Spontaneous engine bay fires!
 

Some of you already know of the 'problem' MINIs have with spontaneous engine bay fires. There seem to be two causes, a faulty power steering pump that shorts or a faulty ABS control module. Since my MINI, Peanut (#5 on the list), had an engine bay fire in May, I've compiled a list of known MINIs with same. If you know of one that isn't on the list please add it here, with as much information as you know, and links to original post if possible. If we keep a running tally, maybe MINI will finally pay attention and stop telling people that they've never heard of the problem! :mad: :mad: :mad: Let's get them to take some responsibility and have a recall! :thumbsup:

ADDED NOTE ON 2-3-08
If you have another to add to the list, please add it to this thread. I don't check in with the site like I used to so sending me a PM won't get to me for weeks sometimes. Also, VERY IMPORTANT: If you have had a fire in your MINI, PLEASE file a complaint with the NHTSA. They ARE investigating at the moment, so it's very important that you add your voice to their investigation. The more people on file, the more likely to have a good result. Here's the link: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/


Here's the list I've compiled:

(#1) '02 MCS (Scooter) burned in CA '05, totalled, cause determined to be ABS control unit, parked, 60K+ miles; original fire thread

(#2) '04 MCS burned CA time unknown, saved by fire extinguisher, cause determined to be faulty power steering unit, parked, 34K+ miles;

(#3) '03 MCS (MyTMaus) burned VA May '06, totalled, cause suspected to be ABS control unit, driving, 90K+ miles; info here

(#4) '04 MCS burned ME Apr '06, saved, caused by faulty ABS control unit, 33K miles; info here and here.

(#5) '03 MCS (Peanut) burned CA May '06, saved by fire extinguisher, cause determined to be faulty power steering module, 61K miles; info here, post #57

(#6) '03 MC(S?) burned NY April 29, 2006, saved by water from garden hose, cause determined to be power steering unit, parked, unknown miles (from the story it appears to still be under warranty) Jujubee's post and a little more detail here. (scroll down the page to find Jujubee's post)

(#7) '03 MC burned CA May '06, saved by fire extinguisher, caused by faulty power steering unit, don't know if it was parked but given the small amount of damage it was most likely parked, 36K miles; heard about it from my Motoring Advisor this afternoon when I stopped in to check on Peanut.

(#8) '03 MCS burned CA June '06, saved by fire extinguisher, caused by faulty power steering unit, while driving, unknown miles; see post at the top of page 6 here.

(#9) '02 MCS burned NY April '06, totalled, caused appears to be faulty ABS control unit given the location of fire, while driving, unknown miles; posted on MINI2 here.

(#10) 03 MCS (prod. date 10/01/02) CA 2004: Faulty Starter shorted and burned neighboring Wiring Harness and B+ Harness. Excessive heat on the wires caused a small fire. :eek2: Fire was out immediately due to close water source. Very lucky!! "Parts replaced: starter, engine harness, and charging point to starter harness (due to being burnt)". Post #34 in this thread by mjwong6.

(#11) Posted 9/7/06 in Liverpool, UK:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...-steering.html

(#12) Posted 8/6/06 somewhere in Europe - don't recognize the flag:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...re#post2580361

(#13) Posted 8/11/05 in U.S.:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...re#post1857859

(#14) Posted 10/8/04 in UK:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...re#post1124718

(#15) 2003 PW/B MC (Pennsylvania; Sep 2006) 76,000 miles. Burned while parked just after finishing driving to work. Fire, thankfully, burned itself out thus not totaling the vehicle. Caused as determined by the dealership was a shorted out power steering pump. Thread with more info is here.

(#16) 2003 MC (Colorado Springs, CO; October 7, 2006) 60,500 miles. Caught fire while driving. Cause due to Power Steering. Estimated damages between $2000.00-$4000.00. Post #43 in this thread.

(#17) 2003 MCS, build date probably 9/02 (Seattle, WA; January 4, 2007) 42,000 miles. Car had been parked for a few minutes. Caused by Power Steering components. Estimated damages between $2.5-3K; fixed under warranty. Post #93 in this thread.

(#18) 2005 MCS JCW (The Netherlands; January 15, 2007) Driving approximately 80 MPH. Odometer unknown. Explosion under the bonnet and immediate flames. Car was totalled. Post #95, including pictures, in this thread.

