2006 Mini Cooper S

THE AIR BAG SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT IN THE GAUGE CLUSTER IS LIT AT ALL TIMES. THE REPAIR SHOP TELLS ME THAT THIS IS BECAUSE THE SENSOR MAT IN THE PASSENGER SEAT HAS FAILED AND MUST BE REPLACED. MY RESEARCH INDICATES THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE THAT IS UNJUSTIFIABLE EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR. THE REPAIR SHOP ALSO TELLS ME THAT ALL OF THE AIR BAGS IN THE CAR ARE DISABLED AS LONG AS THE WARNING LIGHT IS ON, PUTTING ALL PASSENGERS IN THE VEHICLE IN DANGER OF SUSTAINING GREATER INJURIES IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH. THESE CARS ARE MADE BY BMW, WHICH APPARENTLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE SAME PROBLEM IN OTHER CARS THEY PRODUCED AND MADE REPAIRS. I FEEL THAT THEY SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM IN MINI COOPERS, TOO, VIA A FEDERALLY MANDATED RECALL CAMPAIGN. *TR

I HAD ISSUE WITH THE STEERING WHEEL PUMP A YEAR AGO, AND I REPLACED IT. BUT LAST NIGHT WHEN I WAS DRIVING HOME, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULDN'T TURN AND I ALMOST GOT INTO A CAR ACCIDENT. LUCKILY TRAFFIC WAS SLOW AND I WAS CLOSE TO MY HOUSE. UNFORTUNATELY, IT WAS EXTREMELY HARD FOR ME TO MAKE ANY TURN. I HAD TO CALL A TOWING COMPANY AND MY CAR IS NOW AT THE MINI DEALER IN CHICAGO. I ALREADY SPENT OVER 2 THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR AGO AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY MY CAR IS HAVING THESE ISSUES AGAIN. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MINI COOPER S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION WHERE THEY STATED THAT THE PASSENGER'S SEAT MAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,000.

IN APRIL 2013 I WAS MERGING ONTO HIGHWAY I20 WITH MY CHILDREN IN THE BACK OF MY MINI COOPER S 2006. AS I WAS SPEEDING UP TO MERGE ONTO THE HIGHWAY THE CAR COMPLETELY CUT OFF. I VEERED OVER INTO A MEDIAN IN THE MIDDLE OF SIX LANES OF HIGH-SPEED TRAFFIC. THE CAR HAD COMPLETELY SHUT OFF, EVEN THE HAZARD LIGHTS. I WAS VERY LUCKY THAT THE MEDIAN WAS THERE AND THAT I HAD NOT YET ENTERED THE MAIN STREAM OF TRAFFIC. THE POLICE CAME, THEN A FRIEND. AFTER ABOUT A HALF HOUR IT RESTARTED WITHOUT POWER STEERING AND HE WAS ABLE TO SLOWLY DRIVE IT, AND HE FIXED A BELT THAT HE SAID HAD LOOKED LIKE IT HAD BLOWN OUT. ABOUT FOUR TIMES IN THE YEAR PRIOR TO THIS THE CAR HAD CUT OFF, BUT NOT WHILE I WAS DRIVING; IT SHUT DOWN AS I WAS PULLING OUT OF A PARKING SPOT BUT THEN IMMEDIATELY RESTARTED. NO ONE COULD EXPLAIN IT. AFTER THE APRIL INCIDENT I WENT TO THE MINI COOPER DEALER AND SPENT CLOSE TO $3000 TO ENSURE THAT THE CAR WAS SAFE FOR MY CHILDREN. HOWEVER, YESTERDAY, 11/5/13, I WAS BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPOT AND THE CAR COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP FOR ASSISTANCE AND THEY SAID THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF THIS KIND OF PROBLEM AND COULDN'T HELP; FORTUNATELY THE CAR RESTARTED ABOUT TEN MINUTES LATER. HOWEVER, I AM EXTREMELY CONCERNED THAT THIS CAR IS UNSAFE AND I HAVE HEARD FROM AN ACQUAINTANCE WHO ALSO HAS A MINI COOPER S 2006 WHO SAID THIS HAS HAPPENED TO HER, THAT SOMETHING RANDOM HAPPENED WITH HER CAR AND IT COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN WHILE SHE WAS DRIVING. SHE TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS A RECALL, BUT I CALLED MINI CORPORATE TODAY, AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NO RECALL AND REFERRED ME TO NHTSA. *TR

