New Member, about to purchase All4 S - Help me not be a noob!
 

Hi Guys!!

Big BMW guy here, and I finally got my fiance to sell her subaru to get into a Mini.

Looking at manual All4-S's only. Driving tomorrow to go look at one with 40k (used at a dealer). What are the common problems/issues that R60's have? (I didn't see a sticky type thread with these).

I want to be educated in the R60 before we go possibly purchase it, and I'd really appreciate all the help I can get!!! Sorry for the very nooby post, I'm going to start reading through all the problem/fixes threads but due to time I'd figure I'd ask for help here too :)

Thanks! Can't wait to get one!
Eric

Here is a good thread on NAM about the R60 Countryman.

Thanks Pelican! I am weary of a first year of production car. Sounds like 11s/12s have more issues, but none that are a 50%+ failure rate (other than oil sensor recall).

PS, glad to see pelican on this board, you guys have helped build my 3+ E36's :)

My pleasure! And that is really great to hear! Glad we have been able to help you out with your other cars. Yes, I am weary of first year production cars personally, but this forum is full of wealthy information and will pose as very helpful if/when you do purchase your MINI. Good luck with your purchase and if you have any questions or need any help, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at any time. :)

Make sure they've updated the mini connect (if it comes with the tech package), and get the proper cable for connecting. It has some really useful features, but can be a major PIA if not updated.

What year is it? Early CM had clutch problems.

Thanks for all the help guys. It is a 2011, but I need to look at the build date and look into the clutch issue.

I ended up being able to call up the Mini Dealer that serviced it and got a ton of history.
Tstat, Temp sensor fix, chain tensioner, software update, among some other things. Also found out it has maintenance package (oil/filter/airfilters) until 100k or 2/17. If only there was a dealer closer than 100 miles away :(

Went and picked it up last night, happy to be Mini owners :)


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...2ec190ad4a.jpg

Double check your maintenance package - it should cover the clutch as a maintenance item. They are replacing them with the JCW clutch, so I would definitely get that done before the maintenance warranty runs out.

Thanks! Definitely will do.

...now to figure out bluetooth, seems like buttons are there but no option pops up on the radio to configure it...

so sounds like I'm off to order a parrot kit or something.

Congrats, on the purchase.. simialar situation down sized BMW collection to just my E30 and picked up a 2011 ALL4 6 speed.. should be here in a week or so.. in for more info...

Beau

I'm a Mini enthusiast and have been a forum member for many years, but I would strongly suggest avoiding any 2011 or 2012 Countryman, especially the S models.

Owners of 2011's and 2012's have had widespread problems. If someone tries to deny that, it's all here on this forum. Just go back to those years on the forum and look at what owners were reporting. Take a look at the tabulations from Consumer Reports based on widespread surveys of owners, and you can see just how bad it really is.

Sure there are some owners who have had no problems...thankfully the failure rates never approached 100%.

But the good news is that the situation has seemed to improve with each subsequent model year, especially starting with 2013 when BMW made a bunch of updates to the Countryman.

We owned a 2012 that had kept blowing fuel pump and fuel injection fuses. The car had to be towed to the dealer multiple times. The dealer could never figure out what the cause was. We finally started carrying spare fuses...a laughable solution, eh?

Under threat of a lemon law action BMW/Mini replaced the 2012 with a new 2013, and our experience with the replacement 2013 (now at 42k miles) has been far better. After owning the two cars back to back, it seems to be very obvious that the build quality substantially improved in 2013 with the changes they made to the car (it's obvious in things even like the switchgear).

With the 2013, at 8k miles there was a noise coming from the front axle that turned out to be a cracked wheel bearing, and the drivers lumbar broke at 18k miles. The lumbar seems to be a common problem as several others here have reported it, and the fact that the dealer would keep these parts in stock seems to be another indication that the problem is common.

The good news is that we have had no new problems in the last 25,000 miles.

What's unfortunate is that Consumer Reports continues to project brand new Countrymen as likely to be problematic. If you dig into their own data, clearly they are saying this based on the overall 4 year history of the model, and they don't seem to be noticing that the number of problems owners of '13's and '14's are reporting have dropped substantially.

Of course I'm not saying that all the sudden a brand new Countryman is going to be one of least troublesome vehicles on the market, but if you look at the data you can see that it's now "middle of the pack" versus being one of the most troublesome vehicles, which is where it was 3/4 years ago.

I totally want to echo Shark's comments on the 11/12 vs 13 and newer.

I owned a '12 Non-S CM which I traded in for a '14 CMS All4. While I had zero problems with my '12 Non-S, I was amazed when I was driving my '14 All4 home for the first time.

From a build quality perspective, it just felt much better, much more refined. There are little things like the interior fit & finish which were (and still are after 27K miles) less prone to creaking and rattling. I'd also say the '14 is slightly quieter on the interior.

And then it just drives more solidly, like a more expensive car (though I chalk that up to the engine/drivetrain difference of the All4 vs Non-S FWD).

27K miles, not one problem with the '14.

Obviously the 11's and 12's have a higher percentage of getting a more troublesome CM from what was state above.. But just wondering if there is a point mileage wise where the car is less likely to be one of the "bad" ones..

Sorry to high jack your thread.. just curious if the consensus is the "good ones" will stick around as time goes on etc..