2002 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10276566 Year: 2002 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10276566 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: July 11, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: San Gabriel Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33412T Date Added to File: July 13, 2009 Date Complaint Received by July 13, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 63000 Miles Number of Occurrences: n/a Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 25 Miles Description of the Complaint:The contact owns a 2002 MINI cooper. The vehicle shut off while driving approximately 25 mph. There were no warnings prior to the transmission failure. The contact feels that this is a serious safety issue because a crash could have occurred. The failure mileage was 63,000.
2002 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10269497 Year: 2002 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10269497 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: May 13, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Hinsdale Consumer's State: IL Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33412T Date Added to File: May 20, 2009 Date Complaint Received by May 20, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 67700 Miles
Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 5 Miles Description of the Complaint:Transmission whining noise eventually leading to transmission failure. MINI is aware of this problem with cvt transmissions and refuses to admit fault. Very common problem occurring in most 2002 vehicles with only 40,000-60,000 miles on them. Cost is 7000 to replace. MINI does not offer repair on this part.
2002 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10241197 Year: 2002 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10241197 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: August 3, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: San Francisco Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33472T Date Added to File: September 6, 2008 Date Complaint Received by September 6, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 43191 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 10 Miles Description of the Complaint:The automatic transmission of my 2002 MINI cooper failed while my friend was driving my car. She was on a winding coastal road and the car died on a blind curve, putting her at great danger. Fortunately nobody was hurt. The car was towed to the san francisco BMW dealership, where I was informed I needed a $8500 "refurbished" transmission, as the transmission is not even made anymore. Research on line shows that this becoming a frequent problem with "first generation" minis with the "cvt" automatic transmission. I declined the repair and sold them the carcass of my car. This is a dangerous problem and BMW/MINI is not accepting responsibility.
2002 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10241108 Year: 2002 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10241108 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: January 10, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Daly City Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: September 5, 2008 Date Complaint Received by September 5, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 98901 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 60 Miles Description of the Complaint:I was driving my 2002 MINI on the freeway at 65 mph and I felt a sudden jolting and sensed a backward force impeding it from going forward. Luckily, it was night time and there weren't many cars, because my MINI stopped going forward and was merely running on momentum. The car got worse and started making a loud clunking sound from where the transmission sits and the car continued jolting not going forward as I barely had enough momentum to pull to the shoulder. After turning off the engine and checking that everything was fine by appearance (no oil leak, no blown gasket, etc), I restarted the car fine, but the car never again engaged into gear until I spent a whopping $7,000 to fix it. I would shift into d and the engine would rev, but the car stayed inert. The transmission is a closed system and when no harm is done to it and no fluid is not leaking, transmissions shouldn't pose any problems at considerably low miles (99k). I started researching on the possible problems with the transmission and sure enough, there was a long list of complaints on the faulty design. Next, I had to shop for mechanics. All the experienced MINI mechanics told me that BMW offered no replacement parts because of a patent the inventor had on the cvt design. I had to have the whole transmission replaced because there were no options BMW left for the consumer. It was either you pay $7,000 or your MINI will be scrapped and never run again. My mechanic was nice enough to chop open the transmission and saw that it was just a metal belt that drives the transmission that was broken. A simple belt that probably costs no more than $200 could have been replaced and a whole lot of consumer money could have been saved if the part was available to the us- not to mention the whole ordeal wouldn't be there if BMW had designed a reliable transmission in the first place, (ie use a regular automatic transmission instead of a cvt when the cvt has not be fully tested for its reliability).
2002 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10237175 Year: 2002 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10237175 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: August 5, 2002 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Havelock Consumer's State: NC Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33432T Date Added to File: August 6, 2008 Date Complaint Received by August 6, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 46000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 55 Miles Description of the Complaint:I AM the second owner (both older ladies), of a 2002 automatic MINI cooper with 46,000 miles. Yesterday while driving home from work the tranny failed. It downshifted or something and the ep warning light came on, which means transmission failure and I was two feet away from being rear ended! I could have been killed. After researching on line, I have read great amounts of consumers with the same complaint. It is dangerous and very costly according to the figures I've read of people whose had theirs fixed or replaced. These cars with the cvt transmissions needs to be announced to the public for safety reasons alone not even to mention the cost! sincerely, bonnie quinn
2002 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10221060 Year: 2002 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10221060 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: March 8, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission
Consumer's City: Washington Consumer's State: DC Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33442T Date Added to File: March 13, 2008 Date Complaint Received by March 13, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 31980 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: Yes Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: Front Wheel Drive Fuel System Type: Fuel Injection Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: 25 Miles Description of the Complaint:Cvt transmission failed after 32,000 miles, needing costly replacement.
2002 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10212708 Year: 2002 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10212708 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: December 26, 2007 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Fair Lawn Consumer's State: NJ Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33462T Date Added to File: December 26, 2007 Date Complaint Received by December 26, 2007 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 122000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 2 Date of Purchase: October 29, 2002 Is Original Owner: Yes Has Anti-Lock Brakes: Yes Has Cruise Control: Yes Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: Front Wheel Drive Fuel System Type: Fuel Injection Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: 10 Miles Description of the Complaint:My automatic transmission failed on my 2002 MINI cooper rendering the car will not start. The dealership wants $6000+ to fix the transmission. I had a similar issue about 3 months ago and they just reset the code and it worked fine. They said if they tried resetting the code again, the
car may just die on me while driving.
