I'm wondering if I have made a mistake buying this '07 Mini.....

Less than 2000 miles on the odometer, and we have a whole host of problems. The SES, EML, and gas cap warning lights are certainly keeping me "entertained". The car stalls after starting up hot, and stumbles/dies as I roll to a stop. The a/c vents will not stay in the "open" position. The tail lights accumulate moisture when I wash the car. My dealer tells me that he has pulled two codes - P1498 the "unmetered air" code (which is scary, since than could possibly mean that un-filtered air could be entering the engine), and P0450 some kind of evaporative emission code. No doubt, these issues are lighting the warning lights. The dealer is telling me that ALL of my problems are caused by a faulty tank vent valve. I don't see where P1498 is related, but....we'll find out.
Adding insult to all of this, is the fact my dealer did not have any of these parts in stock, requiring me to make two visits to have the car repaired. The parts had to be ordered from Germany....???? What...there are no other MINI dealers to check with? There is no parts distribution system within the entire U.S. ??? They sell the cars here - can they service them here? Or stock service parts here? From searching the NAM website, I can see that these two codes have appeared on lots of cars, with mention of having to replace vent valves, superchargers, and supercharger plumbing /connection pieces. Seems that if these are recurring problems, MINI dealers would know, or would have been advised to stock the necessary repair parts. Nah....that would be too logical.....

One of my other personal cars is a Mercedes. It's the third one we've owned, and it is trouble-free. In the past, with previous Mercedes cars, when we have needed parts for repairs, I cannot think of a single incident where parts had to ship from overseas.

This Mini purchase "started life" as a Corvette purchase. I'm beginning to wish that it ended that way. After all, there's a Chevrolet dealer on every corner, and service parts (should they be needed) are not a problem. My dealer contacts are very polite, and the dealership itself hasn't let me down (other than not having the parts), but that does not make up for MINI U.S.A.'s shortcomings.

Hopefully, these problems will be resolved and will not surface again.
As for the positive aspects of the car, I like the looks and handling of the car. It is fun to drive (when working properly).

Has anyone else experienced this many problems so early on, or am I the "lucky" one?

Steven

 

the evap code is a very common code to appear in all cars. for the most part it occurs after you get gas and dont completely tighten the cap. otherwise the vent valve could be clogged. sometimes spiders find their way into the hose and settle down. or a hose could be ripped causing a leak and therefore set a code. most likely it was the gas cap. as for the other one...i dont want to make any guesses.

 

That's certainly strange - we have two '06 convertibles (essentially the same as your '07) with a combined total of about 40k miles, and the closest thing to a problem with either car is that the fuel gauge on my wife's car will sometimes randomly drop to "empty", even when the tank is full.

No warning lights, SES lights, OBC codes, or weird noises/flaky behaviour on either car.

For your car, every one of your symptoms sounds like a bad vacuum leak. This would cause the rough running, stalling, problems with the A/C vents (since they're vacuum-operated), and also the unmetered air code, since a vacuum leak is essentially just that - unmetered air.

It sounds like they're on the right track with your fuel tank vent. Like you said, hopefully they'll find one small problem that's causing all of your symptoms, and then you'll be problem-free for the rest of the time you have the car.

 

well would you say you got a lemon? if so, take it back quick

 

You should always leave the car with them to fix it if it is a brand new car. In the event you have a lemon, you will more quickly add up the 30 days in the shop to qualify for most lemon laws.

 

Thank you guys for the replies and advice. "Do I think that I have a lemon?"
I hope not. I did "wander around" on this website before buying the car, just to see what the problems have been. I'm hoping that this is just "my luck" at play here, and the problems are all solved.

Speaking of which, we picked the car up yesterday, and all issues seem to have been fixed. No more lights, so far. We'll see, as time goes by.....

Here's the positive thing......(other than having to wait for parts to ship from Germany) the dealership guys are great. They are polite, helpful, knowledgeable, and they even remember your name when you walk in (with or without an appointment - as in "not expecting you")!

I mentioned an interesting comment to one of the dealership employees that another MINI owner said to me during a discussion of these recent events.
"What the MINI lacks in refinement, it more than makes up for in the "fun factor". The employee agreed with me on that concept, and that concept is what I will try to remind myself of, should problems like these pop up again.
I didn't buy it because it was well-engineered........it's not. I bought it because it is fun - AND IT IS!

Thanks again - I feel better!

