There's no need to righteously defend Mini or get offended by my post; I'm not personally insulting anyone here at all, but I just need to vent about the problems I've had in under 950 miles with my new Clubman. I'm sure many of you have not had any problems -- that's fantastic, but not the case for me. This is not a welcome introduction to the world of Mini at all.

The dealer is aware of these and is going to try to fix all of them in the upcoming week -- they're being pretty cool about it all.

I just gotta get it off my chest here to some who might understand!

1. With heavy rain and/or washing there are drops of water that seep into the driver's side window from the top; upon inspection I can see that the window does not seal all the way upward like the passenger side window does.

2. Sometimes I have to start the car twice before it'll start running. Doesn't matter whether it's warm or cold outside, I've found.

3. There's a distinct rattle coming from the engine compartment between 1700 - 2000 RPM. I took a look at the engine and there's a heat shield near the front that was sloppily installed -- it's unevenly put in and is hitting a pipe of some sort at the top (might be the turbo area).

4. The sunroof is installed slightly unevenly width-wise. It doesn't seem to affect the operation, but still...

5. There is a loud whirring/buzzing sound whenever I turn on the A/C.

Warranty be damned -- a car that works properly and is put together well is much preferred!

 

I feel for you. I really do. When you buy a new car you expect it to be perfect when you drive off the lot. It appears that most of your problems are fit and finish issues. I am sure that your dealer will fix them all and you will be happy. I had a few fit and finish issues on my JCW when I first bought it and the dealer fixed everything quickly. It is a pain to have to go back to the dealer multiple times when these things should have been caught at the factory or when the dealer prepped the car.

Real problems are when you buy a minivan to move your family around and the engine needs to be replaced after 3 weeks and 900 miles. The dealer gives you a compact car as a loaner. I bought a minivan to move my family around not because its a cool car. So pony up and get me a minivan as a loaner. Which they did after some complaining. That was the beginning of my horror story 2005 Chrysler Town and County Limited. That was my first and probably last American car. Now that was a problem.

 

GEEZ Headlands, I'd be upset too, especially for what we pay for these. The ONLY problem I have experienced with mine was when I went to pick mine up a year ago, the radio didn't work, this was before I even got to see the car, so they had to "airlift" a new one to the dealership. About six months later the CD player ate one of my CD's and they couldn't get it out, so another radio "airlifted" in, too bad its not now with the new HK's. Just had a JCW stage 1 kit installed last week and I am so in love with my car. Hope things get worked out for you and you have no more problems. Good luck.

 

Thanks, guys. It is very frustrating indeed-- this car cost me $32k. Hopefully the dealer will sort these problems out.

It's also the fact that these things don't make me feel confident about the car in general. I hope that I'll be proven wrong in the long run!

 

I'm sure the dealer will fix you up. If it makes you feel any better, it can happen with any car. My wife had a Honda Pilot. Wonky window switches, the service interval computer function seemed possessed, the TPMS kept alarming even though the tire pressure was fine, weird problems with the rear HVAC controls and the CD changer ate (and eventually regurgitated) a disc. All fixed by the dealer and once fixed, I think that was a good car for her. Oddly enough, it also cost her $32k.

 

I had the same problem with my wife murano SE ($38K), dealer has to replace the transmission at 27K, since then, it has performance flawless

Any car brand have issues, the important is they fix them and your car performance the way is supposed to perform.

Good luck Headlands and keep us posted

 

If you had done your research prior to purchase you would have discovered that MINIs are not known for either working properly or being put together well. They have other strong points, but not those.

 

That is not my perception. My car was put together well and has worked flawlessly since the day I picked it up. I have never had a problem with the car starting, driving or functioning improperly.The issues that I had were cosmetic in nature. Badges not installed properly, wheel arch clip broken and the SAT stopped working so the antenna on the roof was recently replaced. I do not use the SAT radio much but wanted to have it replaced while its still under warranty.

 

As others have said it can happen with any car, 5 Months ago I had to put the 2008 Hemi Charger i have in the shop for a noise coming from the front end, car has 21 K on it and is NOT driven hard, 4700 in work for Struts, Springs, Rotors, Brakes and other assorted items, car was in the shop a week, and thankfully under warranty, I am sure you will get the issues on the Mini fixed, just have patience as sometimes you will need it

 

IMO - the only way to get back the initial quality satisfaction they once had is to move the manufacturing of these vehicles back to Germany.......

