Air bag light has been lit since around 2014. For some reason my 2008 mini VIN is not part of the 2005-2008 mini airbag recall. What should I do, as this issue should be part of the recall.
The worst 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Engine6
- Airbags3
- Body1
- Electrical1
- Transmission1
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine6
- Airbags3
- Body1
- Electrical1
- Transmission1
Recalls 2
Engine and engine cooling: engine: gasoline: turbo/supercharger
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2011-2012 BMW 550i, 550i xDrive, 550i Gran Turismo, 550i Gran Turismo xDrive, 750i, 750Li, 750i xDrive, 750Li xDrive, 760Li, X5 xDrive50i, X5 M, X6 xDrive50i, X6 M, ActiveHybrid7, MINI Cooper S Convertible, John Cooper Works (JCW) Convertible, Cooper S Countryman, Cooper S Countryman ALL4, Cooper S, JCW, Cooper S Clubman, JCW Clubman, Cooper S Roadster, JCW Roadster, Cooper S Coupe, JCW Coupe and Rolls-Royce Ghost, 2011 BMW X6 Hybrid and 2012 BMW 650i Coupe, 650i xDrive Coupe, 650i Convertible and 650i xDrive Convertible vehicles. The electric auxiliary water pump may fail and cause the circuit board to overheat.
- Risk
- If the circuit board were to overheat, it can increase the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the electric auxiliary water pump, free of charge. Depending on the model, there are currently limited parts available, however not all parts are available at this time. Owners will be notified of the recall beginning June 11, 2018, and will receive a second notification when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact BMW customer service at BMW 1‑800‑525‑7417, MINI at 1‑866‑825‑1525, or Rolls-Royce at 1‑877‑877‑3735. Note: BMW recommends that owners park their vehicle outdoors until the recall remedy has been performed.
Recall number 18V248000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: engine: gasoline: turbo/supercharger
- What is wrong
- Bmw is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 mini cooper s, 2008-2011 mini cooper s clubman, 2009-2011 mini cooper s convertible, 2009-2011 mini cooper jcw, 2009-2011 mini cooper jcw clubman, 2009-2011 cooper jcw convertible, and 2011 cooper s countryman passenger cars manufactured from november 14, 2006, through january 18, 2011. The electric auxiliary water pump that cools the turbocharger has an electronic circuit board that can malfunction and overheat.
- Risk
- The circuit board may smolder which could result in a vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Bmw will notify owners, and dealers will replace the water pump free of charge. The safety recall beganduring february 2012. Owners may contact bmw at 1‑866‑275‑6464.
Recall number 12V008000 · Recall details
See all 2 recalls for the 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman
Defect investigations
Engine compartment fire
In a January 10, 2012 letter to the federal safety agency, BMW of North America, LLC. (BMW) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) identifying a defect in the electric auxiliary water pump in approximately 88,911 model year (MY) 2007-2011 Mini Cooper vehicles manufactured from November 14, 2006 through January 18, 2011 (Recall 12V‑008).According to BMW, the auxiliary water pump on vehicles equipped with 4-cylinder turbocharged engines may overheat.Electro-migration can cause the pump electronic circuit board to overheat resulting in smoldering of the water pump. If smoldering occurs, it may lead to an engine compartment or vehicle fire.The pump supplier, Pierburg Pump Technology GmbH, redesigned the pump to address factors that may contribute to circuit board overheating.The redesigned pumps were completely implemented in production vehicles by January 2011.Recall 12V‑008 was the third recall initiated by BMW to address electric auxiliary water pump fires in vehicles equipped with Pierburg pumps.In two October 20, 2011 letters to the federal safety agency, BMW submitted DIRs for similar auxiliary water pump defect conditions in approximately 32,084 MY 2008-2011 BMW 5-Series, 7-Series, X5 and X6 models equipped with 8- and 12-cylinder engines and manufactured from May 2008 through December 2010 (Recall 11V‑521); and for approximately 589 MY 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost vehicles manufactured from September 2009 through September 2010 (Recall 11V‑522).In three separate April 5, 2012 letters to the federal safety agency, BMW submitted amendments to Recalls 11V‑521, 11V‑522 and 12V‑008.The amendments all described a common defect condition related to a manufacturing process deviation in a certain production range of the redesigned Pierburg water pumps that could result in cracks in the pump housing, which may allow coolant to enter and contact the pump?s circuit board.BMW indicated that further analysis identified a specific machine process error at the sub-supplier that manufactures the water pump housing.Pump housing cracks may cause the circuit board to overheat and lead to smoldering of the water pump.Recall 12V‑008 was, thus, amended to include approximately 1,457 MY 2011 Mini Cooper vehicles manufactured from March 31, 2011 through April 22, 2011, when pumps manufactured with the suspect manufacturing process may have been used in vehicle assembly.The amendment to Recall 11V‑521 was assigned a new recall number, Recall 12V‑161, and covered approximately 2,846 MY 2011-2012 BMW 5-Series, 6-Series, 7-Series, X5, and X6 vehicles manufactured from April 1, 2011 through August 1, 2011.The amendment to Recall 11V‑522 was assigned a new recall number, Recall 12V‑166, and covered approximately 69 MY 2011 Rolls-Royce Ghost vehicles manufactured from April 7, 2011 through June 2, 2011.The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) analyzed complaint data provided by BMW as well as complaints submitted to ODI from consumers. In total, there were 30 unique Mini Cooper reports indicating engine fire.In addition, BMW provided warranty data showing 493 claims for replacement of the subject component on Mini Cooper vehicles.Owners of the recalled vehicles are notified to take their vehicle to a BMW dealer, who will replace the auxiliary water pump to prevent any incidents related to this issue.This preliminary evaluation is closed.The ODI reports cited above can be viewed at www-odi.the federal safety agency.dot.gov/owners/Searchreference under the following identification numbers (ODI Nos.):10286597, 10286663, 10289793, 10310677, 10314796, 10342365, 10394808, 10394192, 10403982, 10418325, 10422646, 10429003.
