Heee. We sound like Ducati owners justifying our quirky, often troublesome but deeply satisfying motorcycles.

(Maybe I'm projecting ... but I have owned a couple Ducatis, and they are significantly less reliable than Honda motorcycles ... but they've got soul.)

 

Ever since my 2005 R53 S went out of warranty in December '08, the car has had the following out of pocket repairs:

December 2008: Second clutch kit and flywheel replaced under MINI's Extended service contract ($2,500 dealer repair bill, 2 days out of the car, MINI loaner provided).

January 2009: Front suspension bushings were found to be completely worn out and destroy. Car had a hair over 51K miles. Took it to my independent MINI shop (Owned by a friend of mine, 3 time MINI owner and well respected in the local MINI community) and had them replace all OEM rubber bushings with Powerflex Polyurethane bushings, engine mounts and engine to transmission bushing. Cost of parts = $200 plus labor (@ $75 per hour) = $300. Total repair bill out of pocket = $500. After the Powerflex bushings went in, the car drives and feels like it should have left the factory back in February 2005 when mine was built. There is no comparison, period.

June 2009. On a Sunday while driving around town, my A/C suddenly failed and white smoke (Very smelly too) was coming from the engine compartment. Turns out that the crappy OEM 2 speed mode for the engine/AC fan had failed maybe several hundred miles ago and in turn, the A/C compressor was working at maximum pressure. With the Florida heat, the compressor self destructed. Also an A/C line was busted and leaking freon probably related to the pressures on the low side of the system. Total repair bill out of pocket = $1,700, again done at the independent. New OEM engine fan assembly ($300), new OEM AC Compressor ($700) plus labor, recharge system, etc (Another $700). Gee, thanks MINI for rewarding my loyalty to your products this way!

2 weeks ago..... Driving in the midst of bumper to bumper traffic and while taking my toddler son to his swimming class, the car suddenly buckled upon acceleration out of first gear and the dashboard lit up like a Xmas tree.... Check engine light, battery light and EML lights all turned on. The car went into limp mode, would not accelerate past 10-15MPH. What a scary/helpless feeling. I was in the left utmost lane and had to cross 3 lines of traffic hoping some idiot not knowing/understanding what was going on could have hit us or runs us over. There was a bad "burning" smell coming from the engine. Immediately turned off the engine and turned it back on, just to get us to the parking lot of a Walgreen's pharmacy. The car went again into limp mode. Pissed, I called my friend the mechanic and he asked me a couple of questions.... Low and behold he knew exactly what it was as that same day he had worked in 2 other R53 S with the same problem.... Sudden failure of the crank shaft pulley! Great!!! Opened the bonnet and I see the belt shred to pieces. Had to call AAA (No more free MINI roadside assistance either) and call for a tow truck to haul the car back to the shop. Thank GOD for AAA. They promptly sent a flat bed tow truck (Per my request) and even the tow truck driver was a very nice gentleman. Loaded/unloaded the car like it was his. Very impressed. Had to pay $50 cash for the towing (Regular price = $120 if you are not an AAA member).

Next day my friend confirms failure of the crappy OEM crank shaft pulley and proceeds to give me the options....OEM crank shaft pulley (That will fail again in 60K miles) = $450. or... MINIMANIA Ultrik standard inference billet aluminum reduced weight (By 75% compared to the OEM pulley) crank shaft pulley = $250. No brainer. He has raced his MINI in Miami-Homestead Speedway with the MINIMANIA Ultrik crankshaft pulley with no durability or reliability problems. I told him...I don't want any more crappy OEM parts, put the Ultrik. If it is been good to you in the racetrack it will be good to me out in the street. Final repair bill + new battery (The OEM was still good but fast approaching the 5 year mark, didn't want to take any chances) = $525 out of pocket. $250 for the Ultrik aluminum (It is a piece of art by the way) crank shaft pulley, new Interstate battery ($86 his cost) and the rest on 3+ hours labor @$75 per hour.

