I bought a new 2011 Mini Cooper with manual transmission last Sunday after researching extensively and reading tons of reviews. Most of my research was on reliability issues using this site, and various other sources. In the end, I sided with the people that had no issues with the car and purchased it from my local dealer. Just for assurances, I also bought the ultimate warranty package; something that have never done with any other car purchases.

Right after driving it off the lot, the engine light came on. However, the car seemed to drive fine and I put about 100 miles on the first day. By the next day, the car sounded like it had a very rough start with the idle rpm fluctuating. I decided to quickly take it to service where they diagnosed it as bad spark plugs, and quickly replaced it under warranty. Unfortunately, by the time I bought it back home, the engine light had come back on. I also noticed that driving in 2nd gear had become incredibly rough at low speeds.

I scheduled another appointment with service and dropped off the car with a total of 300 miles on the odometer. Initially, I was told I had a cracked valve that would be replaced but soon after they called and told me they needed to test the car more as it was showing other problems. That was 4 days ago..

I'm beginning to get very worried and I feel that I have purchased a lemon. Even if they fix the issues, my confidence in the vehicle is gone and I don't think I will feel safe driving it anymore. Should I be worried about this or is this normal growing pains for the Mini?

Thanks,

 

Give them a chance to fix it. It's good that they want to keep it a while to make sure it's fixed.

An automobile is a very complex machine, I'm surprised that the manufacturer gets everything right most of the time.

Dave

 

Did they give you another mini to use ? Where is the dealer ? I have put about 2800 mi.on our new mcs since the 9th of last month & have noticed only one difference from our '07. It backfires in sport mode when shifting up or down. It gets better mpg & has 9hp more than the '07 ! So far so good. Hope your troubles are fixed & over with.

 

damn.. thats soon for engine light.. I got my first engine light I think around 500 -600 mark if I am not wrong.. of course I drove the car of the parking lot with 48 miles on.. and put another 250 miles to get home (3 states trip, LOL).. it was the only engine light I got and it was quick fix.. then I just had some TSB applied and nothing major as of now.. I hope U did not get lemon.. and if U did.. be glad it is happening right away than when the warranty is out or lemon law doesnt apply anylonger..

 

That's not a backfire… it's a pop and burble that is added to the exhaust to make the car more like the orignal MINI. From what I can tell, it was in the R53 and taken out of the R56 but put back in with the new engine for '11.


Some love it, some hate it…

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Guess I'll just have to patiently wait and see what the mechanics have to say. They now estimate that it will be tomorrow before they have anything new to tell me

pre shrunk, all I can say about the dealership is that they are about a mile away from me and that they are the best dealership I have ever dealt with in my life. The salesman was the most patient and friendliest guy I had ever had to deal with. As for their service department, they provided me with a shuttle service to and from work in a BMW X5 while also loaning me a countryman S. All this while providing me with frequent updates on the status of the car. If anyone I know wanted to buy a mini, you know which dealer I would recommend.

 

No sense worrying about something you have no control over. Let them fix the car and see how it goes. I'd start keeping a detailed log of every problem, every phone call, every discussion, every receipt, and read the lemon law brochure to get some idea of what needs to happen to be considered. Timing is everything when it comes to lemon law proceedings.

Having said all this, stay optimistic! Most of the time, these things settle right down and the car works out great. Statistically speaking, Minis have more issues than average, but even so, most are reasonably reliable, as yours probably will be. And you're financially covered with the warranties so that should give you some peace of mind.

- Mark

 

Keep us posted

 

I'd be worried in your situation also. At least you have the ultimate warranty package. I would familiarize myself with the warranty's small print to see if there are any potential shortcomings.

 

I got my car back yesterday evening! The mechanic told me that they had to replace the tank vent valve and kept it there for a few days to make sure other problems didn't crop up. All I can say is that the car is running very smoothly now! Hoping the next time i visit the dealership is when I get my annual service done.

Cheers,

 

 

glad all well

 

You got the glitch right away so you probably will never have another problem.

I just turned over 20,000 miles on my 2009 without a single thing to have repaired. I'm willing to say that this is the absolute best most fun & trouble free car I have ever owned and I have owned plenty of cars over the past fifty one years.

Enjoy your car and don't forget that it is under warranty for four full years.

 

Best car I've ever owned. 7000+ trouble free miles (cept for a couple of defective runflats, grrrrrrrrr) Glad to hear it was something minor

 

I was worried about my 2011 due to the check engine light coming on at 1400 miles. Took it to the dealer and they replaced the faulty part under warranty no issues. It was a faulty tank vent valve.

 

Hey Again,

Figured I would just continue with this post rather than starting a new one.
Sorry if this has been covered already but I couldn't find any solution to it after searching the site for a couple of days.

My car has been running fine lately but whenever I coast or drive below 3000RPM in first gear, the car would buck occasionally. This hasn't been a problem during normal acceleration but it does get annoying during slow traffic or parking.

Since there is no lights on I was wondering if this was normal for 1st gear in this car or whether I should take it in for a check.

Thanks,

 

Take it in and let them check it out. It should not happen at normal operaring temperture. It may be a fouled plug causing the bucking. My JCW is very smooth even at 1,500 in first gear.

Let us know how you make out with this problem.