In the less then 3 months I've owned her here is what has gone wrong and needed fixed. All at seperate times, so I've treked to the dealer a lot.

1) Fuel guage stopped working: Needed a new sensor

2) SES light came on: Needed a new Oxygen sensor

3) Drivers seat would not recline: Seat frame replaced

4) Rattle in dash: Dash taken apart to find and fix rattle

And now for today's

5) Passenger upper strut mount crack: Upper mount being replaced


I am getting to the point that I fear starting her up and driving. I have zero faith in MINIs relaibility and would not take her on long drives. I often find myself wondering what will go out next.

Luckily the warranties on the car including the extended plan I bought has covered everything. All I've had to pay out is $50.

I guess fun comes with a high price tag. One thing is for certain never own a MINI without some sort of warranty coverage.

 

eerrr. I got my MINI in 03, ive had 0 problems myself. Bad window motor but that was no biggie.

Hope you have better luck in the future with it

 

hummmm... imho, those are irritating problems, but nothing too major.
just bad luck one after the other..


major would be like EML/limp mode, no start, tranny lockups, subframe crack, etc.

 

Well, you are right, most of these are minor on the grand scale as sensors do go out, after all she's got 51k miles on her. The seat issue was a surprise but the upper strut mount, those should last longer then the car itself.

It's just a lot to go wrong in a very short amount of time and it's getting very frustrating.

 

is this a new or used MINI?

there are some issues that plague many MINI's (sorry)- ex: dash rattle, airbag light, windshield crack... but your list- is a list i've not seen before. perhaps thou hath acquired a bad one?

I know that doesn't help much, but you've got the support of the NAM/MINI community behind you.

 

I bought it used.

Like I said, these issues are minor. Sensors go out, they've even gone out in my wife's Toyota Sienna. The seat issue most likely will not happen again and the rattle is gone, it was a piece of plastic in an air vent.

It's just a lot in a very short amount of time. Hopefully after this strut mount repair I can get back to motoring and put my relaibility worries behind me.

 

Mini's upper strut towers seem to be somewhat weak, i have read alot of posts from owners claiming cracks around the bearings or mushrooming of the metal. Ive heard some people say they have received new ones that look different after having them replaced, not sure if this helps any. Also M7 tuning sells plates that bolt to the top of your strut towers to help sandwich the metal together to keep it from cracking/mushrooming.

Im sure if you type in mushroom into the search, you can find more threads about this topic. Im sorry to hear you are having bad luck with your mini. I havent got mine yet and i hope that the 2006 model has had most of the quirks worked out of it.

G'luck!

 

It was browsing these forums and that is how I found out about the cracking / mushrooming and then noticed mine was cracked but that's it (no mushrooming or any other damage) so I'm glad I cought it in time before any further damage could occur.

More then anything, I'm just venting over my frustration over so much in such a short amount of time.

Very true and it's great! Everyone here has been overly helpful, a great community.

I doubt I will ever sell my MINI but it's just a frustrating time right now.

 

I bought my '03 MC new and have 64,000 miles on it. I had the strut mount replaced under warranty because it started to crack. Heard about other issues like the rattle in the dash and seat rail issues. Never had them. I do have the annoying boot rattle even though I had the latch replaced under warranty to supposedly fix that issue.

No issues with my sensors yet. I've heard that it's about time to start replacing some belts.

I've learned to maintain my own MINI, so I don't worry too much about reliability since I know the condition of things. However, I worry most about the tranny, since i'm on my second one and I hope last.

Richard

 

Oh I hate it when I misspell in thread titles.

My rattle was the result of a piece of plastic that was inside an air vent, not the one that most talk about here. I am just very happy I bought the extended warrany so far it has paid off and gives me some comfort.

 

It's ok, it actually works to your benefit---it stands out more.

 

Same thing happens at the assembly line every Friday no matter where it's built

 

I feel you... My first MINI was all trouble too. Find a good dealership and ask them to look over the whole car...

Good luck!

 

Ron: I remember two huge replacement/repair outlays with my last car, one at 60K miles and the other at 90K. It sounds to me like 1) the last owner sold at just the right time, 2) you bought at just the wrong time, and 3 you should pat yourself on the back for getting that extended warranty!