So as you can see, I have had nearly $3,000 worth of out of pocket repairs since the warranty expired in December. This is a car that has been PAMPERED and still looks brand new (No dings, dents or scratches) religiously maintained by the BOOK.

Now the car drives and feels better than new. But I can't help but think that BMW/MINI sources and installs CRAPPY OEM PARTS AT THE FACTORY!! Parts that are designed to last no longer than the factory warranty. This is crap and a poor excuse for a car company that brags to build the ultimate driving machines in the world.

The MINI is a well engineered unfortunately car saddled with cheap/poor quality and lasting parts for top dollar.

Before, I did not care for the MINI aftermarket. Now I am a huge fan of the MINI aftermarket industry. The aftermarket is correcting all the poor and lame decisions made by the designers, executives and accountants that run MINI.

The moral of the story:

If you plan to keep your MINI beyond the warranty period you should:

1) Buy an aftermarket extended warranty contract or setup an interest bearing savings account and set aside money, from the time the car is new, to pay and cover for unexpected repairs when the car comes of age and mileage.

2) Find yourself a good and reputable independent MINI repair shop. Otherwise, the dealer's hourly labor rate and cost of the same crappy OEM parts will eat you alive.

3) Always maintain membership with a road assistance driver's club like AAA. The best money you'll ever pay for peace of mind.

4) Always, always keep cash in your wallet. Tow truck companies and drivers flat out refuse accepting payment with credit cards. Cash or personal check. Don't let this happen to you.

5) Be ON TOP of the maintenance of your MINI. If you neglect your car when it is still under warranty, your negligence will come back and bite you real hard in the wallet.

 

Honda adds 440,000 cars to recall over airbags

• Story Highlights
• 2001-02 Accords, 2001 Civics and 2002-03 Acura TLs included
• Airbag inflators can produce over-pressurization, company says
• At least six injured, one killed by potential defect
• Owners will receive recall notices in the mail

(CNN) -- An additional 440,000 Honda vehicles are being added to a recall initially announced in November to repair a potential defect in airbag inflation systems, American Honda Motor Co. said Friday. The 2001 Honda Civic is among the vehicles covered by the recall.
The recall involves driver-side airbags in certain 2001-02 Honda Accords, 2001 Civics and 2002-03 Acura TLs, the company said in a news release.
The affected vehicles will require the replacement of the steering-wheel-mounted airbag inflator.
"In some vehicles, airbag inflators can produce over-pressurization of the driver's [front] airbag inflator mechanism during airbag deployment," the release said. "If an affected inflator deploys, the increased internal pressure may cause the inflator casing to rupture. Metal fragments could pass through the cloth airbag cushion material, possibly causing an injury or fatality to vehicle occupants."
Honda spokesman Chris Noughtan said the potential defect has resulted in six known injuries and one known death.

"Only certain vehicles are affected, and concerned owners of 2001-2002 Accords, 2001 Civics and 2002-2003 Acura TLs are encouraged to wait to receive a recall notice in the mail before scheduling an appointment with their local dealer," the company said. (??!!)
**************

I'd call the service dept before I got into a small fender bender and had shrapnel sent through my chest.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this. My Mom drives a 2001 Honda Civic, which is currently about 4 hours away with my little sister in Oklahoma. This type of thing is exactly why my sister will be taking my Dad's '05 MCS back with her to college in a few weeks. Now we get to keep an eye out in the mail for our recall letter. This would be the 2nd recall on that car, which also loves to eat tires by the way.

Our '05 Mini hasn't given us any problems. I guess that it is one of those "lemons" y'all referred to. My Mini is brand new and the only problem I've had is that the newbie MA at the dealership, who was not my MA, put the rubber floor mats in without the velcro discs to hold them in place. It has since been corrected and is now perfect. I love this car!

PS: I already have a savings account set up for car repairs, grad school, and anything else necessary

 

i think im gonna go buy a chrysler

 

I've had plenty of problems too, but I love my MINI to death haha

 

A few minor issues, some rattles...still smilin' every day I get inside and MOTOR!! 19,000 Miles and Counting!!

I L<3VE MY MOLLY CAR!!!