2002 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10211394 Year: 2002 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10211394 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: November 30, 2007 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Champaign Consumer's State: IL Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33442T Date Added to File: December 10, 2007 Date Complaint Received by December 10, 2007 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: n/a Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: June 20, 2003 Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: Yes Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: Rear Wheel Drive Fuel System Type: Fuel Injection Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: 2 Miles Description of the Complaint:I have a 2002 MINI cooper with a cvt automatic transmission. The transmission has failed. The care has about 61,000 miles. The transmission has to be replaced costing me at least $6,000.
2002 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10201306 Year: 2002 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10201306 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: August 28, 2007 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: San Francisco Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33412T Date Added to File: August 31, 2007
Date Complaint Received by August 31, 2007 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 59000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: September 17, 2002 Is Original Owner: Yes Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: Yes Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: 50 Miles Description of the Complaint:I recently was driving home from sacramento when my car stopped driving on the freeway.... Luckily I was able to pull off to the side and call for help... The car was still running and the rpm's were going up, but would not drive or reverse. I had no idea what the problem was especially since I had just had the second inspection service on the car on 4/10/2007 at the cost of $850. The car had not been driving funny, no lights had come on, nothing was abnormal. Aaa took my car to MINI of sacramento dealer where I had to leave it over night (the service department was no longer open) and check myself into a hotel. I called the next morning and they said because I did not have an appointment they would be able to take the car on an emergency basis and take a look at it around 5:00 pm. I was called later that day and told the car needed a new transmission and it will cost $7,500... The car has roughly 59,000 miles on it. Updated 02-21-08
2002 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10197283 Year: 2002 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10197283 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: May 23, 2007 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Milpitas Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33472T Date Added to File: July 23, 2007 Date Complaint Received by July 23, 2007 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 57600 Miles Number of Occurrences: 4 Date of Purchase: June 6, 2002 Is Original Owner: Yes Has Anti-Lock Brakes: Yes Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: Front Wheel Drive Fuel System Type: Fuel Injection Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission
Vehicle Speed: 30 Miles Description of the Complaint:The contact owns a 2002 MINI cooper. The contact stated that her transmission failed while driving 30 mph. The dealer informed her that there is Warranty expired that covered the transmission. The vehicle has a cvt transmission and, according to the NHTSA website, there are many others with this same failure. The computer chip was replaced three times after stalling on three separate occasions prior to the transmission failing. The vehicle was constantly shutting off and stalling in the middle of the road. The current and failure mileages were 57,600. Updated 02/01/08. The consumer stated the Battery also needed replacing after 41,000 miles. The consumer stated the repairs cost her $7,000. Updated 02/01/08
2002 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10000426 Year: 2002 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10000426 Manufacturer: Bayerische Motoren Werke Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: October 28, 2002 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Chelsea Consumer's State: MA Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: December 30, 2002 Date Complaint Received by December 30, 2002 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: n/a Number of Occurrences: n/a Date of Purchase: April 18, 2002 Is Original Owner: Yes Has Anti-Lock Brakes: Yes Has Cruise Control: Yes Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: Fuel Injection Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:I AM having a problem with my 2002 MINI cooper, it is experiencing problems with the transmission and it has been in the service department in three separate occasion totallying 54 days, the last time that it was in the service department it was 40 days. They finally said the problem was corrected, but it took them that long to figure out what was wrong. I called the dealership and told them that I wanted to be compensated only for the days the car was at their shop, also I informed them that if the MINI has to be taken to the shop again, that will force me to enforce the lemon law. Melissa steffy, the general manager, said for me to send her the letter and she wil see what she can do, but that it was unlikely that they would compensate for anything. I don't think it's fair because I purchased the car to use it, not for them to have it in the dealer's service department. I would appreciate if you could assist me with this matter. Thanks leyda ramos for edid batista :
[email protected]
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10292084 Year: 2003
Make: Model: Complaint Number: Manufacturer: Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: Incident Date: Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: Number of Persons Injured: Number of Fatalities:
MINI Cooper 10292084 BMW Of North America,LLC No November 6, 2009 No n/a n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Davenport Consumer's State: IA Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: November 13, 2009 Date Complaint Received by November 13, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 76500 Miles Number of Occurrences: n/a Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 25 Miles Description of the Complaint:The contact owns a 2003 MINI cooper. While driving approximately 25 mph the transmission began to slip gears. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The failure was related to the transmission which required replacement. The transmission can only be replaced by an authorized dealer, but there are no authorized dealerships in the state. The mechanic estimated the replacement cost of the transmission between $8,000-$9,000. The vehicle has not been repaired for the malfunction. The failure and current mileages were 76,500. The vin was unavailable.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10289738 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10289738 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: October 22, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Redondo Beach Consumer's State: CA
Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33473T Date Added to File: October 25, 2009 Date Complaint Received by October 25, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 128000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 50 Miles Description of the Complaint:Transmission failed on 2003 MINI cooper while driving on highway.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10285009 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10285009 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: September 19, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: San Antiono Consumer's State: TX Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33403T Date Added to File: September 23, 2009 Date Complaint Received by September 23, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 88000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: January 1, 2007 Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: Yes Has Cruise Control: Yes Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:The contact owns a 2003 MINI cooper. The contact stated that the transmission will shift into the drive gear. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility, and a technician concluded that he needed to replace the cvt transmission, at an expense of $ 8,300.00. No repairs were made. The manufacturer was notified, but no assistance was provided. The failure and current mileages were 88,000. Updated 10/21/09. The repair shop discovered the cvt drive belt had shredded which sent metal through the transmission. There were no parts available, the only option was full transmission
replacement. Updated 10/20/09