PE11036
Technical service bulletins for the 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman 91
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- Customer complains of a musty odor or damp front footwell carpet.
- MINI electrical systems have continued to develop over the past few years
- New RDC wheel electronics will be introduced with future generation MINI models
- OC3 seat occupancy mat - limited warranty extension to 10 years/120,000 miles
- Class action settlement: N14 high-pressure fuel pump (HDP) service benefit class vehicles
- Cooper S with N14: Diagnosis for Misfire Faults
- Checking or Replacing the Door Sill Trim Strips
- Air Conditioning System Leak Testing
- OC3 seat occupancy mat: limited warranty extension to 10 years/120.
- Manual transmission - stiff diagonal gearshift lever movement.
What 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The air bag warning light has been set off for many years and comes back even after a computer replacement. This is the light for the passenger bag. There was a recall of 2005 to 2008 mini for this exact issue. For some reason my VIN is not included in this recall. What should I do? The airbag or sensor was never "fixed".
I was hearing a loud rattle and brought my mini in to get serviced right away. It was misdiagnosed and now I fear it has caused significant damage to the engine due to a timing chain tensioner issue. The car will lose power out of nowhere. I have read that this is not being considered a safety issue but when you live in minnesota and are trying to go through a busy intersection during a blizzard and the car loses all power and you almost get t-boned by a truck I would tend to disagree.
While driving home on secondary road, a loud engine noise started and the engine light came on blinking. I pulled over and had car towed to my garage. The diagnosis was that the timing chain tensioner broke and had to be repaird. This was done for a cost of $567.97. In researching information about this, it appears many owners have had the same problem. I am filing this complaint in hopes that bmw reimburses this expense for an issue they seem to be aware of but are not taking recall action with.
Air bag light goes off with code 93b1 passenger head airbag not present. Mini knows this is an issue as it has issued a technical service bulletin for this issue. The tsb number is si-m-65-10-08. This is a serious issue and should be recalled.
Engine timing chain broke while driving because of a faulty plastic tensioner piece braking. This issue has surfaced repeatedly globally, but no recall issued. This needs to be recalled, it is clearly a safety issue and because of one small little plastic faulty part cost me close to $5000. Mini/bmw north america does not acknowledge this issue nor wants to reimburse me for the expenses incurred to keep driving safely.
The transmission in my car is going out at only 53 thousand miles... Every time I got to turn off my car the light pops on saying their is a issue with my transmission..it also takes me turning off my car and back on for it to get un stuck out of park.. Im getting fed up and fear that something worse will happen with my car when my child or husband is in the car with me.. I've only had this car a year and already put $1200 into a waterpump and thermostat with housing ... And that was hardship on me.
I came home from work and parked the car in his normal parking space on the black top. I turned off the car, put the vehicle in gear with the parking brake and locked the door. A minute later, the vehicle was on fire. The fire dept report was unable to determine if there was a key left in the ignition.
Timing chain failure.
My 2008 mini clubman s was parked at the post office, when someone came in to tell me my car was on fire. I ran outside to find smoke pouring from under the hood, and called the fire department. I ran back inside to get a fire extinguisher, and came back out to find flames coming out from under the hood, along with the smoke. I emptied the extinguisher, but the flames kept coming. By the time the fire department arrived, only five minutes later, the flames were 12 feet high, and the car was totaled. I have found reports of at least 30 other similar incidents of minis spontaneously combusting, but the manufacturer has, as far as I know, done nothing to correct the problem.
Compare the 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman
Other model years
Questions about the 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman
Is the 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman reliable?
Owners have filed 11 complaints about the 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman, fewer than a typical Cooper S Clubman model year.
What is the 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman year score?
The 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman scores 71 out of 100 (average). The score compares it with the other model years of the MINI Cooper S Clubman: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.
What is the most common problem with the 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman?
Engine and cooling, with 6 complaints, typically around 88,512 miles. Next is airbags (3).
How many recalls does the 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman have?
2 recalls, covering engine and engine cooling.
Was there a recall on the 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman engine?
Yes, 2 recalls: 18V248000, 12V008000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
VIN decoder
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