The J.D. Power & Associates rates the Mini in the bottom 10 for customer satifaction for 2006. This surprises me.
What defects or malfunctions have you had?

 

None mines been great.

 

More on the JD Power report here: MotoringFile :: 2006 MINI Initial Quality

 

I think of having a MINI like dating a Playboy bunny---sure, she'll never get high SAT scores, but she's gorgeous and loves to party.

 

The only things that actually broke and needed repair were the passenger outside door handle (door couldn't be opened from the outside) and the Mini emblem in the center of the steering wheel (emblem was peeling up at the edges). Both item were fixed under warranty. Other than that no problems.

 

What's to understand here... In my 2005 MCS I have the following issues:

2 different rattles coming from the dash
LSD moans and groans
clutch makes noises
clock runs fast
engine hesitation and yo/yo

These are from day 1..

These are not major problems... but issues that need to be addressed
These problems won't be found on a Honda/Toyota costing thousands less...
The handling and performance is what I bought the car for, so for me these issues are minor... but do exist..

 

It's sad that some folks take these things as gospel when they're considering a car purchase. Yeah the report is measuring certain "things"...fine.... but it does not give an accurate composite picture at all.

 

It really shouldn't be that surprising.......

I'd say the ratings since 2002 have been fairly consistent, both with consumer publications and car magazines. Additionally, our parent compant is somewhat well know for building trouble-prone (albeit fun to drive) cars.

Our cars are, on the average, also somewhat trouble-prone.

This does not mean that every Mini is a lemon and there will be a smattering of people with no problems. That does not change the fact that there are ongoing QC issues with these cars and I would not expect the new 2007s to be any better..........

But it does mean that on the average, we have to deal with more BS issues than most other brands.

 

pcv hose failed (TSB)
window motor
cowl vent replacement
seat latch rattles
dash rattle
boot latch rattle X2
diode fix (TSB)
underhood rub strips for paint rub issue (tsb)
PS fan replaced (dealer caught this one)
stumble and yo-yo issue (TSB)

 

I think the PPH (problems per 100) is amplified with MINI owners because MINI owners have to drive a distance to one dealer.

Where as with toyota, honda, etc... you can turn most any corner and see a dealer.

I'm not saying the MINI is a flawless car - but there are other factors which I think make the PPH measurement useless. Dealer distance, knowledge about the car, loyalty to brand, customer satisfaction, etc...

(I hate working for a market research firm...)

 

you know something... the real shock isnt the fact that the reliability issues are now publicized. but rather when shopping around for a 2002-2005 MCS, NONE had any problems ever...

Now I dont mind considering a car that once had a problem that was fixed under warranty but i can hardly believe the 25 cars i checked out had zero problems. i was probably very fortunate or repeatedly lied to :P

 

No.

I think a lot of people have had issues with these cars. Windshields crack, the ECU has gone through countless versions, both the body and engine harnesses have issues, they rattle, some have caught on fire due to a known fuse issue, they seem to be prone to hydrolocking, they appear to have a rust issue, etc. Despite a few small upward perks, they remain somewhat prone to several issues.

When CR came out with their results on the Mini everyone made excuses for it.

When Road and Track came out with their long-term wrap up and noted a "plethora of minor problems" everyone tried to explain those away.

So JD Power comes along and confirms what other publications have noted.....at what point do people come to grips with the fact that you can love a car, be passionate about a car and at the same time recognize its faults?

I have found it amusing on other threads that people have simultaneously tried to explain away the continued poor quality issues yet at the same time say that reliable cars are boring.

I also find it amusing that the vaildity of the consumer/quality reporting agencies results are downplayed when they aren't positive, but held up when they convienient.

Our cars are a blast to drive. They are unique and they inspire passion in their owners, but they are not, on the average, noted for their quality or reliability.

 

Did everyone think they could buy a $20,000 (or even less) car that was this much fun and have it be Honda or Toyota's rival in reliability? I didn't.

But I have read the posts where people keep having more and more issues with their MINIs, and that isn't right, either. ECU, wiring, windshields, are ongoing issues that should have been rectified long ago.

Rattles, stumble when the engines cold, a/c that sucks, those are minor in my book and not worth complaining about compared to the smiles for the dollar I'm getting. Just my opinion.

That said, my car has it's minor issues like most, but my wifes 2005 Toyota left her stranded one morning earlier this year. My 2003 Cooper never has failed to start at any time.

 

I think rating the MINI near the bottom is correct. They seem to have more problems (though most of them are minor) than other cars, and more than they should for a 'high-end' sub-compact.

My first MCS had a window motor go out and the transmission replaced. My current MCS only has a rattle in the driver's window, but the kit to fix it has supposedly been back ordered for months.

I tolerate this stuff because the MINI is just such a blast to drive. If it were any other car, I might be looking elsewhere for my next ride.

 

Yes.

I didn't make excuses for the car, and I certainly don't condone people manipulating the research to support what they think. I was stating that the PPH is not a good indicator for overall quality of a car. It is far to subjective to the respondent.

Does the MINI have a "plethora of minor problems"?... I think so. In fact I think it is without a doubt that it does. And the general population of any kind of car owner can easily know what the "minor" problem is.