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10284591 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10284591 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: August 20, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Aberdeen Consumer's State: WA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33483T Date Added to File: September 19, 2009 Date Complaint Received by September 19, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 55000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 5 Miles Description of the Complaint:My car will suddenly only go about 5 mph. This has happened several times. We have taken it to the mechanic and he thinks he has it fixed and then it happens again. Now they are saying it needs a new transmission for $8,400. They can't rebuild one, they can't buy a rebuilt one. The car has low miles and the transmission shouldn't be going out. I believe MINI coopers have a flawed transmission and the company continues to put more flawed transmissions into cars and we the customers are getting !@#$%.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10284244 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10284244 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: July 29, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission
Consumer's City: Hayward Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: September 17, 2009 Date Complaint Received by September 17, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: n/a Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:Our MINI cooper repeatedly stalled while in heavy traffic resulting in several near death experiences. No fault code or check-engine light ever appeared. Upon taking the car into the dealership, while under Warranty, the problem and our concerns were dismissed without remedy. Finally, after being in the mountains on windy roads a clicking noise began. Since no fault or check-engine light appeared, we assumed the cause of the noise to be from something minor and opted to drive the car to the nearest mechanic, a five mile drive. Shortly before arriving to the mechanic, the MINI unexpectedly became quite difficult to control. Luckily we were able to get off the freeway, upon which the transmission completely stopped working requiring the car to be pushed to the mechanic. Again, no check-engine light came on as a warning and no fault codes were stored. Bmws MINI cooper cvt transmission poses a significant safety hazard to drivers. Research indicates BMW is aware of the defective transmission, which explains why BMW opted to no longer use the cvt transmission in later models. Thank you for taking the time to rectify the situation to keep MINI owners & other drivers safe. Ours is just one of many similar experiences we've recently learned of while researching the dismal track record of bmws cvt transmissions in early MINI coopers.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10283768 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10283768 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: August 13, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Topeka Consumer's State: KS Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC334X3T Date Added to File: September 12, 2009 Date Complaint Received by September 12, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 75558 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a
Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: 15 Miles Description of the Complaint:I have a 2003 MINI cooper with automatic cvt transmission and have had recurring problems with the cvt since I purchased the vehicle. Below is a summary of service visits, replacement of the cvt in 2007, and the current status of the cvt as inoperable. I have all invoices detailing work done. 10/9/02 - I purchased a new 2003 MINI cooper with automatic cvt transmission from baron BMW in merriam, ks. 12/02 - MINI usa sent me letter re: chassis #te13495 that some automatic cvt transmissions had been filled with the incorrect transmission oil and to schedule an appointment to have it flushed and replaced asap. 12/27/02 - baron flushed and replaced fluid. I also complained that the car had died two times and ran rough. Mileage 1,760. 7/2/03-I took MINI in complaining "when going from reverse to drive car has a hard lurch" and baron's invoice states "test drove car and found it was very harsh going into gear and lurched when it was cold". 2nd auto trans concern was "car has almost died at low idles a few times". Baron reprogrammed the car under Warranty. Mileage 6,465. 7/23/07-customer goodwill provided by baron MINI and replaced the transmission at no cost although Warranty was up. Mileage 49,512. 9/11/07-I took MINI in again complaining of rough idle and car wants to die at stops. Mileage 51,167. 8/13/09- MINI was having a hard time shifting out of 1st gear. It would only drive 15-20 mph at up to 3,000 rpms. I called baron and was told the current transmission had a two year Warranty (which made this complaint 2 years and a few weeks past Warranty) but it was possible MINI would cover repair/replacement. They did not. Baron flushed and filled the transmission fluid and said it runs better but it is not fixed. They recommend replacing the cvt again. I have not had the cvt replaced (for the 2nd time). Mileage 75,558.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10278440 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10278440 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: May 8, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Specific Component's Description: Power Train:Automatic Transmission Consumer's City: Bryson City Consumer's State: NC Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33483T Date Added to File: July 27, 2009 Date Complaint Received by NHTSA: July 27, 2009 Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 98000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a
Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 50 Miles Description of the Complaint:Transmission failed with no warning or symptoms.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10269118 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10269118 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: May 14, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Specific Component's Description: Power Train:Automatic Transmission Consumer's City: Manchester Consumer's State: NH Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33483T Date Added to File: May 18, 2009 Date Complaint Received by NHTSA: May 18, 2009 Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 31000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:Cvt transmission failure.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10266021 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10266021 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: April 12, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Wynnewood Consumer's State: PA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33453T Date Added to File: April 19, 2009
Date Complaint Received by April 19, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 37000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 25 Miles Description of the Complaint:Automatic transmission on my 2003 MINI cooper blew out without any warning. The car would not move. The car had just about 37,000 miles on it and was regularly maintained at the dealers shop.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10262922 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10262922 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: March 1, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Burlington Consumer's State: WI Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: March 24, 2009 Date Complaint Received by March 24, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 54000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 30 Miles Description of the Complaint:2003 MINI cooper transmission failure. Replacement cost approx 7500.00 this is a known defect and there is a multitude of problems associated with this. I bought mine used. No disclosure of it during the sale. It should be at least be flagged for the consumers protection. Dealers, manufactures will not even discuss it. It is a horrible situation to be in.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10255379 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10255379 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: January 10, 2007 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Tampa Consumer's State: FL Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33463T Date Added to File: January 16, 2009 Date Complaint Received by January 16, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 61000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 5 Miles Description of the Complaint:My 2003 MINI cooper has transmission failure it fell to pieces at 61,000 miles after impeccable engine maintenance for no apparent reason then I found online that many MINI owners had similar problems at the same time approximately 4 yrs after buying the MINI scam that they sell this faulty car just glad it didn't cause an accident. 2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10255090 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10255090 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: June 1, 2006 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Arcadia Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: January 14, 2009 Date Complaint Received by January 14, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 40000 Miles
Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:I have a 2003 MINI cooper. The transmission (cvt transmission) first failed at around 40,000 miles and the dealer was able to replace it under the Warranty. Since then every few months the transmission will fail and so far it's been the 4th time that the dealer tried to replace the transmission and still fails. It seems like the problem cannot be fixed once and for all, now my car has 81,000 miles on it and I feel bad to sell the car knowing I AM just passing the problem on to someone else. I can have it fixed at no charge as I AM covered by Warranty however if I sell it, the next buyer will not be protected and will face endless fix and money to waste, not to mention that it's $8000 each time to replace a transmission
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10253125 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10253125 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: December 26, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Cranford Consumer's State: NJ Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33413T Date Added to File: December 29, 2008 Date Complaint Received by December 29, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 54000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 10 Miles Description of the Complaint:My automatic transmission (cvt) broke while pulling away from a stop sign. Car was well maintained, dealer service only. Mileage was only 54k.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10251553 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10251553 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: December 4, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Pensacola Consumer's State: FL Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33483T Date Added to File: December 12, 2008 Date Complaint Received by December 12, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 80000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 35 Miles Description of the Complaint:I own a 2003 MINI cooper with a cvt automatic transmission. The car has 80000 miles on it and the cvt failed completely. There is no alternative but to get a new replacement with an "updated" 2005 model which I have been quoted from 2 places $8000 for parts and labor. This is my complaint. If they know there is a problem with the cvt why have they not contacted me? please contact if you need further details.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10246675 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10246675 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: October 15, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Statesville Consumer's State: NC Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33493T Date Added to File: October 24, 2008
Date Complaint Received by October 24, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 67000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 2 Miles Description of the Complaint:The cvt failed in my 2003 MINI cooper at 67,000 miles. The repair cost offered by dealer started at 7400 then when told I had read about numerous others having the same problem the cost became 5900. Also found out the company stopped using this transmission in 07 models due to problems. Need re-call and or reimbursements.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10245497 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10245497 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: February 20, 2006 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Kirkland Consumer's State: WA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33473T Date Added to File: October 15, 2008 Date Complaint Received by October 15, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 62000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 15 Miles Description of the Complaint:Failed cvt transmission in the middle of an intersection. Car had to be pushed to the side of the road as entire system was locked and engine died; could not manually move shift out of drive. Mileage was around 12,000 above Warranty. Dealership quoted $7200 to replace transmission - no coverage under Warranty. I could not afford the repair, so turned the car back to manufacturer as a voluntary repo. This was devastating. Car was in excellent condition otherwise.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10242948 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10242948 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: September 19, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Seattle Consumer's State: WA Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: September 19, 2008 Date Complaint Received by September 19, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 87000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:Cvt transmission on 2003 MINI copper failed at 87,000 miles. The cost to replace is quoted by the dealer at $7400. Come to find out that this is a recurring issue with this transmission to the point that it should be considered a recall issue. 2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10241893 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10241893 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: September 11, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Litchfield Consumer's State: OH Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: September 11, 2008 Date Complaint Received by September 11, 2008 NHTSA:
Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 66000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:2003 MINI cooper, 66,000 miles and the transmission needs replaced. The cost is going to be 8,500.00. 2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10241119 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10241119 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: May 7, 2006 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Newport Consumer's State: NH Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: September 5, 2008 Date Complaint Received by September 5, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 64000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 3 Miles Description of the Complaint:Bought the car in 2003 brand new and had complained to the service dept when in for repairs that the transmission felt odd. It would jerk at low speeds, between 5 and 10. They said this was normal for the cvt and it should go away once the transmission was accustomed to the way I drive. In 2006 my husband was giving blood in manchester, nh and while he was doing that I went to the mall for a few hours. As I was returning to pick him up I came to a yellow light that I could not make it through. I stopped the car, like normal not a hard stop, and heard a clank noise almost as if I had hit something in the road. The light turned green and I pressed on the accelerator to go and nothing would happen except my rpms would go up. I was on a slight hill and began to coast but I wasn't sure if I was coasting or if the car was just going really slow, until I started in an uphill and the car stopped. I tried to turn of the car and turn it back on, crazy logic that sometimes does the trick, and there was no change. I pushed the car into a driveway as I was on a 2 lane road and blocking traffic and called aaa to have the
car towed. The car was towed to MINI of peabody. When they called on monday they said that the cvt had failed, they found the chain and links in the oil pan and that it would have to be replaced. I asked how much the replacement would be and they told me parts and labor would be $7700. When I was told that I talked to the sa about the other people that had problems with they're cvt's at 60k miles. He said he would talk to the manager and call back. He called back and said that he talked to the manager and spoke with MINI usa and they would come half the cost of the replacement bringing it to $3850. I went to pick it up and it felt like a completely different car. There is no jerkiness at slow speeds so I'm convinced that I had a dud transmission all along.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10240758 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10240758 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: September 2, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Fairhaven Consumer's State: MA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33463T Date Added to File: September 3, 2008 Date Complaint Received by September 3, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 81493 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:On 9/2/08 I brought my 2003 MINI cooper to the dealer for service. I was hearing a noise from the front that clocked at low speed. I thought it was a bad cv joint and asked the service writer to verify and give me a estimate. When they were done it was determined the noise was coming from the transmission and it would need to be replaced. The estimate was $7613.00 plus tax. I drove home and spent some time researching the cvt transmission in the MINI coopers and found what appears to be a high failure rate. A look at several forums for MINI's shows postings of problems similar to mine in cooper models with mileages from 34,000 to 113,000 all with cvt transmissions. The replacement costs were similar too. There were many comments from forum users to avoid buying a used MINI cooper with a cvt, "avoid it like the plague" was one comment. MINI no longer uses this transmission. Maybe the failures made them look to another source, I do not know. I also contacted a person who is gathering names, 50 so far, to file a class action lawsuit against MINI to try and recoup the money spent repairing a faulty transmission. That is just 50 people who knew how to contact her to be added to the list. As of right now these people are still looking for an attorney to represent them. There must be more, and 50 transmissions is alot of money. If a investigation is done by the NHTSA and a recall is initiated then maybe these people can be reimbursed by MINI. I find it unusual that a
