Feb 19th, 2009
Thanks to those tireless consumer advocates (can you feel the sarcasm?) over at the NHTSA, MINI has now issued letters to 2007-2008 R56 MCS owners telling them that they must bring their car in for tailpipe re-fitting. Even if the consumer isn’t interested MINI is now obligated to perform the recall retrofit during the next scheduled service.
Enjoy your short tailpipes! continued →
Feb 18th, 2009
A very interesting story over at BBC sent into us recently concerning Power Steering issues on R50/R53 MINIs.
BMW’s customer service told Heather this wasn’t a common fault, which is surprising because we’ve heard from dozens of other Mini owners who’ve told us they’ve had exactly the same problem, and have had to fork out anything up to £800 for the repair.
Not a common fault? Show of hands to those of you that have had power steering problems. As it turns out, we are not alone.
Matt Pike is an independent Mini mechanic, and a supplier of spare parts. He says he can barely keep up with demand for replacement power steering pumps: “At least 60 per cent of our regular customers have all had pumps changed. And we’re getting at least two calls a day from people after power steering pumps because they’re such a big failure. I’d say it’s the most common problem we have with the Minis.”
continued →
Jan 22nd, 2009
Since the recent record breaking cold-snap in much of Northern America (and even some parts of Europe) we’ve heard all sorts of MINI owners experiences with their cars. While the vast majority of them have been quite positive we wanted to reach out to those who have had some issues with the extreme cold. At temperatures as low as -30F we expect some issues, so lets hear about them. What have you experienced with this kind of cold? And if you haven’t had issues let us know that as well.
Dec 16th, 2008
We’ve reported that BMW was fighting this recall (for obvious reasons). Now it would seem they’ve finally succumb to the NHTSA’s pressure. Here’s an excerpt from the NHTSA (sorry for the all caps – that’s how they roll in the US government apparently):
BMW IS RECALLING 28,450 MY 2007-2008 MINI COOPER S VEHICLES. THE CENTRALLY LOCATED TAILPIPE EXTENSION PROTRUDES SLIGHTLY BEYOND THE REAR BUMPER. IT IS POSSIBLE FOR INADVERTENT CONTACT TO OCCUR WITH A PERSON’S LEG.
+ MINI Cooper S Recall / NHTSA
Dec 10th, 2008
We had to see this coming.
NHTSA announced on Friday that it will hold a public meeting Dec. 17 and take comments until Dec. 12 on its Initial Decision that model year 2007 and certain MY 2008 Mini Cooper S vehicles contain a defect related to motor vehicle safety. Notified of this, BMW said it would not conduct a safety recall and instead has started a service campaign, which NHTSA has rejected, the notice stated.
The alleged defect is in the vehicles’ exhaust pipe tips. NHTSA said its Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) and BMW “have received numerous complaints indicating that consumers’ legs have been burned while they access the rear cargo area of the subject vehicles via the rear hatchback shortly after the vehicles have been driven. As reflected by the complaints, people accessing the cargo area naturally place their legs at the rear of the vehicle. People are burned as they inadvertently contact either of the two hot exhaust pipe tips while removing items from, or placing items in, the rear cargo area. Some of the burn injuries are significant second degree burns, causing blistered skin or scarring, often in a half-moon shape pattern matching the approximately 2 3/4-inch diameter of the exhaust tips.
continued →
Oct 17th, 2008
Sent in by MF Reader James, it’s the actual letter he received regarding the service action MINI USA will perform to shorten the exhaust pipe on the R56.
MINI division’s quality monitoring has learned that some Cooper S owners have contacted the centrally-located tailpipe extension at the back of their vehicles, while hot, with their uncovered legs.
To address this issue, MINI has decided to conduct a service action on these vehicles and we have shortened the tailpipe extension to help reduce the chances of inadvertant contact with the leg
If you have an R56 Cooper S, keep an eye on your mailbox for the same letter or head to your dealer and have this tended too. Click the image for a full size scan.
Oct 9th, 2008
We’ve been getting reports that Clubman coming to the US with the Anthracite headliner option have been getting the standard headliner due to a shortage.
According to a thread on North American Motoring, dealers were sent a bulletin at the end of September telling of this problem and recommending that dealers not deliver cars. Of course, some cars were delivered.
If ordered your MINI with the Anthracite headliner option and are expecting delivery soon, you might want to check in with your dealer.