(#19) 2003 MC (North Hollywood, CA; January 20, 2007) 50,000+ miles. Car was parked and turned off. Power Steering Fluid pump shorted and caught fire. Put out by fire extinguisher; damages over $3,000. Post #99, including pictures, in this thread.

(#20) 2003 MCS(?) (Woodbury, CT; January 2007) 50,000 miles. Caught fire while a service tech was test driving it. Cause of fire unknown at this point. Car was totalled. Details here.

(#21) 03 MC (New Mexico; March 5 2007) 97,500 miles. Caught fire while parked at a Dodge dealership; owner had just left the car a few minutes before. Power Steering pump caught fire. Put out by fire extinguisher; damage to the wires at the top of the pump. Post #111 in this thread.

(#22) 03 MC (San Diego, CA; April 21 2007) 55,000 miles. Caught fire after being parked for a few minutes; owner had problems with steering prior to parking. Power Steering pump caught fire due to a sticky relay. Put out by fire extinguisher; all damage fixable. Post 144 in this thread.

(#23) ?? MCS (Seminole County, FL; April 26 2007) unknown miles. Caught fire in the garage at night; owners were asleep at the time. Unknown cause but engine bay fire is suspected in blaze. House destroyed and two pets were killed in the blaze. Newspaper story and linked video from local paper.

(#24) 03 MCS (USA; July 25 2007) 60,000. Caught fire while driving. Probable Power Steering pump failure. Put out by water; damage undetermined. Post 188 in this thread.

(#25) 03 MC (Sweden; Sept. 13 2007) Unknown miles. Caught fire after sitting parked for a few minutes on arrival home. Probable Power Steering pump failure. Put out by water; damage undetermined. Post 193 in this thread.

(#26) 03 MC (New Jersey; Oct. 2007) Unknown miles. Caught fire after sitting parked for a few minutes. Power Steering pump failure. Damage repaired. Post 199 in this thread.

(#27) 03 MC (Knoxville, TN; Dec. 2007) 62K miles. Caught fire, unknown if moving or parked. Power Steering pump failure. damage repairable. Post 219 in this thread.

(#28) 02 MC (Unknown location; Jan. 16 2008) 32K+ miles. Caught fire, unknown if moving or parked. Probable Power Steering pump failure. Car totalled in minutes. Post 220 in this thread.

(#29) 04 MCS (Unknown location; Jan. 2008) 33K miles. Caught fire while parked. ABS system failure. Blew fuses to ABS system; repairable Post 226 in this thread.

(#30) 04 MCS (Rhode Island; April 18, 2008) 65K miles. Caught fire while parked after just having been driven. Power Steering Pump failure. Car fixed with $2,600 damage. Post 250 in this thread.

Excellent idea, and a vote for "Sticky" staus. :nod:

The silence and apparent inaction on this problem by BMW/MINI is reprehensible. :mad:

This thread is most deserving of a sticky. It's just a matter of time before someone is injured or worse. The sooner BMW/MINI resolves this issue, the better.

I've noticed that all of the cars listed are 2004 and earlier. I've heard the ABS fuse problem has been corrected on all Mini's. Haven't heard yet about the PS.

A Sticky? You got my vote! :thumbsup:

Yes, def. a sticky vote

that is a major issue! recall would be highly recommended before my house burns down.

Thread moved to Beneath the Bonnet and stickied.

Gromit, according to the research done in Mike & Donna's case (#1 on the list), there were new fuses starting in '04 models. But if you look at the list, there is an '04 with a fire caused by a faulty ABS control module (#4 on the list). Did they really fix the problem? I guess we won't know for sure until tragedy strikes again...

Thanks for stickying the post Dave!

Jenn

While I'm sure we're all grateful for the sticky-ing, Dave, with all due respect, I'm not sure the move to the "BTB" section was warranted. :confused:

This is of critical interest to everyone, indeed, even more so to those who don't usually venture into the modding, tweaking, and DIY arenas of car ownership. The people who are content never to lift the hood, and leave care of their cars to dealerships are the very ones who need to be alerted the most, hence the original poster's placement of this under Mini Talk. :impatient

Again, with respect, this is a serious enough issue that it needs to be posted where the most people possible will see it. I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking it'd be better for it to be returned where it was, and stickied there.