 

I have now purchased 2 used Mini's in 4 months. 1st was a NICE 2003 Standard mini with 24,000 mi...had a few SMALL issues and a serpetine pulley replaced (bad bearing).

I got bitten (HARD...Did not think something that small could bite so hard!) and now have a 2004 S model that had 18,400mi when I got it...again a few small issues but expensive if not covered under warranty!
1) needed new pass side window regulator
2) a few burned out LED's in the Radio HU (has the HK but same head unit. That HU was over $1000! (the dealer gets a core charge back, and an engineer friend of mine could have repaired them if I wanted.....)

The name of the game today is $$$$ and the manufacturers go to great lengths to lower costs.
My 81 porsche was hand built...NOT SO ANY MORE!!!

My last Audi 2004 A4 was traded in just before the warranty expired since it was Soooo expensive to maintain. The mini is my garage toy and so it only gets out to play....everyday driving is left to the uglymobile..Honda Element...thing is built like a tank! Looks like a toaster on wheels!

I am not that fond of all that plastic inside the Mini and am a little concerned about the build quality but....Interesting numbers

about 74.5% satisfaction from JD Powers
AND
95%+ from the owners!

Than would indicate that we "strange" Mini Folks are willing to put up with the problems!

 

Could be worse...

1994 Land Rover Defender. In the shop 24 times in two years.

 

Yikes..

What year is this thing? Pre-05? That one of the reasons I just went with new (that and the fact that even a used '03 in the Seattle area can run you as much as a new one - ).

Good luck with your problems! Good to hear they're covered under waranty at least.

 

Forgot about that one...needed new oil seals at 3500 miles....BYE to that one fast! Good thing too... 12 mpg premium!

I will say I never saw anything off road or snow it couldn't go thru!

yep...I buy lots of cars! (or used to!)

 

No insult intended, but the 05's in our club have their share of problems too...Just the price we pay I guess for FUN!

My dealer said the 03's and early 04's were best of the breed...that was his opinion...each has their own!

As far as new...I will NEVER pay over sticker for anything EVER! That's what they are doing here in the west...if you can even find one! Seem to be a bunch at MSRP in the east though!

Was able to Buy the 03 at a good price...had to pay a bit more for the 04 S since it was pretty loaded up!

 

Every new car we've owned (Volvo v70, VW Passat, Chrysler minivan) has had a spate of annoying but small problems in the first year. Only my MCS has been zero trouble in its first year--touch wood (6 months in). Once you get the startup kinks worked out, you're good for 4-5 years, until age starts to affect parts. It sounds like you're in the second stage. Once you'r MINI gets used to you, you should be fine.

 

there's actually a TSB regarding the upper strut mount, and should be replaced of no cost to you. I'll try and find the document and post the details later.

btw what year is your mini?

hope i get flawless operation when mine finally arrives, and good luck!

 

The two sensors, those are age related.

The seat, freak of nature there.

The plastic in the air duct, yet another freak of nature.

Then, the mount, who knows.

All-n-all she's not had any major issues, all small, just all at the same time. Hopefully when I get her back tomorrow that's it for awhile.

 

Hang in there... think about the problems you had. All are minor and easily corrected. Nothing major wrong. I know it must be frustrating... but these are minor issues and are bring corrected.... Good luck..

 

My 2¢ worth...

In my experience, European cars are more maintenance intensive than cars from Japanese manufacturers. I've had Saabs and Volvos and a typical trip to the Saab tech seems to be about $1K for things that are often related to marginal designs, carried from year to year, decade to decade.

The Europeans can make stuff complicated (or simple for that matter, I guess) and it breaks. The Japanese can make complicated things and it lasts and lasts. Now, I haven't driven every Japanese car out there, but those that I have owned (the last was an '05 Acura TL) are like a sewing machines with wheels - *boring*.

There's a trade-off, IMO in terms of relability, build integrity and long term trouble free driving. A Toyota will run for 300K miles with nothing but routine maintenance. A European car will have had a lot of TLC by then - or long before, if it makes it that far. (I'm sure there are exceptions, this is just my experience.)

I would prefer to drive a slot car and not a sewing machine. The added maintenance and repairs are part of the price of admission. It's a complex machine and stuff breaks - hopefully not too often, though.

 

should not fear taking one. But if you really do, it's time to move on and get something with which you can be completely confident. GL if you decide to keep it.