transmission should fail in a vehicle with 81,500 miles and most complaints I have read have a average failure mileage at 60,000. Minis Warranty expires at 50,000 miles. This is unacceptable. The MINI dealer has made a effort to share the expense with me and in good faith will replace the transmission for 1/2 price. As of this writing I have not made a decision yet. The vehicle has a trade-in value of $10,000, so spending almost $4000.00 to repair a obviously defective part is crazy.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10239848 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10239848 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: August 25, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Portland Consumer's State: OR Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33443T Date Added to File: August 26, 2008 Date Complaint Received by August 26, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 74500 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 55 Miles Description of the Complaint:Automatic transmission (cvt) failed. It will cost $8000 (MINI/BMW dealer quote) to replace. I noticed there were many complaints of this problem on the internet many recommended to file a complaint on the NHTSA website.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10236567 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10236567 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: July 14, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Specific Component's Description: Power Train:Automatic
Transmission Consumer's City: Carson Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33483T Date Added to File: July 31, 2008 Date Complaint Received by July 31, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 67000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 40 Miles Description of the Complaint:I own a 2003 MINI cooper with 67k miles ( out of Warranty). Two weeks ago while driving up a hill to my home, the transmission would not go into gear. I could barely make it up the hill and had to change to the slow lane and pull off the road. After doing much searching on the internet, I found that many were having this problem. This is a major drive chain component that shouldn't go out at 67k. The cvt transmission seems to be flawed and acknowledged by the manufacturer as they do not put these transmissions into the newer models. Also it seems, even out of Warranty MINI's get transmissions replaced; with the owner only having to pay for labor if the owner causes a "stink" or alludes to making problems for MINI. If the manufacturer really believed the cvt transmission were not faulty, I believe they would stick to their position with all customers, instead of making exceptions. MINI should be ordered to recall cars with the cvt transmission.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10234912 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10234912 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: July 15, 2007 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Lancaster Consumer's State: PA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33453T Date Added to File: July 19, 2008 Date Complaint Received by July 19, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 78000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No
Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 60 Miles Description of the Complaint:Purchased 2002 MINI cooper in 3/03 at MINI sterling in va. Moved to pa, servicing car under Warranty at the nearest dealership, otto's MINI in west chester (50 mi away). Minor issues corrected under Warranty, which expired in late 2005. In july 2007, at 78,000 miles, while driving on local expressway car suddenly lost ability to drive in gear and I pulled over (luckily safe - traffic was moving at 60-70 mph). Engine ran but car would not go into gear. All signs pointed to major transmission problem. Car towed to transmission shop in york (nearest recommended shop) who confirmed transmission issue. Called MINI of towson (nearest dealer) for quote on replacing transmission - it was $7800! car was only worth $12,000-$13,000 at that time - repair was over 50% of car value. Local shop tried fix it with rebuilt transmission. Turned into 7 month nightmare as multiple rebuilt transmissions didn't work due to computer code issues, so car towed to MINI of towson twice to see if they could correct issues, but each time dealer only offered to fix with new transmission from them at $7800. Tried trading car to them for new MINI, but they only offered me $4000 for the car, saying their cost to fix was still $6000. Local shop finally gave up, refunding my deposit and returning car with rebuilt transmission that will only drives in low gear at 20 mph. Now have MINI in my garage (with balance on car loan) that should be worth $10,000 but is unusable. MINI is refusing to do anything about this design flaw (new cars have different transmission), which is unsafe at any speed, as they say. Ntsb should order recall of these cars and repair at MINI's cost. I have informed my congressman brother about this issue (he sits on house transpiration committee) - he is awaiting word on how ntsb and MINI respond to my complaint (obviously shared my many others). Thank you. 2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10234914 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10234914 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: July 15, 2007 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Lancaster Consumer's State: PA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33453T Date Added to File: July 19, 2008 Date Complaint Received by July 19, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 78000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a
Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 60 Miles Description of the Complaint:Purchased 2003 MINI cooper in 3/03 at MINI sterling in va. Moved to pa, servicing car under Warranty at the nearest dealership, otto's MINI in west chester (50 mi away). Minor issues corrected under Warranty, which expired in late 2005. In july 2007, at 78,000 miles, while driving on local expressway car suddenly lost ability to drive in gear and I pulled over (luckily safe - traffic was moving at 60-70 mph). Engine ran but car would not go into gear. All signs pointed to major transmission problem. Car towed to transmission shop in york (nearest recommended shop) who confirmed transmission issue. Called MINI of towson (nearest dealer) for quote on replacing transmission - it was $7800! car was only worth $12,000-$13,000 at that time - repair was over 50% of car value. Local shop tried fix it with rebuilt transmission. Turned into 7 month nightmare as multiple rebuilt transmissions didn't work due to computer code issues, so car towed to MINI of towson twice to see if they could correct issues, but each time dealer only offered to fix with new transmission from them at $7800. Tried trading car to them for new MINI, but they only offered me $4000 for the car, saying their cost to fix was still $6000. Local shop finally gave up, refunding my deposit and returning car with rebuilt transmission that will only drives in low gear at 20 mph. Now have MINI in my garage (with balance on car loan) that should be worth $10,000 but is unusable. MINI is refusing to do anything about this design flaw (new cars have different transmission), which is unsafe at any speed, as they say. Netscape should order recall of these cars and repair at mine's cost. I have informed my congressman brother about this issue (he sits on house transportation committee) - he is awaiting word on how netscape and MINI respond to my complaint (obviously shared my many others). Thank you
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10234816 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10234816 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: June 30, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Hunting Valley Consumer's State: OH Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33493T Date Added to File: July 18, 2008 Date Complaint Received by July 18, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 60905 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:2003 MINI cooper, transmission problems. Dealers states it would cost seven thousand dollars to replace and fix. With the car only worth double than that it is an shameful act