Or they can just merge with Jaguar now and get it all over with............

 

For the record, Minis have never been made in Germany. And in general, the location of the final assembly plant has never had much correlation to car quality or reliability. Japanese cars tend to have the best reliability because they're built to Japanese designs in Japanese-style factories with Japanese QC standards, whether the plant is in Hiroshima, Kentucky, Pueblo, or South Africa.

- Mark

 

What are you talking about??? Our MINIs are made in England, and always have been.

There ARE issues with these cars, there ARE issues with all cars. Get over it, then either sell it, and buy into a car with other/similar issues, or keep it, get things fixed, and enjoy.

Mark

 

We pay good money for these cars, we shouldn't have this many issues with them especially in the first 1,000 miles. Even American cars can beat that...

 

This is my feeling and is why I feel so disappointed right now. Yes, Minis clearly are not as reliable as Japanese cars (just look at any site that gives you overall reliability and you can see this) but I didn't expect this many problems in such a miniscule time period from buying it new. I took a risk in buying a Mini and so far I've been one of the unlucky ones. But, like others have said, hopefully once I get these issued taken care of I'll have better luck. I can deal with the need to maintain the car more and all of that -- but all of these issues in under 1,000 miles is frustrating, and very rightfully so.

No other country but Japan seems to be able to get their cars as reliable -- this is something I will never understand. Like another poster said, Japanese companies have their cars made all over the world with great overall reliability results (obviously there are some exceptions, just like there are Mini owners who never ever have a problem).

Thanks for the overall words of support, though! I hope things get worked out here.

 

Not sure about the "American cars can beat that" quote, as I had many problems with Dodge, Chevrolet and Ford over the years (even though I still love their models... that is why my wife and I switch to Japanese cars), but I agree 100% with you Benibiker about the "pay good money for these cars" - we expect not to have so many issues.

I am lucky my clubman is not having any (knock on wood) but I still feel your pain.

At the end, I think that the assembly of our cars had to do more with the "emotional" state of the workers at the mini factory when putting the final touches than anything else (or maybe we need to make sure they don't finish them on Monday's - bad day = hangovers !!)

Still, it feels good to ventilate when you experience so many problems (and also the support from fellow owners. Again, been there with Nissan but still love their cars!)

 

oh, that sounds terrible, but your complanits are definately 'fixable'. However, I agree there is NO excuse for this. Vent away, we are here for you. Now, listen to the complaints from the Porsche boards!!!!

 

Sorry you're having problems, hope the dealer can take care of you. I wonder what's causing the issue with starting the car twice? Post again if you find out.

2500 trouble-free miles on our Clubman so far (fingers crossed!).

 

Thanks, all.

Just to note -- I did a bunch of searching on this forum and a couple of others, and the double start thing (many seem to call it the "MINI flu") seems to have been an issue for some since the 1st gen. MINI.

ggonzale - I think it's just the philosophy of building cars. Almost all of the problems I'm having could have been fixed if MINI's quality control was up to par. At least three of the issues should have been very obvious to someone who would be looking over the car to make sure everything is Kosher before it goes to the dealer.

 

My last chevy was in the shop constantly and the service was horrible at all of the dealerships in my city. They always broke something that was not when I brought it in, and rarely fixed what was broken when it was brought in. You also don't get much or anything in terms of a loaner. You are stuck with rearranging your own transportation. They make beautiful looking vehicles but the reliability and service are terrible!

Mini service is amazing, virtually every visit. I plan on getting the heat shield soon so that my new hood scoop does not melt. The OEM one just does not do the job. Other than that, I love driving this little car soooo much!

 

I have this problem too. I am waiting for the 15,000 mile service to bring up the issue. Only 2,500 to go..

May be reliable....but I have seen to many of my friends/Shipmates die in Japanese cars while the drivers of other foreign or domestic vehicles survive. Screw Japanese cars....