Best,
DW

I agree. This is an important safety issue that every MINI owner needs to know about. The MINI Talk sub-forum would make a better home for this thread.:thumbsup:

I wonder if the # of miles on a car is in anyway related to the part failing. I recon 05-06 cars are not known to have the problem because they don't have enough miles on them for the part to fail.

Just at a glance at the summary of the known cases there, there's a big difference between 30k & 60k+... Big enough to make me think that probably isn't part of the equation.

Beneath the Bonnet is the forum where we handle all of the problems that are related to issues with MINI parts/warranty. Just as with the rust issue, stumble, cracked windshields, coolant tanks, etc. this is the correct forum for it. I know that doesn't make me popular at times, because everyone wants maximum exposure for their topic, but this is the right forum for it.

Not to minimize the significance, but just to place it in some context. There have been nearly 160,000 MINIs sold in the U.S. to date. From what we've seen so far, 8 have caught on fire. That is .005% of cars sold. This isn't some massive problem that everyone needs to run right out and check. It's a small number of incidence with an admittedly catastrophic result.

Dave

Right...but its unlikely to see a 05 or 06 car with 30K+ miles:razz:

I'm sure the people at BMW who think this "isn't some massive problem" that they've "never heard of" share your optimism. Hopefully, it won't take a parked MINI in someone's garage catching fire, burning a house down, and killing someone who isn't even in the car to decide it wartrants "maximum exposure."

Is that very real, and perfectly legitimate possibility "catastrophic" enough to warrant more people seeing it? :sly:

This isn't about popularity or someone's thread ego, Dave, it's about responsibility. Other car companies have issued major recalls recently, over similar issues, with far fewer incidents to prompt them. In that "context," BMW/MINI is, in fact, ignoring a very major problem indeed. So unless and until they decide to act more responsibly than they have, it's up to the MINI community to keep an eye out for each other. That is the purpose of this discussion.

And since we're quoting statistics, they're a rather poor justification for anything. A given house has only about a 9% chance of catching fire under ordinary circumstances. Even so, only a fool would look at that figure and decide to throw away his smoke detectors. :roll:

But as you have made clear, it's your forum, so as you like it...


I sincerely hope you won't be proven wrong.

DW

In addition to the nine fires documented in SCoop's first post, there is the fire in Great Britain that led to a BBC "Watchdog" report:

http://www.kenet.co.uk/bmw-problems/

The nine fires cited in this thread are just the ones of which we're aware. If you consider that only a small percentage of MINI owners are active on NAM (26,200 members, or 16% of U.S. MINI owners) and MINI2, then the actual number of fires that have occurred is surely larger.

Excellent point. Not eveyone who has a MINI is on an internet forum.

Plenty of violent crimes go un-reported too. But I guess they just didn't happen, then, so why worry about them?

:roll:

Not true, I have an '05 bought in Feb '05 and I have almost 24k, I know there are others that have more. :)

Steve

That's a lot of miles for just over one year

I bought my 2005 on July 2, 2005 and have 35,500 miles on it. I have had the coolent tank leak from day one, squealing belt problem (replaced tensioner), hydraulic motor mount leak (replaced), bypass valve failure (replaced), and the windshield wiper motor failed in a storm (replaced). All these problems started during the drive home from the dealership or before 10,000 miles. I really hope I don't have to look forward to my MINI burning up, also.:mad:

Steve

Depends on how much you like to drive your MINI. I put 22K on Peanut in the first year. I average over 20K a year, or I did when I was living in SoCal. Now that I'm in Virginia, I wouldn't be surprised if I put on a little more than half that.

BTW, I seem to be the only one adding to that forum as well. I've posted the same list there, on scmm's board, and on HR MINIs (Hampton Roads) board. On all the others I'm known as PNUT JET.

Jenn

hey all.. new to the forum. I have a '05 MCS with 37K+ miles and so far no engine bay fires.. should I be worried?

Welcome to NAM!

actualsize, it's not something you should spend too much time worrying about; as the point was made above, it's a VERY small percentage of MINIs that have had fires.

What you should be is aware. Carry a fire extinguisher in your car. They're only $10-11 at Target and they could save your car. On the other hand, if the fire's gone beyond a certain point, you probably don't want to save it. My car was saved and she's doing great... I've heard the same from/about others whose car was saved early. Just be aware and if it happens to you, act fast or not at all.

Jenn