on MINI for doing this to customers. Sounds of rattling and transmission slipping, dealer states it is a regular problem with the cooper but there is no recall of any sort.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10231622 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10231622 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: May 1, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Specific Component's Description: Power Train:Automatic Transmission Consumer's City: Little Egg Harbor Consumer's State: NJ Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: June 19, 2008 Date Complaint Received by NHTSA:June 19, 2008 Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 113000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 35 Miles Description of the Complaint:Cvt (continuously variable transmission) failure.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10228872 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10228872 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: May 7, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Long Beach Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: May 25, 2008 Date Complaint Received by May 25, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 77000 Miles
Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 30 Miles Description of the Complaint:I was driving home from work and the MINI cooper would not accelerate any longer. Fortunately, I was about a mile away from home and called for help. We had to push the car all the way home. Come to find out, many people have been having the same problem with the MINI cooper transmission. They noted something about the cvt transmission that MINI tried experimenting with. I've read many stories where MINI cars just stopped in the middle of the highway. Many MINI transmissions have been giving out around 70,000 to 80,000 miles which is unorthodox for a transmission. The cost to replace the transmission was approx 8,000.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10228252 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10228252 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: May 19, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Bay Shore Consumer's State: NY Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33413T Date Added to File: May 20, 2008 Date Complaint Received by May 20, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 85000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:My cvt in my 2003 MINI cooper failed at 85000 miles.. Suddenly and it seems a rarer large percent are failing. With an average replacement price of $7000.. For a car that cost $21,000.. Never had a transmission fail like this.!! car was towed to dealer.. Appro 1.4 miles away and we were given a lift home... Approx 24 miles away. We are waiting to hear what the repair cost will be but research gave me the number already of $7000. To be honest.. I cant afford that !!!
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10226573 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10226573 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: May 3, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Manchester Consumer's State: NH Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33483T Date Added to File: May 3, 2008 Date Complaint Received by May 3, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 37000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:Cvt failure at 37,000 miles dealer estimates cost at $8,400 to replace (there is no repair option). 2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10224836 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10224836 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: April 10, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Calgary Consumer's State: 00 Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33403T Date Added to File: April 17, 2008 Date Complaint Received by April 17, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 52000 Miles
Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: May 29, 2002 Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: Yes Has Cruise Control: Yes Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: Front Wheel Drive Fuel System Type: Fuel Injection Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:Driving to work one morning and the engine response seemed sluggish. Called a mechanic friend, he said it's either the spark plugs or transmission problem. Book appointment for service. Several days later, complete transmission failure at 83,000km. MINI cooper has said that I need a completely new transmission, being just off Warranty by 3,000km I was quoted approximately $9,000 for repairs.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10222135 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10222135 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: March 14, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Snoqualmie Consumer's State: WA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33483T Date Added to File: March 24, 2008 Date Complaint Received by March 24, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 75000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: February 2, 2006 Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: Yes Has Cruise Control: Yes Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: Front Wheel Drive Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:My 2003 MINI cooper uses a cvt transmission system and the transmission has failed after only 75,000 miles. I was fortunate to get the vehicle to the dealer for repair before the transmission actually failed but I was told by the dealers service center that the car was unsafe to drive as the transmission could go out at any time. I never would have expected a transmission to give out with so few miles on it and only took it to the dealer because it was making a strange sound. Had I not taken it in I could have lost the transmission while driving. I have heard from other owners of vehicles like mine and it appears this is not an isolated incident. The transmission system used in these cars is unreliable (I
believe the manufacturer stopped using it after 2004 or 2005). There could potentially be a large number of these cars on the road with transmissions that are about to fail at any time whose owners are unaware of the problem.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10221420 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10221420 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: January 5, 2007 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Dublin Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: March 17, 2008 Date Complaint Received by March 17, 2008 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: n/a Number of Occurrences: 2 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:Sudden unexpected failure. Cvt transmission (automatic) in 2003 MINI cooper. First one was under Warranty. The second time they told me they would sell me another car. The car sold for $22k new, transmission costs $8500 to replace. So that's $17000 worth of transmissions 4 years (its been sitting for the last year while I still have to make payments). I don't think their idea of buying another car to replace my transmission was a good idea
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10205854 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10205854 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: October 9, 2007 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission
Consumer's City: Dallas Consumer's State: TX Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33443T Date Added to File: October 16, 2007 Date Complaint Received by October 16, 2007 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 70000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: May 10, 2003 Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: Yes Has Cruise Control: Yes Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: Front Wheel Drive Fuel System Type: Fuel Injection Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:2003 MINI cooper transmission failure at 70,000 miles, 4 years. MINI usa and BMW of north america, llc have a long history of this failure and refuse to take accountability for their defective parts, claiming it's a characteristic of the car. Smells of deceptive trade practices to me. Not to mention a monopoly-- there are only two dealership in dallas/fort worth that service MINI coopers, both tell me that the cost will be between $6k-9k to replace w/labor costs. Pep boys and other independents won't or cannot touch it because it's a MINI cooper and only MINI authorized dealers supposedly have specialty software/parts to perform job. This is a racket, MINI and BMW need to step up and stop selling defective transmissions and replace this at their cost and stand by their product and faulty and defective manufacturing. This is a problem for many first generation MINI's as I have learned from my recent online research. BMW/MINI has changed the transmissions on the MINI 2007 model -- wonder why?? they advertise that this car is a safe, dependable and long lasting car, but to the contrary, look at the list of problems people are reporting with them. God help them.
