Hello I'm about to become an owner of a new Countryman All4 and was just a little worried about Mini's reliability. I'm trading in a 2006 Accord coupe, and was just curious from some of you that have had a history of Mini ownership, what your track record has been with your car. I've already seen some post about having problems with the navigation system codes, I'm hoping that they have the bugs worked out before I get delivery at the end of this month. Any Advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Just picked up my Countryman with a working NAV so it seems they've sorted out the codes issue.

 

That's good to hear cpomeray. I just checked my dealer paperwork and I have two charges that seem a bit excessive, a security code fee of 189.00 and a dealer conveyance fee of 399.00. I don't know if I should negotiate these fees before I put my deposit down tomorrow.

 

I would tell them flat out you are not paying those fees. Those are the little things where they try to get extra money for basically nothing. My interpretation is that these are just fancy names for what others call dealer prep fees.

 

Ugh. Just say no. Other than title fees and such and a modest doc fee, pay nothing that is not on the factory sticker. Nothing.

 

HoJo, I'm trading in a Honda Accord as well (a 2004) and am a little nervous about long-term reliability. However, everytime I look at my boring accord, and think of owning a MINI, those nerves go away as I think of how much more fun I will have in the car!

 

I'm with atichica about my Accord becoming boring, but I still don't want to have buyers remorse if annoying small things start to go wrong on a 36,000 investment. I still have to call the dealer on Monday about these excessive charges as well.

 

I'm on my third MINI. Gave up the convertible because I spent too much time with the top down and was getting too much sun. I traded for a 2007 R56 with a six speed. At 54,000 the turbo self destructed and cost $4,000 to fix. MINI worked with me on the purchase of my Countryman All4 and I was out of pocket only about $50. By the way, i'm told it is very rare for the turbo to go that early. Trading the R56 for the Countryman was the best thing I did. Only downside is the gas mileage, but that is a worthwhile trade for the comfort of the All4. My wife had a Forester, but, we took the R56 on trips because we thought it more comfortable. The R60 beats the R56 hands down.

Had it on the beach yesterday and the All4 was amazing. Also the trip to Galveston yesterday early morning was in torrential rain. The All4 handled the road much better than the R56.

Also - DON'T use the satellite radio. If you do it will cost you next year for the subscription. Believe me, it will become one of those things you can't do without.

Bill

 

Thanks for the reply Miniblue2

 

We had a 2006 mini S and never had any problems in 4.5 years. Don't worry about it too much. Any car brand can have lots of problems, just depends. Once you get a Countryman you will have so much fun driving it you won't worry about anything else!

 

I have an '03 MCS and it has been really reliable. BMW builds a solid car and the MINI is no exception.

 

You have a 4year/50K mile warranty during which MINI will fix anything that goes wrong because of defects in material or workmanship - how long do you keep your cars?

I think with that much coverage pretty much anything that happens in the short term is covered, after that it should be good to go.

I have 30K on my '09 Clubman S, I had one problem at 3K that was quickly and easily fixed and hasn't returned. Since then it's been completely trouble free.

 

I traded in a 2006 Acura RSX Type S for my Countryman and had similar concerns. The Acura was darn near perfect, in terms of reliability, so I hated to let it go. I commute 100 miles a day, so reliability is a big concern. I got over the same feelings you're having for a few reasons:
My mom has had her MINI since 2007 and it's been flawless
The MINI warranty

But really, I got over it when I started driving my Countryman. Never before have I enjoyed driving so much. (Well, except for when I'm racing my kart.) I'm always looking for an excuse to drive somewhere.

My only concession to the reliability concerns is that I'm keeping a little extra in savings just in case. But considering the warranty, my biggest concern is that replacing the run-flat tires is more expensive than replacing regular tires.

 

Bill, was there any diagnosis on why the turbo went and/or exactly what happened to it ? Was it the unison ring or something due to over boost ?

That's a short lifespan for a turbo. Was the vehicle sitting unused for an extended period (4 weeks or more) just prior to the turbo problem?

Don't mean to hi-jack the thread, just interested in what happened to your turbo.

TIA


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All I was told was that it tore itself apart from the inside out. It's a MINI, so it was in constant use. The self destruct was Sunday late afternoon heading home to The Woodlands from Dallas. Strange exhaust noises and rumblings from beneath and then the engine light came on. I looked in the manual and it said I could proceed gently. I-45 Sunday evening is not a place to proceed gently so we kept to about 60. On the hills it really bogged down, but, didn't leave us stranded. Monday I got a loaner and Wednesday I got the bill.