Q1. Does something rattle?
A1. Yes

Ok... mark that as a problem.

I say "subjective" because a problem to a respondent is limited to their understanding of the automobile that they drive. It doesn't take much understanding to diagnose a "rattle".

But what about a crappy clutch, a faulty transmission, a poorly tuned ECU, etc... I would argue that very few of the "general population" will be able to notice any sort of problem outside of a little yellow light telling them to take it in. Some people may have a problem but would not be able to report on it unless the little yellow light came on.

One could argue that the reason MINI scored low is because MINI is an "enthusiast's car". Most people who buy MINIs get to know their car. Join forums like NAM and MINI2 and read MotoringFile all the time. They learn about the quirky-ness of their car. They become educated about the inner workings and the ups and downs of it. They are the "Enthusiast". But look at the top of the JD chart. (Except Proche and Lexus... they don't count). You see names like Honda, Toyota, Cadillac (older people), Hyundai, GMC, etc... One could call those the "praticalist's car". People who own these cars look at them as a means to get from point A to point B and nothing more. As long as it does its job of point A to point B then you can't really see a problem with it.

One final and HUGE flaw with PPH is the "expectation" of the owner. You buy a $15000 auto... you expect a rattle. So when something rattles, you don't consider it a problem. However, when you drop a little more money on a higher end car, such as a MINI, BMW, LandRover, Subaru, MB, etc... you don't expect or think there should be rattles. So when something rattles... then yeah it's a problem. The way these surveys are set up is in a hierarchical fashion. They start you off with a question like, "Have you ever had a problem with: a) engine b) interior c) steering..." etc... So if you expectations are low and you don't think a rattle is a problem... you won't select "interior". If your expectations are high, then you'll do the opposite.

Besides, too many people rely on this kind of research as the specific... when it is really only a dim light in the distance vaguely illuminating something that might be there.

Believe me, there are way to many unknown variables about the respondent base which leads this study to be taken as a simple dimly lit indicator, and not a brightly lit fact.

but that's just my .02 yen

 

--I loves me MINI. Even though She's got little imperfections here and there. At least 2 small warranty items to be fixed at next servicing, but the last 8 months have been heaven! When I go on long trips I miss my MINI almost as much as I miss my woman. That has NEVER happened to me before.

But to date here are my small problems:

1.) Foam under the bonnet that surrounds super charger peeling off and deforming.

2.) MINI logo on steering wheel got bent and is peeling off.

3.) Boot door doesn't always close well.

4.) Bonnet will latch even if not closed properly.

5.) Yoyo-ing upon accelerating and turning from stop.

6.) Very rare engine hesitation upon accelerating and turning from stop.

7.) Hard violent shift from 3rd gear to 2nd gear (automatic S).

Despite these small issues I still love my MINI. Best car I've ever had, even though the MINI is so much MORE than a car.

 

I'm not accusing you of doing so. It was a comment relative to the pages of responses that invariably follow any time our cars are evaluated.

To flip this a bit, I can guarantee you the people questioning the validity/accuracy/methodology of this survey today (present company excluded) will also be the ones proudly quoting it if the Mini ever cracks the top five or so...............

 

Zip, Zero, Nada

Hope I didn't just jinx it

 

other than the cold stumble that most of us had back in 2003, no issues.

my current ECU map has no stumble.

 

A lot of times Consumer Reports, JD Powers, etc., are written for the average driver; perhaps one that thinks an overly soft suspension is a soft ride. I rented a Mini Cooper S for one week to see whether I'd like it. First impression: it is a racing car. This means in addition to great handling and acceleration, that you feel the road and hear some noise. Then I read Consumers Report about Mini Coopers. They described the ride as choppy, noisy, and uncomfortable. I discarded their opinion immediately becasue I knew the cars are great little racers.

 

I find it discouraging that new Minis are still showing so many problems. You would think that after five years they would have debugged it.
I have a 2006, with 700 miles on it. So far I've noticed a 'sometimes' buzz in the dash, 'sometimes' problem starting, and the driver's seat moves forward and back slightly when I speed up and slow down. These are minor issues, but still disconcerting. Both my wife and I love driving our Mini, and I hope these minor issues can be dealt with, and we have many miles of problem free motoring.

 

The original question was "how does your MINI rate." So this "initial quality" survey is low? And the "customer satisfaction" survey scores are extremely high? See the contradiction??

 

What customer satisfaction survey? Am I missing something?

For the record, Mini also ranks in the bottom 6 in terms of Customer Service, the only makers that ranked lower were Mitsubishi, Kia, VW, Suzuki and Isuzu.

 

The survey in question is not customer satisfaction as stated (a simple oops). The low score is for initial reliability. Customer satisfaction for MINI remains sky high. Seems a paradox, doesn't it?

"Our cars are unreliable, but we absolutely would not give them up for anything???"

 

Make me really wonder about these rankings, ya know. I've have never, ever had better customer service than with MINI. By a very long shot...

I told them as much in the last JD Powers survey I took a few months ago. They had me do a follow up survey, too. I've had one Cooper for three years and have been blown away by the value.