 

If you have a complaint like these MiniUSA needs to also be informed. They can't fix what they don't know about and yes they have probably already heard it before however your issue is new to them. As for the window it is a quick fix for the dealer and is one of the final steps in putting in a window often found after a window tinter pulls the front window to tint the whole glass and does not close the door and make sure the window seats all the way against the seal. It might have been just before tea time when your car hit the inspection step. Good luck and fill out your customer satisfaction surveys both with the dealer and MiniUSA.

 

Absolutely, you're right. I've done both of the surveys and let them know about these problems.

I like the tea time explanation -- makes the most sense.

 

But just filling out the surveys in NOT enough. You need to take it back to the dealer and have them fix it. This will tehn show up on a report that someone at MINI USA looks at. Also you need to CALL MINI USA and make a complaint.

The surveys only go to an outside source or company and get cataloged but very rarely will the company (in this case MINI USA) get any real information from them. Especially about YOUR SPECIFIC complaints.

Just look at the surveys they are multiple choice questions, that can not and will not get across any of the specific problems you listed.
Waiting to tell the dealer and waiting to have it fixed is just like telling the dealer "OK well there is a problems but well it is NOT IMPORTANT"

Take it to the dealer and make them fix it right away.

Headlands, If i were you and these problems were on my car either one of the following would have happened.

1. If I had noticed them during my inspection at initial pick up I would not have taken the car off the lot until they were corrected. Now to be honest may people miss these kinds of things because of the excitement of getting the new car. So you missed them that is okay.

2. As soon as I had found them the car would go STRAIGHT back no questions asked and the dealer would have been told to fix that and any thing else they can find.

I live over 70+ miles from my dealer and although it is not convenient to get there when I did have a problem the car went back immediately, I did not wait until the next service or next time I was in the area, I did not even make an appointment, I just took it in and said "It needs to be fixed just fix it". Now your dealer may not be that accommodating (mine wants business and thus caters to its customer) but at least call and make an appointment.

Now my BIG question to you both (Headlands, Bloodvayne) "Why are you waiting to have it fixed?"

 

It is a shame that when you pick up a new car and then find you have so many initial issues. Hopefully, the dealer will square them all away and then day by day you will regain the confidence that you should have had from day one.

I guess we all have stories of other cars with initial issues. When we picked up our new Dodge Caravan (forget what year that was...1992 or thereabouts), we did not get to the first traffic light out of the dealership and the anti-lock brake system failed. Did a u-turn and had a loaner for a week until they got were able to get a new unit and repair it. It then failed twice more but was covered under a recall that was instituted to 100,000 miles. There were other issues - basically knew the dealer mechanics on a first name basis.

An interesting read (unfortunately not for MINIs) is to get the "Honda Story" out of the library. It is sort of a biography on Mr. Honda and Hondas in general. If you own a Honda, then it is of real interest ! Up to getting the MINI Clubman, we have only Hiondas in our family. Anyway, there is an interesting chapter in the book about what was one of the first type of contracts at the time that Honda set up with their primary window contractor in Japan (believe it was Hitachi). Honda was getting the american made Hondas fitted with glass from PPG but were not happy with their quality control. The contract called for their primary supplier in Japan to teach/guide PPG with improving PPG's quality control. Very interesting !

Years ago, Ford made a study of japanese industrial car practices and found that one main difference between american mfrs and japanese mfrs had to with the acceptable tolerances they allowed between moving parts within components. The japanese cars components were made to much more exact tolerances. Ford made a video on this investigation and I remember seeing it many years ago...but forget the details (lost somewhere in my standby brain cells). Anyway, Honda, etc have their issues as well but a look at any Consumer Reports annual edition regarding reliability....the japanese cars still seem the most reliable.

But I love my Clubman ! Like the responsiveness and horsepower packed in to this small car !

 

schatzy62 - Of COURSE I'm getting it fixed! What else would I possibly do, just sit here and whine!? Come on, now!

I've said many times on this thread that I'm taking it to the dealer, and I also mentioned specifically in the very first post that the dealer is being cool about all of this and is going to try to fix every problem.

It's 100% understandable that we don't notice everything immediately (such as A/C, which I didn't need until a couple of days ago), and it's been just over three weeks since I got the car, which is still very close.