ON MY 2006 MINI COOPER S COUPE, THE PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF SENSOR LIGHT ON THE ROOF CAME ON AS WELL AS THE AIRBAG SENSOR LIGHT IN THE CENTER CONSOLE INDICATING THAT THE PASSENGER SEAT COULD NOT DETECT THE WEIGHT OF A PERSON IN THE PASSENGER SEAT AND THEREFORE WOULD NOT ALERT THE AIRBAG TO TURN ON. MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE BOTH SAT IN THE PASSENGER SEAT AND THE LIGHT REMAINED ON. WE THEN HAD A GARAGE THAT SPECIALIZES IN IMPORTS LOOK AT THE CODE, WHICH IS STATING THAT THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE SEAT MAT SENSOR AND IT IS NO LONGER RECOGNIZING THE WEIGHT ON THE SEAT. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE AND A COSTLY ONE AT THAT. THE SEAT CUSHION MUST BE REPLACED AND POTENTIALLY THE ENTIRE SEAT. I HAVE NOTICED THIS SAME COMPLAINT ON THIS SITE AS WELL AS OTHER SITES FOR MODELS DATING ANYWHERE FROM 2002-2006. THERE IS ALSO A TREND WITH THIS ISSUE OCCURRING WHEN THE CAR IS 7 YEARS OLD (2013 FOR 2006 MODELS) REGARDLESS OF THE MILEAGE. I HAVE CALLED MINI AND WHILE THEY WERE VERY NICE AND HELPFUL, THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO TO HELP WITH THE COST OF REPAIRING THIS FACTORY ISSUE. WHEN I CALLED OUR LOCAL DEALER THEY HAD MENTIONED A TYPE OF ASSISTANCE OR WARRANTY EXTENDED ON THE 2003-2004 MODELS, BUT NOT 2005 OR LATER. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THIS IS JUST NOW BECOMING AN ISSUE AND SHOULD NOW BE ADDRESSED OR ADDED TO THE EXTENDED WARRANTY? IS THERE GROUNDS FOR A RECALL? THERE SEEMS TO BE A TREND OF HOW AND WHEN THIS MAT MALFUNCTIONS. PLEASE HELP THOSE OF US WHO HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM AND ARE BOUND TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM IN THE NEAR FUTURE GET THIS FIXED! THANK YOU! *JS

PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR INOP RENDERING AIRBAG UNSAFE. REQUIRES REPLACEMENT OF PASSENGER SEAT CUSHION WITH NEW SENSOR MAT. 6 SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SLIPPING AND SHIFTING HARD. OCCASIONALLY, RENDERS CAR POWERLESS AS IN NEUTRAL EVEN IF IN TRAVEL LANES MAKING UNSAFE TO OPERATE. REQUIRES REPLACEMENT OF VALVE BLOCK. SERVICING OF AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID IS NOT REQUIRED BY MINI/BMW BUT SAME TRANSMISSION IN OTHER BRANDS DO. VW RECOMMENDS ATF REPLACEMENT AT 40K MILES AND DOESN'T HAVE PROBLEMS WITH VALVE BLOCK FAILURE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MINI COOPER S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN TURNING IN EITHER DIRECTION, THE POWER STEERING ASSIST WOULD SPORADICALLY FAIL AS THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSIS WHERE IT WAS STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING PUMP AND FAN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 51,000.

THIS IS MY 3RD MINI COOPER S. ON MY PREVIOUS 2 CARS, A 2004 AND A 2005, I HAD TO REPLACE THE BRAKE LINES FROM THE FRONT TO THE BACK BRAKES. BOTH CARS HAD ABOUT 50,000 MILES ON THEM. THE LINES ARE HELD IN PLACE BY "CLIPS" WHICH TRAP MOISTURE AND SALT. THIS CAUSES THE LINES TO RUST OUT AND FAIL, LOSING BRAKING ABILITY. SOMETHING THAT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN WITH A 50K MILE CAR AND CAN CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY. LOOKING AT MY 2006 YESTERDAY. CAR WITH ABOUT 50K MILES, BRAKE LINES LOOK TO ME LIKE THEY ARE READY TO FAIL FROM RUST. IF THIS HAS HAPPENED ON ALL OF MY CARS, THIS MUST BE A COMMON SAFETY DEFECT CAUSED BY A BAD DESIGN. MINI DOES NOT OFFER ANY HELP WITH THIS MATTER. I HAVE CONTACTED THEM BUT THEY HAVE OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. ALL I ASKED THEM TO DO WAS TO REPLACE THE LINES AT THEIR EXPENSE. THEY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN DOING SO. *TR

2006 MINI COOPER S PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT (ABOVE REARVIEW MIRROR) IS ILLUMINATED CONSTANTLY (SEAT OCCUPIED OR NOT). LOCAL MINI COOPER DEALERSHIP SAYS THE PROBLEM IS THE SENSOR PAD, WHICH IS WOVEN INTO THE SEAT BOTTOM, AND THE WHOLE SEAT BOTTOM MUST BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $1650. DEALER SERVICE MANAGER SAYS THAT MINI USA WILL NOT HELP WITH THIS, AS THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND HAS 100K MILES. I USED AN SRS SCAN TOOL TO CONFIRM THAT CODE 71 (SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR II) IS SET AND COMES RIGHT BACK AFTER CLEARING IT. QUICK SEARCH THROUGH NHTSA COMPLAINTS AND ONLINE MINI ENTHUSIAST FORUMS SHOWS THIS IS A FREQUENT PROBLEM, ESPECIALLY IN THE 2005-06 MODEL YEARS. CLEARLY A SEVERE SAFETY DEFECT WHICH MINI USA (BMW) SHOULD HAVE ADDRESSED. NO ONE CAN TELL ME IF THE PASSENGER AIRBAG WILL DEPLOY IN A CRASH OR NOT. I ALSO FIND IT INTERESTING THE WIDE RANGE OF REPAIR COSTS THAT OTHERS WHO HAVE POSTED HERE WERE QUOTED BY THEIR LOCAL MINI DEALERS (SEEMS LIKE ANYWHERE FROM $1000 - $2000). SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT WITH THAT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MINI COOPER S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED. THE STEERING WHEEL THEN BECAME TIGHT AND BECAME DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO DEALER BUT DID NOT DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT THEN TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL MECHANIC. THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THE STEERING PUMP AND PUMP COOLING FAN WAS DEFECTIVE. THE MECHANIC REPLACED BOTH THE STEERING PUMP AND PUMP COOLING FAN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 52,000.