2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10202093 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10202093 Manufacturer: Bayerische Motoren Werke Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: September 4, 2007 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Reseda Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC334X3T Date Added to File: September 6, 2007 Date Complaint Received by September 6, 2007 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 58000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: February 12, 2003 Is Original Owner: Yes Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No
Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:I need a new transmission at only 58,000 miles for my 03 MINI cooper. The manufacturer has offered to pay for the transmission, but I'm being asked to pay $2,500 for labor. I've never heard of a transmission crashing at 60,000 and I'm surprised that BMW and MINI aren't doing more to keep me as a loyal customer. 2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10196298 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10196298 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: June 25, 2007 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Monroe Consumer's State: GA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33423T Date Added to File: July 13, 2007 Date Complaint Received by July 13, 2007 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 89000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 100 Date of Purchase: August 7, 2003 Is Original Owner: Yes Has Anti-Lock Brakes: Yes Has Cruise Control: Yes Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: All Wheel Drive Fuel System Type: Fuel Injection Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: 50 Miles Description of the Complaint:The contact owns a 2003 MINI cooper. While driving 50 mph, the rpms increase and the transmission makes noises when shifting gears. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who stated that the cvt transmission needed to be replaced. The current mileage is 91,991 and failure mileage was 89,000. 2003 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10173779 Year: 2003 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10173779 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: November 7, 2006
Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: Number of Persons Injured: Number of Fatalities:
No n/a n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Bainbridge Island Consumer's State: WA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33423T Date Added to File: November 17, 2006 Date Complaint Received by November 17, 2006 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 83000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: October 18, 2005 Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: Yes Has Cruise Control: Yes Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: Front Wheel Drive Fuel System Type: Fuel Injection Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: 55 Miles Description of the Complaint:2003 MINI cooper cvt transmission died @ 83000 miles. I purchased vehicle from northwest MINI in tacoma, wa on 10-18-05 with 49000 miles and one year later the tranny is toast. Nw MINI wants $7200 to replace with same 'questionable cvt transmission'. Ironic that MINI has abandoned the cvt transmission for the 2007 models...They know it's a dog. I'm stuck, with many others, holding the bill!
2004 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10290600 Year: 2004 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10290600 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: September 24, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Boston Consumer's State: MA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33454T Date Added to File: November 2, 2009 Date Complaint Received by November 2, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 21000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a
Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:Purchased a 2004 MINI cooper a year ago, with a mileage of 17,000 miles. After driving about 4,000 miles, the car broke down and was sent to local MINI dealer to get it fixed. Continuous variable transmission was diagnosed wrecked, and dealer offered a replacement (only solution) with a re-furbished cvt transmission for $9800. After negotiation, I had MINI cover the parts and I paid labor. But I have seen on so many forums that all cvt transmissions are failing so I wonder why there have been no recalls. My cvt failed when the car had 21,000 miles!
2004 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10286043 Year: 2004 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10286043 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: October 1, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Ventura Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33494T Date Added to File: October 2, 2009 Date Complaint Received by October 2, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 74000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: 10 Miles Description of the Complaint:Our 2004 MINI cooper (cvt) automatic transmission needs to be replaced. The car has only 74,000 mile on it.
2004 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10269424 Year: 2004 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10269424 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No
Incident Date: November 9, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Specific Component's Description: Power Train:Automatic Transmission Consumer's City: New York Consumer's State: NY Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33484T Date Added to File: May 19, 2009 Date Complaint Received by NHTSA: May 19, 2009 Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 68000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 30 Miles Description of the Complaint:Transmission gave way.
2005 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10286633 Year: 2005 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10286633 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: October 1, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: n/a Number of Fatalities: n/a Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Houston Consumer's State: TX Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC33545T Date Added to File: October 7, 2009 Date Complaint Received by October 7, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 47000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a
Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:2005 MINI cooper automatic cvt transmission failed at only 47,000 miles. When taking my foot off of the gas, the rpm's would rev up as the car slowed down. Then my check engine light and ep (transmission) warning light came on and the car would no longer shift above second gear, making the car practically undrivable. This vehicle has always been serviced promptly and well maintained through MINI cooper dealerships. My factory Warranty expired 6 months ago. The interior belt or chain on the transmission has "completely come apart" and the entire transmission needs to be replaced. MINI cooper estimates $7600 to replace this transmission!