 

Yeah, it sounds to me like a Friday night end of shift build. There always is that 1 in however many thousands with an issue. I am at 4k now on my 07. The only issue I really have is a cosmoline stain on the drivers side, and wiper jet weeping. I am taking mine in on Saturday to be looked at and will mention the cosmoline at that time. Oh and I notice the roof visor both front and rear do not stay closed on the sun roof. So three kind of minor issues that will all be mentioned this Saturday.

 

Since Steven's signature indicates it is a "Sidewalk", which means it's a convertible, I'm moving the thread back to 1st Gen Stock Problems/Issues, where it belongs (and where it started!).

 

Thanks Edge.

I've changed my signature (at your suggestion) to alleviate any further confusion.

By the way....drove the car to work Friday, and all appears to be well.

We are going out tomorrow for an extended drive...we'll see.......

Steven

 

Steven....we ordered my Wife's 06 ML 500 ....waited 8 weeks for this car cause we had great service from her previous ML 350. Car arrived....week later the tranny pukes...back to the dealer. 4 weeks later ????? we get a call that it's fixed and ready to go (tranny had to come from German?).....she didn't get 4 blocks from the Dealership....tranny pukes again. I'm furious....the Dealership calls me 2 weeks later...Mr. D....we're Lemon Lawing the car. My wife picked a new one off the show room floor...which has had a few quirks as well but at least the tranny hasn't puked! Our little Bullet had a A/C water leak when I first picked it up....Dealership fixed it....since then we've had great fun...now 3500 miles and flying low! Hang in there...it can happen to anyone or any manufacturer...top down....90 MPH.....enjoy the ride!

 

The only German cars that are less reliable than a Mini are VWs (and maybe a couple of the high end MBZ), and that's pretty sad.

BMW gets it right with the cars under their own brand but they just don't want to do the heavy lifting to really do the Mini right.

Come on...BMW builds some of the best engines on earth but they can't be bothered to design and build the engines used in the Mini?

It's too bad...

 

As with most things, everyone's opinions and experiences are different.....

Our experience is that our Mercedes has been absolutely trouble-proof. And the MINI has "started out on the wrong foot".

I'm just hoping that this MINI incident is an isolated one, and that we will be "good" for a long while.

The earlier mention of it being an "end of shift" car made me think of Alex Haley's novel, "Wheels" (I think that I have this right...working from memory here). In this book he describes "troubled cars" as having (possibly) been assembled on either a Monday or a Friday (when workers were either absent, or "suffering" from "too much weekend". I'm sure that to a certain extent, this idea is true.....

Steven

 

So did the dealer have to do anything besides replace the tank vent valve? I'm curious if I was right about all of your various symptoms basically being the result of a vacuum leak.

 

Two things strike me here.
*To be positive... They do check the dealer network first before ordering for Germany. That said, since the part is not in stock, it may indicate that the part doesn't fail all that often.. so that would "just be your luck"

*The other thing is the gas cap light. If that is coming on with regularity make sure that you are doing a couple things...first, don't fill it when it is running. This is the first car I've ever owned that stated that in the manual. Second is to make sure that you are clicking the gas cap shut. Don't just turn it shut once and call it good. Click it a few times just to be sure.

One other thing. I'm pretty sure you weren't going to get a new 'vette, so dont' be so sure that you wouldn't be having issues with a used one by now. (assuming $ for $ purchasing power)

 

ScottRiqui,

Apparently, the tank vent valve solved the engine/drive-ability problems. I had a "detailed" conversation with the sevice advisor about whether or not we still have a possible "unfiltered air" leak.


chpsk8,

Well...my luck is....my typical luck, as far as the parts thing goes.

I don't fill any of my vehicles while they are running - just never have.

I'm very familiar with the loose gas cap problem, and the need for a warning light. But...I am guilty of "topping off" and some folks (and manufacturers) say not to.

As for Corvette vs MINI, and their respective prices, I do know that the pricing is different (as are the cars, themselves). Price was not the issue. It wasn't a consideration of new MINI versus used Corvette. We were looking at both cars as new automobiles, not used. Good point on your part, though.

Thanks again for all of your replies. I appreciate it.

 

Sounds like horrible problems to have. Sorry to hear. Keep us updated on what you decide and find out.

 

I think the tank vent valve is vacuum-operated/assisted, so if the valve failed, you could have been sucking unmetered air into the engine via the tank vent valve.

If your starting/driveability issues are resolved, and you're not getting the "unmetered air" engine code any longer, your problems are likely solved.