 

Even though a Mini looks like Bulldog, it acts like a hyper, excited, crazy, little Chihuahua that's wagging its tail running circles around you wanting you to play with it and run and run like crazy. It's delicate but tough at the same time.

 

 

we dont need airbags our cars are to small were fd either way :-)

 

 

I don't know.... Mini and F-150 going 40 mph...

 

Don't forget this one either:

 

Wow, it sounds like the newer Minis are having the most problems. I bought my 02 Cooper used over 2 years ago and it has 95K miles on it now. Other than the Mini dealership charging an arm and a leg just to maintain it I have no complaints. Of course I need to replace the control arm bushings and that is a known Mini issue but as far as rattles...even with my Mini being 8 years old there aren't any rattles like other people have complained about. Maybe I am one of the fortunate ones. I love my Cooper and it runs like a scalded dog!!! Of course a few upgrades have helped. I do agree that Mini/BMW have no excuse but to make dependable cars. I once owned a BMW 318ti. It was the biggest piece of crap. I swore to never buy another BMW. Whenever someone says to me "Well, Mini is a BMW" I always deny it. LOL!

 

MINIs do have a lot of issues. My wife's Nissan just goes and goes while my repair list piles up. Still, my '03 MINI with 100k+ miles is the most fun and coolest car I've ever owned.

 

I would have to agree. I rarely respond to surveys unless I'm mad about something - bad quality, service, etc. I think most people are the same so you're going to get a lot of "bad" opinions and few "good" ones regardless of the actual quality of the product.

I have almost 14K on my baby and she hasn't given me a single problem either (knock on wood). I haven't noticed any rattles but then I have the music up pretty loud most of the time so ... the only car I've ever had that I really cared about - the rest were just transportation.

Lightning Blue - good choice!

 

I've owned a Triumph motor cycle that you could follow where I had been by the oil trail, and a MGB/GT that stayed at the dealership more than it stayed with me, so why did I buy a Mini, and why do I still have it after experiencing many of the same problems previously posted?
I'm crazy about the little car ..... have already purchased the long term maintenance contract ..... and am going to cough up $2300 for the long term warranty contract because I don't want to get rid of the car no matter how much trouble I have with it.
Don't trust the reliability, but love the "mean *** machine".

 

My 09 is miles above my 05 in terms of build quality and overall reliability, almost (save for two cold start knocks) trouble-free at 11,000 miles and 15 months.

No headaches here, but then I could care less what JDP thinks.

 

You mean a Fiat, right?

 

Lots of problems -- none that keep the car from driving, luckily -- with my 2010 Clubman S, which I'm sure most of you have seen in various posts of mine on this forum.

From my perspective I don't have much confidence in how reliable this thing will be; hopefully I'll be proven wrong. And as much as I love aspects of the way it drives and the car itself, the torque steer is so bad that I might just buy another car at the end of the warranty for this one. We'll see what's out at that point!

 

If you don't mind buying a used car, when you get rid of this one pick up a low-mileage 06 MCS. Virtually no "torque steer" and it's a lot more fun to drive, imo. Reliability will still suck, of course.

 

The torque steer thing is a recent development? How could they let that happen?? It's pretty bad, I must say. Doesn't inspire confidence all of the time, that's for sure.

 

Other than the interior issues, the "bucking bronco" behavior during hard acceleration was a big reason I didn't replace my 05 MCS with an R56. When you get the chance, try driving an 05/06 and experience the difference for yourself.

 

I wonder why it changed? Do you know if there's a way to mod the newer models so that they handle well under acceleration, like they used to? I need the space that the Clubman has, is the problem.

 

As far as I know, both R53 and R56 have equal-length half shafts, which should prevent textbook torque steer from occurring. IMO, the bucking bronco effect is not torque steer per se but a manifestation of differential traction at the front wheels. First one side pulls, then the other.

I'm guessing that either a) there is too much torque for the available traction or b) the torque is not able to be applied evenly to both sides for some reason.

I think it's just poorly engineered so there's not much you can do about it, unless you want to detune the engine!