2007 Mini Cooper

MY FUEL RAIL WAS SIPPING WITH GASOLINE. WHEN I BROUGHT MY CAR TO A MINI DEALER, THEY CLAIMED THAT IT WAS A WEAR AND TEAR PROBLEM AND REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGED THAT IT WAS A DESIGN FLAW. THE FUEL RAIL WAS PLASTIC AND THE LEAK WAS AT THE SEAL BETWEEN THE PLASTIC PARTS. IF THE FUEL RAIL IS METAL AND IS SOLDERED, THIS PROBLEM WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. HAVING A FUEL RAIL THAT LEAKS COULD SEVERELY DAMAGE THE ENGINE AND CAUSE A FIRE. *TR

I BOUGHT A CAR FROM NEW COUNTRY MINI IN HARTFORD ON JANUARY 2, 2015. AT FIRST THE CAR WORKED GREAT, HOWEVER THE FRICTION POINT OF THE CLUTCH WAS PRETTY FAR TOWARDS THE END RANGE. BECAUSE IT'S A HYDRAULIC CLUTCH, I THOUGHT THIS WAS ADJUSTABLE. HOWEVER I STARTED NOTICING THE NEXT DAY THAT THERE WAS A GRINDING NOISE COMING OUT OF FIRST AND IN REVERSE. I EMAILED THE PERSON AT NEW COUNTRY MINI FROM WHOM I BOUGHT IT FROM EXPLAINING WHAT I WAS HEARING/FEELING AND WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE CLUTCH GOING. HE REPLIED THAT IT PROBABLY JUST NEEDED TO BE OILED AND IT WOULD BE FINE. HE DID NOT ASK ANY OTHER QUALIFYING QUESTIONS, OR OFFER TO LOOK AT IT. AS OF JANUARY 5, THE CLUTCH HAS BECOME EXPONENTIALLY WORSE. THE CAR NOW SHUTTERS WHILE ENGAGING THE CLUTCH, AND CONTINUES TO SHUTTER AFTER THE CLUTCH HAS BEEN ENGAGED. ADDITIONALLY THERE IS A BURNING SMELL COMING FROM THE CAR. ALSO, THIS IS NOT MY FIRST CAR I'VE HAD THAT WAS A MANUAL TRANSMISSION. I LEARNED HOW TO DRIVE ONE WHEN I WAS 16, SO I DON'T BELIEVE THIS IS DRIVER ERROR; ESPECIALLY HOW QUICK THE CLUTCH DIMINISHED. I AM INCLINED TO THINK THAT NEW COUNTRY MINI NEW ABOUT THE PROBLEM PRIOR TO SELLING IT, BUT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. MOREOVER, THERE IS A CLUNK THAT HAPPENS WHEN ACCELERATING FROM 2ND GEAR TO 3RD GEAR. ANY AND ALL HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. *TR

THE PASSENGER AIRBAG FAULT INDICATOR LIGHT HAS COME ON WITH NO APPARENT CAUSE, ILLUMINATING WHETHER THERE IS A PASSENGER IN THE SEAT OR NOT. THE DEALER HAS DETERMINED IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AT THE COST OF $1000+. BASED ON THE FORUMS ONLINE, THIS SEEMS TO BE AN EXTREMELY COMMON PROBLEM, SO MUCH SO THAT MINI SHOULD CONSIDER A VOLUNTARY RECALL AND COVER THE REPAIRS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 MINI COOPER. WHEN STARTING THE VEHICLE, THE AIR BAG FAULT LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE PASSENGER SAFETY SENSOR MAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. NO REPAIRS WERE MADE TO THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 58,000.