2005 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10262055 Year: 2005 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10262055 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: March 12, 2009 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Petaluma Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRC335X5T Date Added to File: March 16, 2009 Date Complaint Received by March 16, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 62000 Miles Number of Occurrences: n/a Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 25 Miles Description of the Complaint:The contact owns a 2005 MINI cooper. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle jerked and made rattling and popping sounds. The vehicle shut off and the contact pushed it to the side of the road. The key could not be removed from the ignition and the vehicle had to be towed to the dealer. She was informed that the transmission failed and would cost $7,000 to repair. The contact will call the manufacturer for assistance. The failure mileage was 62,000. 2005 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10255178 Year: 2005 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10255178 Manufacturer: BMW Of North America,LLC Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: November 1, 2008 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No
Number of Persons Injured: Number of Fatalities:
0 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Glenolden Consumer's State: PA Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: January 15, 2009 Date Complaint Received by January 15, 2009 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 47500 Miles Number of Occurrences: 1 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: 15 Miles Description of the Complaint:During november of 2008, I broke down 4 times. The first time was on 11/1 (when I had an appt to have my ailing car looked at on 11/3). I made the appt for 11/3 on 10/30 when I was on a highway and the car began bucking like a mechanical bull. Obviously, I did not make it to the appointment. I had it towed to the dealership on 11/1 after breaking down in the middle of a busy intersection while trying to make a left hand turn. The diagnosis was I needed a new Battery, valve cover gasket, and transmission. I was "good-willed" the transmission by otto's BMW because I was over my Warranty in time and not mileage (passed 4 years, but not 50000 miles). I paid $386 to fix the first two items. The next day, I got my car back. On 11/8, I broke down again while pulling out of a driveway. I realized on my way to my destination, I destroyed two streets and my family's driveway with my transmission fluid. I was irate, and the dealer towed it in. They said the trans cool line disconnected. I had my car back in a couple days. On 11/23, I broke down again in the middle of the street. The car's ems and check engine soon lights came on. The car would restart, but then shook viciously and then conked out when it was put in gear. MINI towed it in again. They "couldn't verify the concern" and said it drove off the flatbed fine, and yet I couldn't get it to move again 24 hours after breaking down. MINI kept the car for approximately three days to ensure they were thorough in their efforts. On 11/30, I broke down again on my way to have the car detailed to prepare it for sale the following day. I had to call out of work on 12/1 to wait for MINI's tow company to come retrieve the car for the forth and final time. The service advisor said it was "acting up real nice" when they got it off the flatbed this time. By this point in time, I was having panic attacks behind the wheel of any car because I was so paranoid and didn't feel safe. Why has no one recalled the MINI?
2005 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10141800 Year: 2005 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10141800 Manufacturer: Bayerische Motoren Werke Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: July 14, 2005 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Specific Component's Description: Power Train:Automatic
Transmission Consumer's City: Encino Consumer's State: CA Vehicle Identification Number: n/a Date Added to File: November 4, 2005 Date Complaint Received by November 4, 2005 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: n/a Number of Occurrences: 2 Date of Purchase: n/a Is Original Owner: No Has Anti-Lock Brakes: No Has Cruise Control: No Number of Cylinders: n/a Drivetrain Type: n/a Fuel System Type: n/a Fuel Type: n/a Transmission Type: n/a Vehicle Speed: n/a Description of the Complaint:I had my brand new 2005 MINI cooper s automatic for less than one month when it stalled in the middle of the street - the engine just stalled out or went into what I've been told is "limp mode". Luckily, the street wasn't crowded and I was able to coast to the side of the road. But what if I was on the freeway???? I've subsequently found out many people have had the same problem and BMW knows about it, but hasn't been able to fix the problem correctly. I believe this is a huge safety issue! BMW said it is a software problem and they have made updates, but I don't believe it has been corrected. I AM still afraid to drive on the freeway for fear of becoming a statistic! BMW should at least notify all mcs automatic owners of the potential hazard!
2005 MINI Cooper Automatic Transmission Complaints #10131711 Year: 2005 Make: MINI Model: Cooper Complaint Number: 10131711 Manufacturer: Bayerische Motoren Werke Was Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Incident Date: July 3, 2005 Was Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Number of Persons Injured: 0 Number of Fatalities: 0 Power Train:Automatic Specific Component's Description: Transmission Consumer's City: Wayne Consumer's State: PA Vehicle Identification Number: WMWRH33585T Date Added to File: August 5, 2005 Date Complaint Received by August 5, 2005 NHTSA: Vehicle Mileage at Failure: 2000 Miles Number of Occurrences: 3 Date of Purchase: April 29, 2005 Is Original Owner: Yes Has Anti-Lock Brakes: Yes Has Cruise Control: Yes Number of Cylinders: 4 Drivetrain Type: Front Wheel Drive
Fuel System Type: Fuel Injection Fuel Type: Gasoline Transmission Type: Automatic Transmission Vehicle Speed: 5 Miles Description of the Complaint:On 3 different occasions after traveling a few hundred yards or so our MINI would suddenly lose power and go into a "limp mode" as we move from either a stop sign or traffic signal. This would cause the vehicle to stop in the intersection causing a potentially hazardous condition. The vehicles ses check engine light also comes on. We have taken our vehicle in for service three times to get this defect addressed. MINI states that it is a "known" problem with the current software. I now have a third version of the software, but we are afraid to drive the car to "test" it out. I hope either MINI or the NHTSA will post a recall on this dangerous condition.