Like I said it is a very rare event for a turbo and I'd like to thing I didn't abuse the car, although I like to keep my foot on the floor.

Still, I do love my Countryman.

Bill

 

I know that on VGT's (variable geomety turbos) a bit of surface rust on the unison ring will keep the vanes from operating properly resulting in all sorts of problems from blown unison rings to blow head gaskets due to over boost. That's why I was inquiring whether you had let the car sit for a month or more.

In the woodlands of Tx, where you seem to be located, my initial belief is that surface rust is not as much of an issue so much so as a vehilcle parked approximately 100 feet from a salt water body.

What I do know is that a vehilcle with a turbo needs to be run at least once a month to operating temp. That holds true for most other vehicles as well.


But I'm sure that there would be a few here who disagree. Particularly those who own Smurf Blue minis
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It's no secret that I park within 100-feet of salt water every Saturday for 5-8 hours. I have to believe that will not contribute to early destruction of the turbo.

 

I'm sure 8 hours now and then is not a contributing factor, but if you left it there for a month or longer without running it......

Btw, do you know anything about turbos other than that they're part of the engine ?



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I've always been told to let the motor idle for a minute or two after "spirited" driving. Let's the oil cool and circulate through the turbo and prevent coking. Or does the mini have oil circulation after shut down?

 

I would say if you have been driving it hard with a heavy load such as 4 adults or 4 heavy St. Bernards for an extended trip on the interstate on a hot day it wouldn't be a bad idea to let it idle for a couple of minutes before you shut it down to allow the EGT's to lower since turbocharged gasoline engines operate at higher peak exhaust temperatures than turbo-diesels .

In the early days of turbochargers, the turbo shaft was supported by a babbitt bearing that could seize, or even melt, if the engine was shut off immediately after sustained boost conditions where the turbocharger would “heat soak”. A two minute cool down at idle allowed the turbocharger to dissipate any remaining spinning inertia, and the oil circulation cooled the bearing and prevented oil “coking” in the bearing area.

Turbochargers haven’t used babbitt bearings for over 30 years, and today’s oils resist coking. Synthetic oils won’t coke, period. With a turbocharged gas engine, it’s still good insurance to let the engine idle for 30 seconds to a minute to allow the turbo or turbos to dissipate any inertia and to cool the bearing area to prevent oil coking, especially if the engine has been worked hard just prior to shut-down. Of course, using quality synthetic oil eliminates this potential coking problem.

Having a diesel with a VGT (variable geometry turbo) I know that leaving the truck sit for an extended period is not good either since the unison ring may form surface rust causing the vanes to stick causing overboost conditions that are not only harmful to the turbo but could also blow the head gaskets as well. That is especially true where I live which is essentially a marine environment since I am right on the water.

Also with a turbo diesel if you're pulling a heavy load on the interstate for an extended trip its advisable to let the EGT's cool to 300° - 350° before you shut down however you need a pyrometer to know that.

There's a gadget called a "Turbo Lifesaver" on the market which a lot of guys swear by but I don't know if they make them for gasoline engines.

Having driven modified turbo-diesel 4x4 trucks for many years, I've never had any turbo issues.

But then again, I've been accused of talking non-sense on this site. "All Hat, No Cattle" as I've been told so it be best not to listen to me. What do I know.




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OK. I too had an 07 MCS that the turbo went belly up. The car luckly had 44,000 mi on it so it still was under warranty so I did not have to pay $4000 for the repair.

It is not all that uncommon for a turbo to burn up in 07's. Along with the turbo blowing up, I had to relpace a fuel pump. Both according to Miniusa. were caused by sludge in the oil lines used to cool the turbo. Mini has changed maufacturers of the faulty oil coolant lines. Also in my 07 I had to get the tensioner replaced. Another problem in 07's with turbos.

When mine was in the shop there was another one there for a burned up turbo.

The entire reason I got my new CM was because my 07 was going out of warranty ( I did not buy the extended warranty on the 07). I really did not relish the possibility of having a costly repair out of warranty. However I plan to keep my CM for many years so I purchased both extended maintence and warranty packages on my CM.

I did have an MC 03 before that an I had absolutely no problems with it at all. Traded it because I wanted a turbo.

Clearly I am a MINI person and aside from the problems with the 07 I went head a got one of the first CM produced. 3500 mi on the CM and no problems