THE AIR BAG LIGHTS BEGAN ILLUMINATING INTERMITTENTLY ON MY 2007 MINI COOPER WITH 48,000 MILES. UPON MY MECHANIC SCANNING THE COMPUTER WE FOUND THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG SENSOR IS OUT OF THE SEAT. THE ONLY FIX IS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE PASSENGER SEAT CUSHION (COST: $1500). I GOOGLED "MINI COOPER AIR BAG LIGHT" ' AND FOUND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM ON MANY DIFFERENT MODEL YEARS. WHEN I CONTACTED MINI COOPER AND QUESTIONED WHY THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL ISSUED, THE PERSON TOLD ME THAT SINCE THE PASSENGER OCCUPANT STILL HAS THE SEAT BELT THAT THE AIR BAG MALFUNCTION IS NOT A SAFETY CONCERN. WHEN ASKED IF THE AIR BAGS WOULD DEPLOY ON THE PASSENGER SIDE IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT, HE ANSWERED THE QUESTION BY SAYING "WELL, THEY STILL HAVE THEIR SEAT BELT"'. IF THE AIR BAGS ARE NOT A SAFETY FEATURE OF THE CAR THEN WHY IS IT EQUIPPED WITH 8 AIR BAGS? PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS AIR BAG MALFUNCTION BECAUSE AS A MINI COOPER OWNER, THIS IS A BIG SAFETY CONCERN FOR ME, AS WELL AS THOUSANDS OF OTHER MINI COOPER OWNERS WHO HAVE TAKEN TO THE INTERNET TO EXPRESS THEIR FRUSTRATIONS. THANK YOU *TR

REPORTING SERIOUS RECALLABLE SAFETY ISSUE WITH MINI COOPER AIR BAG SYSTEM! MY DEALER JUST CALLED TO TELL ME THE ENTIRE PASSENGER SEAT MUST BE REPLACED AT AT A COST OF OVER $2500. THERE IS A SHORT IN THE AIRBAG SENSOR IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. I BELIEVE THIS IS A DEFECTIVE COMPONENT SAFETY EQUIPMENT ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE FIXED UNDER A RECALL OR EXTENDED WARRANTY. "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" INDICATOR TURNS ON WHILE DRIVING AND REMAINS ON FOR THE DURATION OF THE DRIVE. PASSENGER SEAT WAS OCCUPIED BY A PASSENGER WEIGHING APPROX 135 POUNDS WITH SEAT BELT PROPERLY FASTENED. THERE IS NO WAY TO MANUALLY TURN ON THE PASSENGER AIRBAG AND BYPASS THE SEAT SENSOR. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE MINI COOPER AND IS DISCUSSED ON ONLINE ENTHUSIAST FORUMS, WITH MINI USA DEALERSHIP NOW CHARGING FROM $2500 TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE PASSENGER SEAT. MINI USA DEALERS STATE THAT THE ISSUE IS AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE WITH THE SEAT SENSOR AND THE ENTIRE SEAT MUST BE REPLACED. FOR HOW LITTLE THE PASSENGER SEAT IS USED IN MY VEHICLE, IN MY OPINION THIS IS A DEFECT AND NOT A WEAR-AND-TEAR ISSUE. I HAVE NEVER OWNED A CAR THAT HAD A VITAL SAFETY ISSUE ARISE SUCH AS THIS I ALSO NOTE THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED A NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SAFETY ISSUE FROM OTHER OWNERS. IT IS A COMMON COMPLAINT ON CONSUMER BLOGS. *TR

THE CAR STOPPED AT THE STOP SIGN AS USUAL, HOWEVER, THE ENGINE DIDN'T START AGAIN. HOWEVER, IT'S ONLY 7 YEARS. I CALLED THE BMW SERVICE TO REPORT THE ISSUE. THEY REFUSED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM... I'D DONE SOME RESEARCHES ONLINE. AND, I'VE FOUND THAT MANY OTHER MINI'S OWNERS HAD FOUND THE SAME PROBLEMS. CAN GOVERNMENT DO SOMETHING TO PROTECT THE CUSTOMERS ? THANKS *TR

"PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" INDICATOR TURNS ON WHILE DRIVING AND REMAINS ON FOR THE DURATION OF THE DRIVE. PASSENGER SEAT WAS OCCUPIED BY A PASSENGER WEIGHING APPROX 195 POUNDS WITH SEAT BELT PROPERLY FASTENED. THERE IS NO WAY TO MANUALLY TURN ON THE PASSENGER AIRBAG AND BYPASS THE SEAT SENSOR. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE MINI COOPER AND IS DISCUSSED ON ONLINE ENTHUSIAST FORUMS, WITH MINI USA DEALERSHIPS CHARGING FROM $1,100 TO $1,400 TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE PASSENGER SEAT. MINI USA DEALERS STATE THAT THE ISSUE IS AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE WITH THE SEAT SENSOR AND THE ENTIRE SEAT MUST BE REPLACED. FOR HOW LITTLE THE PASSENGER SEAT IS USED IN MY VEHICLE, IN MY OPINION THIS IS A DEFECT AND NOT A WEAR-AND-TEAR ISSUE. *JS