Yep - Mike said we received a letter in the mail from the lawyer at USAA handling our case with BMW over our MINI that committed suicide 15 months ago...

Our trial date is set in San Diego for Sept. 29th at 9:00 am. My guess - BMW will settle out of court.....

Persistance on our end has paid off so far - again - I'm not holding my breath - but we've made it farther than I ever thought we would on this... Wooottt!!!

Donna

 

15 months ago.. wow.. i hope it pays u off really well for that wait

 

Well - we knew when we started proceeding forward, that it wasn't going to be easy or fast either.....one thing that I am - is a patient person....

Donna

 

Wonder if the last three weeks will have an effect on the case.

 

Since USAA has already payed you guys, and you've replaced the car, will you be getting anything out of the ultimate decision? Or will only USAA be getting some green?

 

Best of luck to you guys, we're rooting for you!

 

let's hope for a nice 'bribe' from BMW, maybe to keep your mouth shut? good luck guys!

 

We'll just have to wait and see..

Donna

 

Justice for Scooter!

 

One would hope so but you never know - the letter actually came a couple of weeks ago but I kept forgetting to post about it.

Donna

 

it's too late for that, isn't it?

 

maybe I can black mail BMW, ya know, cuz I have insider info on this fire dealy? I promise I'll split profits.

 

Hopefully a recall will come out of all this...

 

Or at least a service bulletin...

 

Donna/Mike, I guess this is USAA's case to handle, but if they involve you with negotiating the settlement, please do insist that BMW issue a recall or service bulletin.

 

There ought to be penalties when it's obvious that delay tactics have been used with no or little merit. Screw 'em! I like the products, but not the behaviour!

Matt

 

I believe this is why Donna has been persistent...it is her dedication to making sure that the rest of us are safe, and not subject to the same malfunction, that has seen this through to the about-to-go-to trial stage. Many, many thanks to Donna and Mike for their persistence and patience.

 

im at a loss to what happened to the car

 

There are a number of threads which discuss it, and here is the main one:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...Tragedy+Struck

 

Scooter's Revenge!

Best of luck!

 

Good luck, you still have no clue to the cause of the mini suicide?

 

If this wasn't your fault you should do OK. I filed a suit against BMW in '02
and that's when they got serious about my case. It settled in about six months and I was happy with the terms.

Then in '06 I my Mini was totalled and insurance paid out 85% of the purchase price. I hope the same happens with you. Best of luck.

 

I hope the recall/service bulletin or whatever - extends across the waters and affects BMW worldwide.

Best of luck Donna/Mike, i sincerely hope you nail these bastards.

Cheers.

 

Yes - it was determined - here is the thread:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ire+determined

To sum it up - a fuse in the ABS system - the amps were determined to be too high - ours along with thousands of others have/had a 30 amp fuse - they have since been changed to a 20 amp in the 05' models. I have not seen an 04' model yet where the fuse was changed but then again, there are lots of them out there. There has never been a recall or a service bulletin.. we are hoping to change that like others above have posted.

Donna

 

I took a look at my '06 MCS last night and really by placing a simple plastic water drip tray over the entire ABS motor/block unit might do a world of wonders and prevent water ingress into the connector and or ABS unit.

If all of us on NAM could contact all the other owners that have had this happen to see if it was raining prior the subsequent confligration(s) then this could be a simple fix. The weather up here in Vermont has been extremely wet in the last few weeks and my ABS block unit was wet and residual water was still on the top of the connector, not good.

FWIW, my 1993 Audi S4 and current '95 Audi S6 had NHTSA recalls issued due to fuel lines in the engine compartment leaking fuel right next to the turbocharger! It was only through the efforts of enthusiasts that helped create the recall. The fix was simple and mostly solved by a very talented independent repair shop working directly with Audi engineers and coming up with using a different factory fuel line that wasn't a chore to remove and replace.

I truly have to say to both Donna and Mike are leaders in our MINI community for trudging on with this. ANYTHING that I can do to help you, please ask.