I'm glad your having good luck with your Minis, and I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet, but there is no way anyone will tell me that overall, Mini's are as reliable as Toyotas. More fun to drive, yes. I and my family have had the same experice with Toyota that you've had with Mini, only over a much longer time and each car was driven well over 100,000 miles.
All cars have issues, but some have more than others. The only rating source I trust is Consumer Reports, because they accept no advertising revenue. The Toyotas are nearly always 1 or 2 on the list for reliability. Mini, so far, is way down on the list. This isn't suprising considering that BMW overall hasn't been rated well. That has changed in the last couple of years for some of there cars, but its a recent trend.
Looking at one website with individual complaints (like this one) will not give an accurate view of an automakers overall reliablity.

Hmm... I'm sitting here wondering if the gremlin that affected JerseyGirl's '97 M3 jumped to another car once it crossed into L.I. last year... It did the same thing and the dealer rhetoric was also the same "gas cap" or "you filled it with the car running..." She eventually gave up and just drove around with the code-reader/reset tool...

Unfortunately, BMW's are somewhat notorious for electrical glitches...

In deference to my dealer (and I have some frustration with them for other reasons), it appears the continuing problem isn't for lack of trying to fix it. They picked it up for the 4th time this morning to fix a problem with the convertable top (new) and maybe the light. I need the car for the weekend, so they only have until then to figure it out and I'm not optomistic. The've agreed to re-imburse me for 1 month's payment, so that's in their favor.

you guys really need to find something else to complain about....


whats the problem today? AC slowing your car down on takeoff,
tomarrow it will be the gauges are too hard to read, next it will be the seat is to stiff, after that it will be the radio isnt easy enuff to use, too many stupid people to pick about stupid things.......its sad

i'm glad i got my car before people like you make things change

I guess I can take this off the list. The replacements are different and appear to be much much sturdier. Be sure to check yours!

I get the shoulder/neck problems on long trips (more than 300 miles). Never had the lower extremity issues.

I'm not here to complain. I;m here to bring awareness to safety issues and how to correct it. This is to save lives and save potential costly problems. If you have a problem with that, please go elsewhere.

So you mean the parts used on the latest model have been redesigned and beefed up to take more stress?

Sticky, contrary to C4's perceptions of this thread as a complaint fest, this thread is for safety concerns that should be addressed by MINI. For example, I have a Jan 03 build MINI. The upper strut mounts (called Guide Supports) have a tendency to crack. This is, in my opinion, a very important piece of safety since it holds the top of the suspension to the chassis of the car. I could only imagine what might happen if it were to have completely failed!! Luckily the dealership replaced it. I'm very surprised that with the fact that MINI engineers reengineered the part to be much beefier, that they didn't do a recall on it! So I started this thread to let me and others have a place to post things that should be of a safety nature, so that others could see it, and possibly do a little research and determine if their cars have issues that need to be addressed.

I have no problem at all with that. But I do take issue with people that come up with petty complaints and nit picks. If you don't like the car, sell it.

That's what the dealership told me. I looked at it myself and noticed the difference. Then called the dealership and asked them. My MA, was unaware of the redesign, until my call prompted him to do some quick research where he found out that it was new and beefed up.

jg, check this thread for pix... https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=44710

Jimbo, are you being serious? You really think the broken suspension components I've pointed out is not a safety concern? Or how about the stalling issues due to, the now fixed, programming of the ECU which causes cars to stall out in middle of intersections. Please explain....

Come on over some day. You're more than welcome. I'll let you take my 2002 Dodge Neon 2.0l with 132hp and my 2003 MCS with over 175 hp (15% pulley and CAI) for a back to back test drive. The Neon's AC is artic cold yet doesn't seem to affect drivability (once rolling...see below for more info). Although is noticible when turned on, doesn't bog it down too bad. While the MINI's AC is cool, it has a tremendous effect on drivability. It really bogs the MINI down. However, I don't think that the drivability issues the MINI's AC presents is much of a safety concern. However, when the AC in the Dodge when it causes the car to stall upon launching, to me, would be a safety issue.

Thanks, that's reassuring. I'm expecting delivery of an '05 MC in mid-August.

People whining about people whining. Thread ownership issues. I was wrong to bother posting again.

I was refering to your comment about the trouble you had getting on the freeway because your AC was on. It doesn't make that big of a difference. I used to drive semi and have never had a problem getting on any freeway. Its not a safety issue its a driver issue.

'05 MCS with plenty o' power with AC running...

So far so good, Knock on wood!!!

stop complaining and drive the damn car!!!!

Please explain...