...we own two different model years, one with 120K and one with 80K miles.....no issues like this and they do take a beating....

I'm afraid it was just a bit bad luck friend....Cheers !

 

234K miles on my R53.....98% all highway driving in New England states.....your fears never came to fruition....

 

Hey guys, you all have your valid points here, which I respect, but...the fact of the matter is, by some means MINI became aware of this design flaw...then decided that something needed to be done about it to protect the radiator. If they felt there was no issue, there wouldn't now be a screen. Clearly, the screen is an admission of guilt, predicated on after-the-fact awareness.

MINI has failed d2mini by not being accountable for their design flaw which has caused this MINI owner great $$$ loss along with him having to bear the full accompanying inconvenience, stress and aggravation of having to deal with the entire, unfortunate event none of which was his fault.

Comm'on....MINI needs to step up to the plate and acknowledge their responsibility, at least in part for this. Whatever happened to planting a few seeds of goodwill among loyal customers, especially ones like d2mini who are only asking for fair, partial compensation.