I am the current owner of a 2005 MINI Cooper S. I would first like to say that I love my car and it can be a great joy to drive. This being said, I must admit that maintenance and reliability has been a complete nightmare. Since my warranty expired, it seems that everything that could go wrong has gone wrong- each issue also seems to be one that many others are facing as well. The first issue that presented itself was the failure of the condensor for the air conditioning. After receiving several estimates I decided that I couldn't afford the fix (approx. $1000) and have been without air conditioning ever since. The next major failure was the power steering pump- an issue that the mechanic who replaced it was extremely familiar with as he had seen many other MINI's with the same issue. This repair costed me $1,400- a repair I couldn't ignore as this was a HUGE safety issue. There were several occasions in which the power steering would fail WHILE I WAS DRIVING!

The next major issue I will have to face is the failure of the automatic transmission- it is starting to slip and I already know, hearing about so many others that are having issues with this and the class action lawsuit that has been filed in California, that it will be a VERY costly repair. My MINI has been at MINI of San Diego for over two weeks. BMW has already notified me that they will NOT be covering the cost of repairs, MINI of SD quoted me $8,000 to replace the transmission. I find this completely unacceptable.

If you are having this issue, I strongly urge you to post on the MINI USA Facebook page as well as file a complaint with the NHTSA - with enough complaints, there is an increased possibility of a recall.

 

This is just a few.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...vt-owners.html
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/13/m...ailures-again/
http://www.motoringfile.com/2011/12/...n-early-minis/
http://newmini.wordpress.com/2008/01...sion-problems/
http://www.newjerseyclassactionlawye...ction-lawsuit/
http://www.topclassactions.com/lawsu...ction-lawsuit-
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-problems.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t-failure.html
http://classactionlawsuitsinthenews....uit-complaint/

 

Thanks. I have definitely come across each of these in my research. Unfortunately, with as many complaints as there are, and even with the start of a class-action, nothing is really happening. The NHTSA needs to hear these... Did you have issues with your CVT, Braminator?

 

Weeble- I have not. I have a 6spd manual. But I have read numerous horro stories about them. I think you will be suprised at how many are out there and MINI has done nothing. But it is no different then all the issues with the R56 IMO. MINI only does what they are pushed to do IMO.

 

Weeble, you have an S with a CVT??

 

He does not if he has an S. The CVT only exists in the justa Cooper.

 

Weeble,
You have a Aisin made 6sp automatic, conventional type. Your issue is most likely the valve body. See the big thread on that issue. You can likely fix it for about $1500 using a rebuild valve body from Rev Max. Much much better than $8k.

For CVTs, I just saw an add in the classified for a rebuild CVT for $3K. So if you have a non "S" you could go that route and save a few g's